If you are lucky, there may be a moment at a show you’re at that is as much defined by the energy in the room as it is by the quality of the music being played. When a collective feeling of gratitude towards musical achievement reaches a peak and no one wants to let it go. It can happen at the biggest venues – Madison Square Garden has had its share of these moments. Last night it happened off Wythe Street inside the Brooklyn Bowl. A moment so intense with joy, love and appreciation that I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people who became spontaneously pregnant.

The formula for this moment relies on Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. The band that takes the songs you know so well from the Grateful Dead, injects them with a Red Bull, and plays them like you’ve never heard them before. October 3, 2015 was night two of a three night residency at the venue of their birth; a show with everything you could expect from them and more.

The evening started with a buildup into “The Music Never Stopped”, and we were all in for a treat when after the first verse Nicole Atkins came out to add vocals. Energy built and built throughout the song and the evening’s first great transition as “Dancing In The Streets” came in seamlessly. I couldn’t think of a better opening pairing to show off Nicole Atkins’ powerhouse vocals than two songs that arguably had their peak moments with the Dead when Donna Godchaux sang with them. “Dancing In The Streets” had some great full band teases, including the musical intro to “Rainy Day Women 12 & 35” that perfectly fit with the end of the jam.


I’ve been lucky to catch Joe Russo’s Almost Dead a few times now, and I admire that after a long intense jam, they put a song in the setlist that provides a “breather”, if you will. The thing is, often that breather will start out slow and pretty and still end at passionate and extreme. Tom Hamilton on “Row Jimmy” provided this – singing and playing his heart out. When the bridge came and everyone supported Tommy and Nicole by singing the iconic line “Ever since they tore the jukebox down,” the room was as rapt with attention as you can hope for. If you’re a “Row Jimmy” fan, this version does not disappoint.

Nicole Atkins taking lead on “(The Stranger) Two Souls In Communion” came next, and she diva’d the hell out of it. She has pipes, and she took them to front and center of the stage. She left after the song and the band launched into “The Other One”. In the times I’ve seen Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, there have often been moments that bring me back to the original Knitting Factory – moments where there’s a collective decision to get weird. Weird this was, but still great music. Russo kept the beats driving (how does he not tire out?); Dave Dreiwitz kept a pulsating groove while Marco Benevento, Tom Hamilton, and Scott Metzger played dissonant leads that eventually converged into the chords that let you know you’re in “The Other One”. A textbook transition into the closing refrain of “Cryptical Envelopment” followed, which then had a smooth segue into a set closing “Truckin’”.


Set two, set two, set two.

I can only imagine the joy of getting to play guitar and sing lead on “Scarlet Begonias” – especially if you are opening a set with it. Given that Joe Russo’s Almost Dead by default goes to 11, add in a packed and hungry Brooklyn Bowl and you get liftoff. Everyone was joyous, and the band was locked in. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead knows how to accentuate the big moments as well (if not better) than anyone, so you can only imagine how powerful it was when we hit “The wind in the willows playing ‘Tea for two’”. After that great verse, the familiar and warm tones to bring on “Fire on the Mountain” came in.

I’m going to take a pause here to say how great the sound was at the Bowl last night. At any given moment you could pinpoint what anyone in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead was doing on their own, or you could hear their collective prowess as a band. That’s important context for what came next.

“Fire on the Mountain”. This is when the moment I mentioned at the beginning occurred. I’m still a little hazy on the order of things, but I know where we ended. I’m pretty sure I remember Metzger taking the first solo, and thinking it was a standout of the evening. Then Marco’s solo came. He quickly switched to piano. Keep in mind the tempo at this point was not a typical Dead FOTM tempo with a slinky groove – this FOTM was already a step quicker and (for lack of a better description) upbeat. So add that to Marco and you have the recipe for this solo. The rest of the band quickly dropped out as Marco worked his way from end to end of 88 keys. I don’t know how two hands can move so fast and nuanced. And the thing about this solo is it built and built and built and built. EVERYONE was focused- the crowd and especially the members of his band. Russo brought everyone in to support Marco at the end of the solo providing great accents behind his work. Marco gave the nod that he was wrapping up, and then gave rapid swipes of the keyboard to accentuate one of the greatest moments in live music I’ve ever experienced.

And the room exploded.


It was a great achievement, and everyone acknowledged it. This roar sustained itself for a seeming eternity, drowning out Tom Hamilton’s vocals. Marco stood up and acknowledged the crowd, holding his hand over his heart to show his appreciation. I’m not even sure what happened immediately after with the music, but Russo summed it up perfectly by grabbing his mic and saying “Marco Fucking Benevento”. Indeed.
 
And this was just the first half hour of the set. Still over an hour of music to go. Remember I mentioned that Joe Russo’s Almost Dead knows right when to throw in a breather that doesn’t turn out to really be a breather? That came next with Scott Metzger leading everyone through “Looks Like Rain”. Besides top notch vocals on this song, there was an ending solo from Metzger that was just blistering. A lot of Metzger’s solos began with what felt like an Americana twanginess that wouldn’t be out of place at the Opry and end with blistering attacks on both the east and west ends of the fretboard.


Another quick aside- I love how Hamilton’s and Metzger’s guitar tones and styles complement each other. It’s almost as if their tones match the timbres of their voices- Metzger’s is thick, with warmth coming from the low notes. Hamilton’s is a little higher in register. I find him one of the few guitarists who can successfully start his solos on the part of the guitar where others often end their solos- and he builds from there. So much damn fun.
 
Back to the show, and thank you for making it this far. “Looks Like Rain” ran into “St. Stephen”, which at Almost Dead intensity was sweat inducing. After getting through the verses of Stephen the jam quickly took a turn into “Tennessee Jed”. I’m curious if this was planned or spontaneous, but it was fluent. While the start of the bridge to Stephen was played instrumentally, the band opted not to return to the song and to finish Jed instead (writer’s note: ending will still be welcome.)


Becky Lee Blues came next. Becky Lee Blues is when Joe Russo’s Almost Dead starts playing “Viola Lee Blues”, and quickly everyone except Marco and Russo drop out, and they FREAKING PLAY “BECKY”. Not a snippet, they played “Becky”. Arguably the Duo’s most recognizable song that focuses at points on just two notes. Russo made his drums tonal while dancing around Marco’s phrasing. It was just as fun to watch Hamilton, Dreiwitz and Metzger watch what was going on, as everyone had huge smiles. Becky eventually brought everyone back into Viola Lee, and then Hamilton stepped up and Stella Blue us away. I thought the beginning of Stella Blue was a full step slower than what I’m used to, but that’s never a concern with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.
 
The building jam out of Stella Blues led into “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad”, which brought the most welcome return of Nicole Atkins. The crowd showed tremendous appreciation when Russo took the vocals for the first verse, and this version of GDTRFB didn’t let up until it took that expert turn into And We Bid You Goodnight. The gospel tune cemented the feeling that we were in church as everyone sang along.


I would have been fine if there was no encore- that show rocked me so hard I forgot what day it was. Luckily Joe Russo’s Almost Dead reminded me with a “One More Saturday Night” that was explosive as can be. Watching Metzger gear up for that ending howl and then let it loose was priceless. And that my friends, was the show.
 
I recognize that I wasn’t overly critical in this piece, but it’s hard to criticize a show like that. It was five (sometimes six) musicians who did not hold anything back. I also probably didn’t write enough about how great Dave Dreiwitz’s bass playing is, and that he is such a driving force of what makes Joe Russo’s Almost Dead work. So, please note that. I can’t wait for night three.

Click here for setlist and upcoming Joe Russo’s Almost Dead tour dates.

Words by Andy Hollander, Photos by Andrew Blackstein. Full Gallery: