Joe Russo’s Almost Dead played a three-night run at The Riviera Theatre in Chicago over the weekend. The beloved Grateful Dead tribute act marked the occasion by welcoming Antibalas saxophonist and frequent collaborator Stuart Bogie, as well as debuting songs by Jethro Tull, Stone Temple Pilots, and more.
JRAD kicked things off on Friday, December 2nd with Sonny Boy Williamson‘s “Good Morning, School Girl”, a blues standard famously performed by the Dead with Pigpen on vocals. The band continued with a seamless sequence of Jerry Garcia‘s “Loser” > “Greatest Story Ever Told” > “Scarlet Begonias” > Bob Dylan‘s “Silvio” > “I Know You Rider”.
Set two included JRAD’s debut of Dill & Wilkin‘s “Long Black Veil”, a tune originally sung by Lefty Frizzell, with Scott Metzger on lead vocals, as well as Dead classics “Jack Straw”, “Cassidy”, “Fire on the Mountain”, “Estimated Prophet”, “Space”, “Lady With a Fan”, and “Terrapin Station”. For the encore, the band selected another Bob Dylan song, “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You”.
On Saturday, the band returned for round two with Stuart Bogie in tow. Having recently collaborated with Joe Russo on his Bogie Band‘s debut album in addition to his lengthy JRAD resume, Bogie sat in for the entire show, which opened with JRAD’s debut of “Let Me Sing Your Blues Away”. The remainder of the set features just three songs “Eyes of the World”, “Dancing in the Street”, and “The Music Never Stopped”, which were connected by continuous improvisation.
The second set opened with more Dead and Jerry Garcia staples including “Shakedown Street”, “St. Stephen”, “The Eleven”, and “Cats Under the Stars”. The band then debuted “Locomotive Breath” by Jethro Tull with Tom Hamilton on lead vocals, which flowed straight into “The Other One”. JRAD closed the set with a cover of Pink Floyd‘s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V)” before returning for a predictable “One More Saturday Night” encore.
Sunday capped off the weekend with more excitement, including the band’s debut of Stone Temple Pilots’ “Vasoline”, selected in honor of the anniversary of STP frontman Scott Weiland’s death, which occurred on December 4th, 2015. Bogie once again joined the band for a portion of the show, which featured some slower tunes from the Grateful Dead catalog including “Lost Sailor”, “Row Jimmy”, and “If I Had the World to Give”. Russo and company capped off the three-night run with “Born to Run” by fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen.
Click below to check out fan-shot videos and view a gallery of photos from Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at The Riviera Theatre courtesy of photographer Josh Hitchens/Bolt of Sunshine.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will celebrate its 10th anniversary at Brooklyn Bowl on January 26th. For a full list of upcoming shows and tickets, visit the band’s website.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – “Good Morning, School Girl” (Sonny Boy Williamson) (Partial) – 12/2/22
[Video: Scott Sigman]
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Riviera Theatre | Chicago, IL | 12/2/22
Set 1: Good Morning, School Girl (Sonny Boy Williamson), Loser (Jerry Garcia) > Greatest Story Ever Told > Scarlet Begonias > Silvio (Bob Dylan) > I Know You Rider
Set 2: Jack Straw, Long Black Veil (Debut, Dill & Wilkin) > Cassidy > Fire on the Mountain > Estimated Prophet > Space > Lady With a Fan, Terrapin Station
Encore: Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You (Bob Dylan)
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Riviera Theatre | Chicago, IL | 12/3/22
Set 1: Let Me Sing Your Blues Away (Debut) > Eyes of the World > Dancing in the Street > The Music Never Stopped
Set 2: Shakedown Street > St. Stephen > The Eleven > Cats Under the Stars
(Jerry Garcia Band) > Locomotive Breath (Debut, Jethro Tull) > The Other One, Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V) (Pink Floyd)
Encore: One More Saturday Night
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Riviera Theatre | Chicago, IL | 12/4/22
Set 1: Lost Sailor, Saint of Circumstance, Help on the Way, Slipknot!, Playing in the Band, If I Had the World to Give, Truckin’
Set 2: Row Jimmy, Cumberland Blues, Vasoline (Stone Temple Pilots), Cumberland Blues, Let It Grow, Samson and Delilah, New Speedway Boogie, Bird Song (Jerry Garcia) (With Terrapin Station and Let It Grow teases)
Encore: Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen)
