Joe Russo’s Almost Dead finished up a two-night run at New York’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 on Saturday with a dense two set show featuring plenty of stellar moments and some excellent added intrigue thanks to special guest multi-instrumentalist Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth fame. Ranaldo, who had appeared alongside Joe Russo and John Medeski at Russo’s running This Is Gonna Be A Blast series at Brooklyn’s The Sultan Room, helped elevate what was already a special show to new heights during his second set and encore appearances.
After a customary improvisational easing-in, Scott Metzger (guitar) took lead vocal duties on a show-opening “My Brother Esau”. Frontline compatriot Marco Benevento (keys) laid down some expansive keyboard runs while Metzger’s fellow fretboard hero Tom Hamilton handled the more intricate leads, allow Metzger the space to handle the lyrical wordplay. After a short rave-up to close out the tune, Joe Russo’s drums turned the rudder and Dave Dreiwitz‘s (Ween) bass filled the sails to steer the band into the gloomy yet beautiful tale of “Reuben and Cherise”(Jerry Garcia Band).
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – “My Brother Esau”, “Reuben and Cherise” (Partial) [Pro-Shot] – 9/7/24
Metzger delivered on all fronts as the band surging through a vital and wild “Let It Grow” tagged with “Tennessee Jed” teases before a jarringly unique “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot!” sequence coincided with the NYC rooftop golden hour to astounding effect, each novel approach to a section of the time-tested pairing (murky, gloomy synth grooves; four-on-the-floor rock grit) adding new layers to the entrancing scene. Breaking from the script in an even more literal sense, the band followed “Help” > “Slip” not with its typical “Franklin’s Tower” climax but rather with primal rock and roll classic “Fire and Brimstone” (Link Wray) accented by a matching firestorm of a piano solo by Benevento.
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A tease-laden “Cumberland Blues” closed out the first set. Though the nods to “I Know You Rider” and “China Cat” didn’t go much beyond some basic framing references, the sheer velocity of the “Blues” carried the crowd to the conclusion with cheers all around under the darkening Manhattan sky.
Somewhere between musical stanzas a drizzle filled the air, but while droplets dotted the sky and danced with the lights throughout much of set two, the crowd never quite seemed to get wet. In fact, the weather only seemed to underscore the cosmic ripples of the performance: an all-timer voyage through space and time with help from a sonic explorer of the highest order, Lee Ranaldo. It was Ranaldo who lead the charge for set two, taking the stage before the band to deploy a musical instrument oddity that (we think) was a sort of hybrid between a hand-held drum pad and a pronged theremin. Whatever it was, Ranaldo used it like a key to unlock the universe of ambient sound found behind what folks are calling “Seastones/Space”—both, historically, vehicles for the Dead to push the boundaries of sound and melody via ambient expression.
As the rain stiffened slightly and the music phased back to reality, “Dark Star” took shape. Ranaldo picked up a guitar but continued to play just outside of normality. While Tom Hamilton took on the vocal lead, Metzger and his visiting partner on six strings levvied impressive blues lines back and forth. After slipping in a few licks from The Beatles‘ “Day Tripper”and tossing in a strong slice of Pink Floyd’s “Pigs (Three Different Ones), Ranaldo exited stage left to cheers from the audience and waves from the band that were as expressive as possible without dropping the groove.
Still, the band voyaged on. Speaking of grooves, a bridging take on Medeski, Martin & Wood’s “Where’s Sly” gave Benevento the green light to find one of his own (whoa). From there, the heart of Saturday’s second emerged as “Lady With A Fan” (once again dotted with “Tennessee Jed”) gave way to a wonderfully executed “Terrapin Station”. That classic, and the ensuing “Greatest Story Ever Told”, served as a testimonial to the emotion, weight, and enduring elasticity of the Grateful Dead’s catalog. So many of this band’s songs are timeless works, the kind of music that will continue to resonate for generations to come in new, interesting ways.
That said, JRAD certainly doesn’t mind stepping outside the norms. As the set wound down, the band turned an earlier Pink Floyd tease into a full-blown cover of “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” with all the due pomp and circumstance that massive sonic suite deserves. With that and the earlier “Terrapin” and “Dark Star”, Saturday’s mix of huge set pieces pushed the whole evening into “Top sets of the year” contention, and jaw-dropping closer “Jack Straw”, with its Allman Brothers Band “Mountain Jam” tease, only added to the claim.
Ranaldo and his guitar returned for the encore, yet another A-team Dead statement song in “Morning Dew”, though the exploratory artist employed an arched bridge on the guitar neck and a bow to wring out some truly original sounds from the instrument. The peals and squeals he elicited from his tortured guitar added width and a wild nature to a far more psychedelic take on the tune than most would impart. Judging from the roar of the crowd, in equal parts a defiance of the dampweather and appreciation for the performance, shook the windows of buildings blocks away.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead w/ Lee Ranaldo – “Morning Dew” – 9/7/24
[Video: monihampton]
JRAD has routinely shown a strong affinity for Pier 17 and these earlier-in-the-day showtimes. The vitality of performing outdoors amid the hustle and bustle of the greatest city in the world clearly fuels their spirits. Their performances, guests, and setlist choices certainly mirror that energy. On Saturday, Joe Russo and company made the most out of their remaining opportunities to make music under the sky, commune with the elements, and ascend to the stars above. One day, they just might come down. Find tickets to upcoming JRAD shows here.
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Rooftop at Pier 17 | New York, New York | 9.7.24
Set One: My Brother Esau > Reuben and Cherise (Jerry Garcia Band) > Let It Grow [1], Help on the Way > Slipknot! [2] > Fire and Brimstone (Link Wray) > Cumberland Blues [3]
Set Two: Seastones/Space [4]> Dark Star [5] [6], Where’s Sly? (Medeski Martin & Wood), Lady With A Fan [1] > Terrapin Station, Greatest Story Ever Told, Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pink Floyd) > Jack Straw (Mountain Jam tease)
Encore: Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson) [8]
Notes: [1] with Tennessee Jed tease; [2] with In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Allman Brothers Band) tease; [3] with I Know You Rider, China Cat Sunflower teases; [4] with Lee Ranaldo on theremin/midi percussion instrument; [5] with Lee Ranaldo on electric guitar, vocals; [6] with Day Tripper (The Beatles), Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pink Floyd) teases; [7] with Mountain Jam (Allman Brothers Band) tease; [8] with Lee Ranaldo on electric guitar with bow, with Terrapin tease.
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