Last night, “more-than-just-a” cover band Joe Russo’s Almost Dead continued their two-weekend, six show run on their “home floor,” Brooklyn Bowl. The band made a powerful statement as they brought their 2017 “Fall Ball” to its midpoint, sending their rabid New York fans back to regular life fully satiated for a few days, while still leaving room to one-up themselves when they do it all again next weekend.

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After easing into the show’s first set with a blues-y jam, the band dove into “I Need A Miracle,” followed smoothly by “New Speedway Boogie.” The music never stopped for the rest of the set, as Russo and company welcomed frequent saxophone stand-in Stuart Bogie for “Playing In The Band,” “Eyes of the  World” (featuring a particularly memorable Marco Benevento solo), and a tease-filled “Dancing In The Streets.” From there, JRAD launched into a grade-A “Brown Eyed Woman” featuring full-band “Eyes” and “Throwin’ Stones” teases before landing in a heart-felt “Stella Blue” jam to close the first frame.

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Bogie came out with the rest of the band to start set two, and would wind up sticking around for the rest of the show. The incredible extended second set saw the band go “far out” on just 4 songs (or three plus a “jam,” depending on how you scored it). The began with an “Uncle John’s Band” that saw Bogie layer in lines on the tenor sax, flute, and clarinet. The tune was preceded by a “Some Like It Hot” (The Power Station) Tease/Jam (which was continually referenced throughout the set) as well as a “Duo Jam” centered around Benevento/Russo Duo favorite  “Becky.”

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Eventually, Russo steered the extended set opener into “The Other One,” another extended outing that touched on tunes by The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. The jam that came out of “The Other One” eventually shifted gears into an instrumental jam “Cryptical Envelopment,” marking the first time the band played the song as an instrumental. Finally, the band kicked into the “Terrapin Station Suite,” a complex and powerful exclamation point on an unforgettable set. A celebratory “Samson & Delilah” encore officially put the third of six Fall ’17 JRAD Brooklyn Bowl shows in the books.

JRAD at Brooklyn Bowl is its own unique kind of beast. After all, the band was born at the Williamsburg concert venue/bowling alley/fried chicken joint, playing their first show as a one-off Dead tribute in 2013. The fan reaction was ecstatic, and things have grown immensely from there, as the band has become a nationally touring act playing high-profile festival dates and headlining at large venues nationwide including Red Rocks and, due to weather during their first Red Rocks attempt, their first arena show at 1st Bank Center in Colorado. Understandably, demand is off the charts whenever Russo, Benevento, Tom Hamilton, Scott Metzger, and Dave Dreiwitz announce a set of shows at Brooklyn Bowl, where they continue to consistently play extended runs.

Despite the fact that the price is essentially twice as high as most other shows at the venue, the shows typically sell out within a matter of seconds. The band could easily fill much larger venues in the city, but with the intimate relationship the band has forged with Brooklyn Bowl and the unlimited devotion of their hometown fans, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at the Bowl will surely remain a “thing” long past the point when that particular cocoon should have been outgrown–And we’re totally cool with that. Scoring tickets might get harder and harder, but once you get inside, it all makes sense. There’s truly nothing quite like a JRAD show at Brooklyn Bowl.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead continues their 6-night “Fall Ball” run with three more sold-out shows at Brooklyn Bowl this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The shows will be webcasted via nugs.tv. For more information on the shows and the streams, head to the band’s website.

Watch pro-shot video of each set opener from last night’s JRAD show at Brooklyn Bowl below via Nugs.tv:

Jam > “I Need A Miracle”

“Uncle John’s Band”

Below, check out a gallery of beautiful photos from the performance via photographer Andrew Blackstein.

SETLIST: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 10/7/17 

Set One (9:34PM – 11:03PM)
Jam ->
I Need A Miracle ->
New Speedway Boogie ->
Playing In The Band @ >
Eyes Of The World @ % ->
Dancing In The Streets @ ^ ->
Brown Eyed Women & ->
Stella Blue Jam

Set Two (11:36PM – 1:01AM)
Uncle John’s Band @#$ +
The Other One @ ++ >
Cryptical Envelopment Jam @@ >
Terrapin Station Suite @#$ ##

Encore:
Samson & Delilah @ *

Notes:
@ – With Stuart Bogie on Tenor Sax
# – With Stuart Bogie on Flute
$ – With Stuart Bogie on Clarinet
% – With a Marco Solo that evolved into a Marco/Tommy Duet, a DD Bass Solo & the circa 1973 ending in 7, not played since (I think) 2013-01-26 at Brooklyn Bowl, a gap of 122 shows.
^ – With “Shortnin’ Bread” (James Whitcomb Riley), “Hoedown” (Aaron Copeland) Teases (MB) and an “Inspector Gadget” Theme (Shuki Levy and Haïm Saban) Tease (Band)
& – With Throwing Stones and Eyes of the World Jams / Teases (Band)
+ – Proceeded by a “Some Like It Hot” (The Power Station) Tease / Jam. That tune was continually referenced throughout the set. Also included a Duo Jam, and a “Becky” (Benevento Russo Duo) Jam
++ – With a “Roadhouse Blues” (The Doors) Jam, A “How Many More Times” (Led Zeppelin) Jam, a “Money” (Pink Floyd) Jam
@@ – First Time Played by Almost Dead as an Instrumental, with a St. Stephen Tease (SM) and an Uncle John’s Band Tease (DD)
## – With a The Wheel Jam, a Swingtown Jam (led by MB) & a “Some Like It Hot” (Power Station) Tease
* – With a “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (Julia Ward Howe) Tease (Stuart Bogie)

[Cover photo – Andrew Blackstein]