Just a few years ago, a band was born from “The Freaks List,” an NYC-based email list that focuses heavily on the jam scene. The Freaks throw an annual event that takes place at the Brooklyn Bowl, and they requested specifically that Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, and Scott Metzger switch gears from their usual Led Zeppelin tribute (Bustle In Your Hedgerow) to perform the music of the Grateful Dead. Last night, everything came full circle as those four musicians, plus Tom Hamilton, played their 100th performance as Joe Russo’s Almost Dead.
Not ones to let the milestone go uncelebrated, the band took the stage and promptly counted out 100 beats instead of the usual five that precede the classic “Beat It On Down The Line.” 100 beats for 100 shows! The crowd went wild with anticipation, and you can catch the celebratory moment in this video below.
The hits kept coming in the first set with “Bertha,” “Mama Tried,” a “Help On The Way > Slipknot!” that settled into a “Throwing Stones Jam,” only to find its way into “New Minglewood Blues” to keep the music flowing. The band brought out “Ramble On Rose” before closing their set with their first ever original, dubbed “Keeping It Simple.” What other band can debut their first original on their 100th show?
Set two started with a funky cut of “The Music Never Stopped,” before launching into a jam on Hendrix’s “Third Stone From The Sun” for the first time, ultimately returning to “Music Never Stopped’ for a raucous set opener. Watch below, courtesy of the band and nugs.tv.
They continued the set with a big “Wharf Rat” tease” before eventually settling into “Row Jimmy,” and the hits kept coming with “Crazy Fingers” > “Estimated Prophet,” “Jack Straw,” and a show closing “Morning Dew.” The best part: there’s still five more nights of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead to come!
Check out the full setlist below, as posted by band manager Peter Costello.
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 3/10/17
BIODTL @ (SM)
Bertha # (TH)
Mama Tried (SM) ->
Help On The Way (TH) ->
Slipknot! ->
Throwin’ Stones Jam $ ->
New Minglewood Blues % (SM)
Ramble On Rose (TH)
Keeping It Simple ^ (All)
Set Two (10:16PM – 11:42PM)
Music Never Stopped & (SM) ->
Third Stone From The Sun Jam * ->
Music Never Stopped Reprise + >
Row Jimmy @@ (TH) ->
Crazy Fingers (TH) ->
Estimated Prophet (SM) ->
Jack Straw (SM/TH)
Morning Dew (TH)
@ – 100 Beat – Beat It On Down The Line
# – With a “Shortnin’ Bread” (James Whitcomb Riley) tease (MB)
$ – First Time Played By Almost Dead
% – With Throwin’ Stones Teases / Jams (Band)
^ – Almost Dead Original, Written by JR & TH, First Time Played
& – With an “Ode to Billy Joe” (Bobbie Gentry) Tease (SM)
* – Jimi Hendrix original, First Time Played By Almost Dead
+ – Not played by Almost Dead since Suwannee Hulaween, 10.29.15, a gap of 49 shows
@@ – Proceeded by a significant Wharf Rat Tease / Jam – may become a separate track based on length. Also with a Throwin’ Stones Tease (SM)
I feel like I heard “Dear Prudence” (The Beatles) teased a bunch thru the night, maybe for sure in Morning Dew? There was also a “Fly Like An Eagle” (Steve Miller Band) some where in the first set… Let me know what you heard.
And as always, let me know what I missed.
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.
[Photos by Jeremy Gordon]
