Joe Russo’s Almost Dead unveiled official audio featuring three of six Fall Ball shows they played at Brooklyn Bowl in October 2017. The “triple play” edition of the band’s Taper Wednesdays series comes on the eve of JRAD’s last run of 2018.
Drummer Joe Russo, keyboardist Marco Benevento, bassist Dave Dreiwitz and guitarists Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton played six shows over two weekends in October 2017 at the venue where it all started for the band — Brooklyn Bowl in New York City. The first night of the run, October 5, was highlighted by the JRAD debuts of “Lazy River Road” and The Basement Tapes track “Yazoo Street Scandal” as well as a jam on Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down A Dream” that came just a few days after Petty’s tragic death.
The second show shared by Joe Russo’s Almost Dead took place on October 12, 2017, a night that was Metzger’s 40th birthday. JRAD celebrated the occasion by starting the show-opening “Throwing Stones” with 40 hits. “Throwing Stones” spanned over 20 minutes and gave way to “Jack Straw.” Marco and Joe connected “Jack Straw” and “Ramble On Rose” with a bit of a “Duo Jam.” The first set ended with the crowd singing “Happy Birthday” to Metzger. Almost Dead’s jam-heavy second set on October 12, 2017 featured rare covers of “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” and Radiohead’s “The Bends.” Frequent collaborator Katie Jacoby joined in on violin for “Tennessee Jed” and “Truckin’” to close the second set. The quintet went at it alone to conclude the night with “Tell Me Momma” by Bob Dylan as the encore.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead also shared official audio of the Fall Ball 2017 finale from October 14, 2017. The band began the show with an impressive 55-minute sequence that included just three songs — “Let It Grow,” “Row Jimmy” and “The Wheel.” Metzger then led the group through a pairing of “Lost Sailor” and “Saint Of Circumstance.” The final set of the run was highlighted by a rare “Hard To Handle” that bled into a jam on “Unbroken Chain” and a “Saint Stephen” that JRAD jammed into “Hey Bulldog” by The Beatles. Almost Dead said farewell with a “One More Saturday Night” encore after impresario Pete Shapiro thanked members of the tastemaking email list the NYC Freaks. Enjoy audio of all three shows below thanks to Pete Costello and Eric McRoberts:
October 5, 2017
Setlist (Compiled by Peter Costello)
Set One: Bertha -> Man Smart, Woman Smarter @ -> Reuben & Cerise > Deep Elem Blues # -> Gonesville > Lazy River Road $ (TH) > GDTRFB
Set Two The Music Never Stopped % > Yazoo Street Scandal ^ (MB) -> Mississippi Half Step -> Born Crosseyed Jam -> Dark Star (Verse One) & -> Running Down A Dream Jam * -> Not Fade Away + -> Dark Star (Verse Two) -> Not Fade Away Reprise -> Stella Blue
Encore: Sugar Magnolia/Sunshine Daydream @@
- @ – With a Tennessee Jed Tease (SM) & an “Iko Iko” (The Dixie Cups) Tease (MB)
- # – With “Hey Bulldog” (The Beatles) (SM) and Easy Wind Teases (Band)
- $ – With a “Blackbird” (The Beatles) Tease (TH), First Time Played By Almost Dead
- % – With a “Becky” (Benevento Russo Duo) Tease (DD) and an Unknown Tease (MB)
- ^ – First Time Played By Almost Dead, Bob Dylan & The Band Cover from The Basement Tapes
- & – With a Half Step Tease (TH) & a short Let It Grow Jam
- * – Instrumental, incomplete version of a Tom Petty Cover (Only the “Woo Hoo” lyrics were sung), First Time Played By Almost Dead
- + – With TH playing “Running Down A Dream” Lyrical Melody over the NFA changes, a “Fat Mama” (Herbie Hancock) Tease (MB) and a Dark Star Tease (TH)
- @@ – With a short Stella Blue Jam to end it.
October 12, 2017
Setlist (Compiled by Peter Costello)
Set One: Throwing Stones @ -> Jack Straw -> Duo Jam # -> Ramble On Rose -> Weather Report Suite Prelude $ -> Weather Report Suite Part 1 $ % -> Black Throated Wind ^ -> Scarlet Begonias -> West LA Fadeaway, Happy Birthday to Scott &
Set Two: Jam -> Good Morning Little Schoolgirl * > Jam -> Help On The Way -> Slipknot! -> The Bends + -> Estimated Prophet -> Tennessee Jed @@ -> Truckin’ ## -> Born Cross Eyed Jam @@
Encore: Tell Me Momma $$
- @ – Began with 40 Hits for Scott’s 40th Birthday
- # – With a Marco Solo
- $ – Not played by Almost Dead since 2015-04-22 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, a gap of 100 shows (2nd Time Played)
- % – With a “My Sharona” (The Knack) Jam
- ^ – Unfinished
- & – Sung by the Crowd
- * – Not played by Almost Dead since 2016-10-06 at Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 42 shows (2nd Time Played)
- + – Radiohead cover, not played by Almost Dead since 2015-10-31 at The Ritz, Raleigh, NC a gap of 71 shows (2nd Time Played)
- @@ – With Katie Jacoby on Violin
- ## – With Katie Jacoby on Violin, with teases of New Speedway, Cryptical, Bird Song, China Cat, Easy Wind & The Eleven and probably more
- $$ – Bob Dylan Cover, Second Time Played by Almost Dead
October 14, 2017
Setlist (Compiled by Peter Costello)
Set One: Jam @ -> Let It Grow # -> Row Jimmy $ > Jam % -> The Wheel ^ -> Space -> The Wheel Reprise -> Lost Sailor & -> Saint Of Circumstance *
Set Two: Shakedown Street + -> Hard To Handle @@ -> Unbroken Chain Jam ## -> China Cat Sunflower -> Saint Stephen $$ -> Hey Bulldog %% -> Viola Lee Blues
Encore: “Pete Shapiro Thanks The NYC Freaks”, One More Saturday Night
- @ – With “In A Silent Way” (Joe Zawinul & Miles Davis) Teases (MB)
- # – With a Slipknot! Tease (JR & TH)
- $ – With a “Jet” (Paul McCartney and Wings) Tease (MB)
- % – With a “Mountain Jam” (Donovan/Allman Brothers Band) Tease (Band)
- ^ – With a “Riders On The Storm” (The Doors) Tease (MB)
- & – With a St. Stephen Tease (TH)
- * – With a Terrapin Station Tease (MB) & The Wheel Tease (Band)
- + – With a Feel Like A Stranger Tease (Band) and a Let It Grow Tease (Band). Unfinished.
- @@ – With Unbroken Chain Teases (TH) and Let It Grow Teases (Band). Not played by since 2016.03.25 at Brooklyn Bowl. Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 56 shows
- ## – Not played since 2015-09-06 at Great North Festival, Last Breath Farm, Norridgewock, ME, a gap of 82 shows. With a Here Comes Sunshine Tease (Band)
- $$ – With multiple teases including Cosmic Charlie & I Know You Rider, I think
- %% – Not played since 2016-07-02 at The Belly Up, Aspen, CO, a gap of 50 shows
