On Friday night, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to their home at the Brooklyn Bowl after celebrating their 100th show the night before. Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, Scott Metzger, and Tom Hamilton played their second of three nights this weekend, and will return to the Bowl next weekend for another three nights with Oteil Burbridge subbing in for Dave Dreiwitz.
The celebratory tone continued on night two with a Hamilton-led “Don’t Ease Me In” opener, which you can view in the video below. Metzger stepped up for a “Women Are Smarter” jam, which segued into an ever-psychedelic “China Cat Sunflower.” “Feel Like A Stranger” included an “Apache” (Jerry Lordan) tease, according to Box Score extraordinaire Costello. The first set continued with a “Mississippi Half Step,” “Lost Sailor,” and “Saint of Circumstance” which included a Terrapin Jam, hints of “Ruben & Cherise” and an obvious nod to The Beatles with an “Eleanor Rigby” tease. No one does Grateful Dead music in 2017 like Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.
In the second set, the quintet returned with a “Greatest Story Ever Told,” with a “Black Throated Wind” jam, which you can watch below. The Grateful Dead song led into a striking cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Moby Dick,” which had not been played since 4/22/15 and was left unfinished. For the first time ever, the Almost Dead played “Music Never Stopped Reprise Reprise,” before busting out “Greatest Story Ever Told Reprise,” which hadn’t been played since 2/17/15.
The band also debuted “Stella Blues Jam,” before heading into a special “He’s Gone” which featured teases of the Netflix original series Stranger Things. The themes continued during “The Wheel,” which heard the theme song from The Simpsons carefully mixed in. The second set ended with an electric “So Many Roads” and “Sugar Magnolia.”
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to the stage for “Ripple,” which hadn’t been played since 12/31/15, then “US Blues,” which, strikingly, hadn’t been played in 100 shows since 1/26/13. Watch clips of “Ripple” and “US Blues” below, courtesy of Instagram users @tuffmana and @rachelstar1
Check out the full setlist below, as posted by band manager Peter Costello.
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Brooklyn Bowl | 3/11/17
Set One (9:29PM – 10:32PM)
Don’t Ease Me In (TH)
Women Are Smarter (SM) ->
China Cat Sunflower (TH) ->
Feel Like A Stranger @ (SM)
Mississippi Half Step (TH) ->
Lost Sailor (SM) ->
Saint Of Circumstance # (SM)
Set Two (11:03PM- 12:30AM)
Greatest Story Ever Told $ (SM) ->
Moby Dick % ->
Music Never Stopped Reprise Reprise ^ (SM) ->
Greatest Story Ever Told Reprise &
Candyman (TH) ->
Uncle Johns Band (All) ->
Stella Blue Jam * ->
He’s Gone (TH) + ->
The Wheel @@ (ALL) ->
St. Stephen Jam ->
So Many Roads ## (TH)
Sugar Magnolia/SSDD (SM)
ENC:
Ripple $$ (TH) >
US Blues %%
@ – With an “Apache” (Jerry Lordan) Tease (MB): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_(instrumental)
# – With a Terrapin Jam (may become a separate track), Ruben & Cherise Teases (TH) & an “Eleanor Rigby” (The Beatles) Tease (TH)
$ – With a Black Throated Wind Jam (may become a separate track)
% – Unfinished (no drum solo). Led Zeppelin Cover, not played since 2015-04-22 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, a gap of 79 shows
^ – First Time Played by Almost Dead, included lyrics
& – Not played since 2015-02-17 State Theater, Portland, ME, a gap of 84 shows
* – First Time Played by Almost Dead, included a short He’s Gone Jam at the beginning
+ – With a “Stranger Things” (Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein from the band Survive) tease (MB). Yes, the Netflix series Stranger Things.
@@ – With “The Simpsons Theme” (Danny Elfman) teases (SM & DD) & Terrapin Teases (TH & MB)
$$ – Not played since 2015-12-31 The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA, a gap of 42 shows
%% – Not played since 2013-01-26 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 100 shows. Dave broke a string on the Alembic & played his Gibson SG Bass for most of this.
## – I strongly feel that Tommy’s solo at the end of So Many Roads was a homage to Slash’s solo in the Guns N Roses version of Knocking on Heaven’s Door. However, the Box Score is a place for facts & that’s just my opinion man. 🙂
Want to see Joe Russo’s Almost Dead on the beach? Don’t miss their upcoming performance at the Fool’s Paradise event on March 31st and April 1st in St. Augustine, FL, with special guest keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will join hosts Lettuce and bands like The Floozies, The Motet, and more, with Antwaun Stanley and Oteil Burbridge as artists-at-large! More information can be found here.
[cover photo from 3/9/17 by Jeremy Gordon]