Last night, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead hit the House of Blues in Boston, MA in the shadows of historic Fenway Park. For their first of two shows in Boston this weekend, the band (Joe Russo, Scott Metzger, Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, and Tom Hamilton) featured a very special “guest”: Jerry Garcia‘s “Wolf” guitar, played by Hamilton throughout the show.
The band hit the ground running to begin the performance, seamlessly working through “Big Railroad Blues” and Bob Dylan/Robert Hunter number “Silvio”, and “Loser”. Without pause, the band proceeded to deliver a languid “Easy Wind” before locking in for a pair of aces back-to-back–masterfully extended versions of “Row Jimmy” and “St. Stephen”–before closing the set with a “Samson & Delilah” exclamation point.
Set two got moving with “Dark Hollow” into “Mr. Charlie”, as Benevento continued to steal the show with his enthralling keyboard work. “Help On The Way” > “Slipknot!” followed, the soaring tones Hamilton conjured from “Wolf” highlighting the segment. Rather than moving into the traditional “Franklin’s Tower” (the smart money is on “Franklin’s” making its appearance on night two tonight), the band eventually moved into a top-notch “Mississippi Half Step”, which the band broke down into a beautiful vocal harmony-focused jam. A funky “Estimated Prophet” followed, before Russo ended the set in dramatic fashion with a towering “Morning Dew”–and appropriate call, considering the “dew” had not rolled away earlier in the set. Finally, the band returned for a “Greatest Story Ever Told” encore to cap Boston night 1.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead closes their two-night Boston run tonight. For a list of upcoming JRAD shows, head to the band’s website.
Listen to a full audience recording of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s first of two shows at the House of Blues this weekend below, taped and transferred by Mike Camp:
Watch a selection of fan-shot videos from the show below:
“Row Jimmy” (via monihampton)
“Dark Hollow” (via monihampton)
“Morning Dew” (via Jamey Klein)
SETLIST: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | House of Blues | Boston, MA | 12/8/17
Set One (8:20pm – 9:43PM)
Big Railroad Blues ->
Silvio >
Loser ->
Jam ->
Easy Wind @ ->
Jam # ->
Row Jimmy ->
St. Stephen ->
Jam ->
St. Stephen Reprise >
Samson & Delilah
Set Two (10:13pm – 11:50PM)
Jam ->
Dark Hollow >
Mr Charlie $ >
Help On The Way ->
Slipknot! % >
Mississippi Half Step >
Estimated Prophet >
Morning Dew
Enc:
Greatest Story Ever Told ^
TH played “Wolf” for the whole show.
@ – “Flipped” Version – Opened with the last verse sung first.
# – With Let It Grow Teases (TH)
$ – With a “Moby Dick” (Led Zeppelin) Jam
% – With Let It Grow Teases (TH then Band)
^ – With The Wheel Teases (Band)
Pre Show Music: Scott Metzger’s Spotify Xmas Mix
Set Break Music: Costello’s Spotify Motown Mix
Post Show Music: Dirty Water (Boston You’re My Home) – The Standells and Pancho & Lefty – Townes Van Zandt
Poster: Colortest
[Cover photo via Instagram user @ejstoltz]