Joe Russo’s Almost Dead kicked off their three-show Pacific Northwest tour at The Showbox in Seattle, Washington on Friday, and the McDonald Theatre in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday night.
The Friday show really saw the Grateful Dead-inspired quintet explore new territories, with genre-spanning teases throughout both sets of the night. Kicking off with a solid “Foolish Heart”, “New Minglewood Blues”, and “Cats Under The Stars”, the first set was highlighted by a firing solo from Marco Benevento in “Tell Me Mama”. After a fan-appreciated “Loser”, the set closed with a supersonic “Feel Like A Stranger”, which featured full-band teases of The Beatles‘ “Hey Bulldog”, Edgar Winter Group‘s “Frankenstein”, and Jimi Hendrix‘s “Voodoo Chile”.
A drum jam opened up the second set, leading into a celebratory “Man Smart, Women Smarter”. The “China Cat Sunflower” that came next kept the “Hey Bulldog” theme going, then continued to appear throughout the following “Viola Lee Blues”. The band dug into full-on improvisation mode, allowing for drummer Joe Russo to insert hints of Led Zeppelin‘s “Rock and Roll”, while also locking in with guitarist Tom Hamilton to share multiple teases of Soungarden‘s “Spoonman”. A full “I Know You Rider” was executed, before the “Spoonman” teases continued in the full-band jam, transitioning into a “Let It Grow” set-closer. The band returned to the stage for an energetically charged “Touch Of Grey” to close the show.
[Audio: down2earthlandscaper]
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Showbox At The Market | Seattle, Washington | 8/10/18
I: Jam -> Foolish Heart -> New Minglewood Blues, Cats Under The Stars -> Tell Me Mama @ > Loser > Feel Like A Stranger #
II: Drums -> Man Smart, Woman Smarter -> China Cat Sunflower $ -> Viola Lee Blues % -> Jam ^ -> I Know You Rider -> Jam & -> Let It Grow *
E: Touch Of Grey
@ – With A Marco Solo
# – With a “Hey Bulldog” (The Beatles), “Frankenstein” (Edgar Winter Group) and “Voodoo Chile” (Jimi Hendrix) Jams & Teases (Band)
$ – With a “Hey Bulldog” (The Beatles) Tease (Band)
% – With a China Cat Sunflower Jam (Band).
^ – With a “Rock and Roll” (Led Zeppelin) Tease (JR), multiple “Spoonman” (Soundgarden) Teases (TH, JR, Band)
+ – With multiple “Spoonman” (Soundgarden) Teases (TH, JR, Band).
& – With a Let It Grow Tease (JR)
* – With “Smooth Operator” (Sade) Teases (MB & TH)
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead kept the energy flowing as they approached McDonald Theater in Eugene, Oregon in style. The first set contained four other-worldly jams, kicking off with “The Wheel” which was highlighted by a solo from keyboardist Marco Benevento. “Uncle John’s Band” brought out the best in bassist Dave Dreiwitz, keeping charge through “Dancing In The Streets” which featured a Dire Straits jam on “Money For Nothing”. The set closed with a heart-warming take on “Eyes Of The World”.
The second, extended set got going with a “Crazy Fingers” > “Estimated Prophet” > “Ramble On Rose” segment, which featured a “Playin In The Band” tease from guitarist Tom Hamilton and a “Tennessee Jed” tease from Marco Benevento. A crowd-pleasing “Duo Jam” came next, a nod to the earlier days between drummer Joe Russo and keyboardist Marco Benevento, which segued into a “Yazoo Street Scandal” by The Band. From there, “Tennessee Jed” emerged and led into “Music Never Stopped”, highlighted by another barn-burning solo from bassist Dave Dreiwitz. “The Eleven” and “Music Never Stopped Reprise” closed the set. The band returned for a rare take on Muddy Waters‘ “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” to close the show, which had not been played since the band’s run at Brooklyn Bowl in 2017.
Up next, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will play The Athletic Club of Bend in Oregon, before heading to Red Rocks Amphitheatre next week, and onto LOCKN’ Music Festival. For a full list of upcoming JRAD dates, head to their official website.
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | McDonald Theatre | Eugene, OR |8/11/18
I: The Wheel @ > Uncle John’s Band #, Dancing In The Streets $ > Eyes Of The World
II: Crazy Fingers -> Estimated Prophet -> Ramble On Rose ^ Duo Jam -> Yazoo Street Scandal -> Tennessee Jed > Music Never Stopped & -> The Eleven -> Music Never Stopped Reprise
E: Good Morning Little Schoolgirl *
@ – With a MB Solo
# – With a DD Solo
$ – With a “Money For Nothing” (Dire Straits) Jam and a DD Solo
^ – With a Playin In the Band Tease (TH) a Tennessee Jed Tease (MB)
& – With a DD Solo
* – Not played by Almost Dead since 2017-10-12 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY a gap of 37 shows