Joe Russo’s Almost Dead gave folks attending its shows at the Hampton Beach Casino in Hampton Beach, NH a musical jackpot on Thursday and Friday. Anyone who went all in on seeing both nights surely came out a winner after the sweet mix of classic Grateful Dead tunes, covers from the likes of Tom Petty, The Supremes, and even a first-time take on an Eddie Cochran classic done in JRAD’s signature style. The band is respectful of tradition but unafraid to play the hand its own way, with a fan-favorite style of shuffling up expectations and norms. Throughout its ten-year run, the members of JRAD have shown nothing short of sheer bravado as they refuse to compromise their ingenuity and creativity, even at the risk of potentially turning off old-school Deadheads who are more attached to traditional readings of the band’s timeless songbook.
Thursday, June 20th
Drummer Joe Russo and company followed their time-honored tradition of allowing one of the players to lead the opening jam with the rest anteing up as they went around the horn. In this evening’s case, guitarist Tom Hamilton took to the forefront, scratching and wailing as he went, with bassist Dave Dreiwitz churning the bottom end underneath him. It didn’t take long for the other half of the guitarist tag team Scott Metzger and keyboard whiz Marco Benevento to join in, causing the whole jam to spin on itself until it cleverly settled into a “Man Smart, Women Are Smarter” that, perhaps, had more on it’s mind than was readily apparent. Earlier this week, several women bravely came forward on social media to expose and ultimately expel a sexual predator in the Grateful Dead community. That same night on Thursday, across the country in Las Vegas, Dead & Company opened their show at Sphere with the same song.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” (King Radio) [Pro-Shot] — 6/21/24
After a fun but somewhat by-the-numbers “China Cat Sunflower”, JRAD delivered a soaring, inspirational “Feels Like A Stranger” that gave the guitarists plenty of chances to raise each other’s respective games. After a hungry “Dire Wolf” came a-howling and transitioned into a tension-filled take on the Waylon Jennings favorite “Only Daddy That’ll Walk That Line” that had a surprising amount of musical malice behind its sunny front-facing jams. The guitars ganged up on the jam and between them, Metzger and Hamilton practically stole the show. By the time their fiery fretboard work evolved into “Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad”, it was as if all the tension they were building exploded in an instant feeling of relief to be free.
Set closer “They Love Each Other” slowed the tempo to a more stable, almost plodding pace that allowed Hamilton and Metzger to skip across the mix thanks to their biting, high-toned guitar solos. That high-end high-wire work contrasted wonderfully with the wide-as-a-valley pocket being set by Russo and Dreiwitz. Marco then, once again, shifted gears and ratcheted everything up for one big final flourish before mercifully giving way to a much-needed set break.
Benevento got things restarted with a lush organ outburst that brought a church-like ceremonial feel to the proceedings. Those full-bodied gospel-esque bursts of sound, filled to the brim with soul power, gave Metzger and Hamilton plenty of space to explore together and in twinkling solo paths. After a few solid minutes of interstellar, reverent jamming, the melodic focus settled into a surprising second-ever take on ZZ Top’s bluesy “Waitin’ For The Bus”.
After JRAD extracted every last bit of pathos out of the Texas-sized cover, Russo signaled the transition into an organ-heavy, super bluesy “Sugaree”. The build and release that played out during the jam that followed was some of the better instrumental work of the evening. The rolling blues fully reasserted its hold on the narrative in a remarkable “Lost Sailor”, with Metzger’s reading full of heft and soul setting it apart from the rest of the set. His vulnerable, almost wounded take on the tune was easily his finest of the evening. Continuing in the vein of the introspective, aching nature of the “Sailor” the band had just dropped, JRAD continued its non-stop second set with an equally aching “Saint Of Circumstance”.
Finally, the musical centerpiece of the entire evening arrived with a show-closing “Terrapin Station” > “Brokedown Palace” that went all in on some of the Grateful Dead’s most emotionally gripping music committed to tape. These two revered tunes, particularly the always welcome “Terrapin”, lifted what was already a solid show to new melodic heights while simultaneously sinking its roots deep into the Earth.
Over the course of “Terrapin”, every member of Joe Russo’s impressive coterie of players had so many chances to explore the nooks and crannies of the suite that by the time “Palace” took hold it felt like the gas tank had to be nearing empty. Luckily for the joyous but winded crowd, JRAD was more than ready to throw one last bit of fuel on the fire, stoking the set closer to a final upward spiral that drew wild, uproarious cheers as it left the atmosphere.
Wisely deciding to keep to the lighter side after the marathon spectacle it had unleashed, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead sent the crowd home with an upbeat, somehow reassuring “Playing in the Band”. Predictably, the tune turned into a dancing, singing celebration of not just the show but life itself.
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Hampton Beach Casino | Hampton Beach, New Hampshire | 6/20/24
Set One: Jam > Man Smart, Women Smarter (King Radio), China Cat Sunflower > Feel Like A Stranger, Dire Wolf > Only Daddy That’ll Walk That Line (Jim Alley), Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad (Traditional), They Love Each Other
Set Two: Waiting For The Bus (ZZ Top) > Sugaree > Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance > Terrapin Station > Brokedown Palace
Encore: Playing In The Band
Friday, June 21st
After the success of its formula on the first night JRAD wasn’t looking to change a system that was paying off. After a Benevento-based intro, Joe Russo and Co anted back up and got to work on show opener “Time To Move On”, penned by the late, great Tom Petty. Sufficiently warmed up and all ready to roll, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead played a dangerous “Cumberland Blues”, keeping the bluesy jam at a long, slow simmer before letting it heat up into a full boil, then modestly backing the heat down again.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Time To Move On” (Tom Petty) [Pro-Shot] — 6/21/24
After a decade of masterfully working with the Grateful Dead‘s massive catalog, JRAD’s familiarity with the instrumentation and the lyrical subject matter makes its division of labor all the more impressive. Marco’s crackerjack key work contrasted perfectly with the rougher-voiced Metzger’s take on “Estimated Prophet”. Hamilton’s higher, sweeter voiced rendition of “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” guitar work and lyrics leaned in knowingly to some of the visceral gambling metaphors in that tune’s verses.
Those individual shining moments don’t mean that JRAD isn’t more than capable of acting as a unit. Its collective work on the set-closing pairing of “Dark Star” into “The Other One” might have been briefer and less star-spanning than most in attendance would have potentially preferred but there was no denying the commitment all five players shared in crossing the finish line of the first round of the evening in winning style.
The previous set’s cosmic conclusion was left behind with the opening of the second go-round, though not for long. “Easy Wind” and its earthy grimness paired well with the ensuing “Let It Grow” before wandering into a twinkling, beautiful sonic valley that saw many smiling, melted faces in the sold-out audience. By the time the prolonged, organ-heavy outro solidified into the recognizable staccato openings of “St. Stephen” the crowd, who had been lost in the far reaches of instrumental bliss, went predictably crazy after being snapped out of their haze.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “St. Stephen” (Grateful Dead) — 6/21/24
[Video: kidglove14]
The savvy JRAD built upon the holy vibe it was flirting with up to this point with a towering, intimidating take on the Vanilla Fudge by way of The Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” that would have surely shaken the walls of any house of worship in the land—let alone an establishment dedicated to vice like a casino. That gospel wave broke before properly concluding when always welcome visitors “Rubin and Cherise” stopped in to say hello before blowing away again.
The evening’s and the run’s conclusion rapidly approached but JRAD had one last card to play before the band took its bows. Before letting it all fall, Joe Russo introduced a fun “Hangin On” jam amid show-closer “Throwing Stones” that crescendoed on frequencies and power usually only monitored with seismographs. After the set-closing fireworks, the debut of Eddie Cochran‘s beloved battle cry “Summertime Blues” (with Dave handling the low-register vocal counterpoint) welcomed the summer solstice and sent the audience out to greet the new season.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (The Supremes) > “Rubin And Cherise” (Jerry Garcia) > “Throwing Stones” (Grateful Dead) — 6/21/24
[Video: kidglove14]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran) — 6/21/24
[Video: K T]
Sweaty and spent, Joe Russo’ Almost Dead left the Hampton Beach Casino showing undeniable growth from the band’s debut at the venue less than a year ago. JRAD is at the top of its game after a decade-plus of honing its collective sound to a keen edge, and any chance to see the band is worth taking. One thing is for certain, it’s a safe bet that after Friday’s final call, fans will be more than ready to go all in for a fresh hand to be dealt by Russo and his four fellow players.
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Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Hampton Beach Casino | Hampton Beach, New Hampshire | 6/21/24
Set One: Jam > Time To Move On (Tom Petty), Cumberland Blues, Estimated Prophet > Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo > Dark Star > Other One
Set Two: Easy Wind > Let it Grow > St. Stephen, You Keep Me Hangin On (The Supremes) [1] > Rubin and Cherise, Throwing Stones > Throwing Stones
Encore: Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran) [1]
[1] FTP
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