Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Opens Northeast Run With Exploratory Show At Penn’s Peak [Audio/Video]

On Wednesday, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead opened up the first show of their four-night Northeast run with a performance at Jim Thorpe, PA’s Penn’s Peak.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead opened up their first set with a jam before smoothly flowing into “Peggy-O”. Bassist Dave Dreiwitz led the band into “The Music Never Stopped”, which included teases of Black Sabbath‘s “War Pigs” and John Coltrane‘s “A Love Supreme”. “The Music Never Stopped” segued into “Loose Lucy”, last played by Joe Russo’s Almost Dead on December 31st, 2016 at The Capitol Theatre. The quintet kept on chugging with an open-ended jam that made way for “Weather Report Suite”, playing the first part of the tune as an instrumental. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead closed out the first set with “Stella Blue”.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead came back out to open their second set with the classic “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” before the band moved forward with a smoothly-segued grouping of “The Eleven”, a jam on “Let It Grow”, and “Easy Wind”. The wind kept blowing at Penn’s Peak, as JRAD followed “Easy Wind” up with “Black Throated Wind”. The remainder of the set was a monstrous segue, as the quintet worked through “Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad” into an instrumental take on “We Bid You Good Night”, with the latter featuring tease of “Fire On The Mountain”. The band continued “Fire” into an open-ended jam chock-full of “Terrapin Station” teases. JRAD continued in the “Terrapin” theme with “Lady With A Fan” before Marco Benevento darted off into an exploratory solo, which featured teases of Led Zeppelin‘s “No Quarter”. “Terrapin Station” brought the full-throttle second set to a triumphant closing. “Big Railroad Blues” served as the evening’s lone encore.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – “Man Smart, Woman Smarter”

[Video: nugsnet]

Listen to full-show audio from last night’s show courtesy of taper Rich Stoler.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – 3/13/2019 (Full-Show Audio)

[Audio: Rich Stoler]

Tonight, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead wil head to New Haven, CT for a performance at College Street Music Hall, followed by a show at Montclair, NJ’s Wellmont Theater (3/15) and Cleveland, OH’s Masonic Auditorium (3/16).

For a full list of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s upcoming tour dates and ticketing information, head to the band’s website.

Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Penn’s Peak | Jim Thorpe, PA | 3/13/2019

Set One: Jam -> Peggy-O, The Music Never Stopped @ > Loose Lucy #, Jam -> Weather Report Suite: Prelude / Part One $ ->
Let It Grow %, Stella Blue

Set Two: Man Smart Woman Smarter > The Eleven -> Let It Grow Jam -> Easy Wind, Black Throated Wind -> Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad > We Bid You Goodnight ^ -> Fire On The Mountain -> Jam & -> Lady with a Fan -> Marco Solo * -> Terrapin Station +

Encore: Big Railroad Blues

@ – With a “War Pigs” (Black Sabbath) Tease (Band) and a “Love Supreme” (John Coltrane) Tease (TH)
# – Not Played By Almost Dead Since 2016-12-31 Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, a gap of 90 shows
$ – Instrumental, Not Played By Almost Dead Since 2017-11-09 Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles, CA, a gap of 57 shows
% – With a “War Pigs” (Black Sabbath) Tease (TH)
^ – Instrumental, With a Fire On The Mountain Tease (TH)
& – With Terrapin Teases (Band)
* – With “No Quarter” (Led Zeppelin) Teases (MB)
+ – With a “War Pigs” (Black Sabbath) Jam