Joe Russo’s Almost Dead continued its Southern sojourn on Friday with the band’s first of two shows in Atlanta. The concert at The Eastern featured the Grateful Dead tribute act’s second-ever performance of Bob Dylan‘s “Maggie’s Farm” and the first since 2022.
Following a Thursday one-off warm-up in Charlotte, JRAD rolled into Atlanta hot and ready to go. The band of merry Northeasterners may have gotten their directions a bit mixed up, however, as they opened the show with “Tennessee Jed” out of a rumbling off-the-rip jam. The ode to the Volunteer State was just as effective in the Peach State, getting the crowd moving thanks to Marco’s honky-tonk grand piano.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – “Tennessee Jed” (Grateful Dead) [Pro-Shot] – 2/9/24
A boogie-woogie first set rolled on with a tumbling “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” dominated by Russo’s rollicking rhythms. A down n’ dirty funk jam developed before taking a hard turn into “China Cat Sunflower” with the band keeping the feline connection going with a non-stop transition into “Cats Under The Stars”. JRAD took its time on the title track to the Jerry Garcia Band‘s lone studio album, stretching it out for the second-lengthiest jam of the evening.
Once the band had its fill of cats, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead dusted off “Maggie’s Farm” from 1965’s Bringing It All Back Home. Sung by Metzger, the cover had not been seen since its debut on September 30th, 2022 at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ, per Almost Dead.net. The first set then came to a fiery conclusion with an energized Metzger-led take on “Viola Lee Blues”.
Coming back for the second frame, an ambient Seastones-esque opening jam led JRAD into the heart of ’80s Grateful Dead with the deceptively melancholy “Foolish Heart”. The second set then got even bluesier with a double dose of “Minglewood Blues” and then Tampa Red‘s “It Hurts Me Too” which slowed things to a crawl, plodded along by Marco’s sorrowful B3 organ.
JRAD consistently packs surprises around every corner, as it did on Friday when the energetic slingshot rocketed the band through the upbeat “Rubin and Cherise” followed by the improvisational centerpiece of the evening, “Eyes of the World”. Clocking in at over 20 minutes, the song embraced the Dead’s jazz-inspired 1973 arrangement of the classic song before Scott Metzger howled out Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” to close the frame. Returning to the stage once more, Hamilton had the honor of finishing the show with a reading of “Stella Blue” that ran the full spectrum of emotions from weeping misery to joyous headbanging.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returns to The Eastern tonight to polish off a two-night run. Tickets are sold out.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – The Eastern – Atlanta, GA – 2/9/24 – Full Audio
[Audio: Travitz12]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – The Eastern – Atlanta, GA – 2/9/24 – Full Video
[Video: Joe Wiseman]
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Eastern | Atlanta, GA | 2/9/24
Set One: Jam > Tennessee Jed (Grateful Dead), Man Smart, Woman Smarter (King Radio) > China Cat Sunflower (Grateful Dead) > Cats Under The Stars (Jerry Garcia Band) > Maggie’s Farm (Bob Dylan) [1], Viola Lee Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers)
Set Two: Foolish Heart (Grateful Dead) > Minglewood Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers), It Hurts Me Too (Tampa Red), Rubin And Cherise (Jerry Garcia Band), Eyes Of The World (Grateful Dead) [2], All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
Encore: Stella Blue (Grateful Dead)
[1] LTP 9/30/22
[2] w/ 1973 changes
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