Joe Russo’s Almost Dead kicked off its 2025 touring year with its annual return to the group’s home away from home at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. For the Grateful Dead tribute act’s first two shows of the new year on Friday and Saturday, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead paid tribute to two critical yet vastly different creative innovators: director David Lynch and guitarist Link Wray.
The day before JRAD opened its Cap Theatre run on Friday, the world learned of the passing of iconic film director David Lynch. From his haunting 1977 feature debut Eraserhead through the groundbreaking 1990s TV series Twin Peaks and latter-day peak Mulholland Drive, Lynch conjured dreamlike visions of communities where nightmarish darkness lingers beneath wholesome all-American exteriors. Through his surrealist fantasies, Lynch challenged viewers by subverting the notion that stories have unified conclusions or answers. In a similar way that the Grateful Dead experimented musically, Lynch pushed the boundaries of film and network television to expand the creative capacity of generations of artists to come.
So it was fitting, then, that Marco Benevento should honor the late visionary filmmaker with a solo rendition of Angelo Badalamenti‘s beautifully unnerving theme for Twin Peaks‘ doomed protagonist Laura Palmer to start Friday’s encore. Composer Badalamenti curated a lifelong collaboration with Lynch beginning with the director’s major breakthrough in 1986’s Blue Velvet. For the next quarter century, Badalementi’s eerie instrumentals gave sonic texture to Lynch’s visions and further engulfed audiences in David’s fantasies. Badalamenti passed in 2022 of natural causes at age 85, and LCD Soundsystem honored him with a cover of the main Twin Peaks theme “Falling”.
Elsewhere in Friday’s show, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead dusted off Lefty Frizzell‘s folk standard “Long Black Veil” for the first time since December 2nd, 2022. The band’s first show of 2025 also saw the group dig deep into primal Dead classics “Alligator” and “The Other One”, and finish off the second set with an exploratory 20-minute “Let It Grow” ahead of the David Lynch tribute in the encore.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Laura Palmer’s Theme” (Angelo Badalamenti) > “Eyes Of The World” (Grateful Dead) >”Laura Palmer’s Theme” — 1/17/25
On Saturday, JRAD was back at The Cap for another night of Grateful Dead music. The energy was high in the first set, as Scott Metzger‘s bluesy “Hard To Handle” and a roaring take on Bob Dylan‘s Robert Hunter-assisted “Silvio” came barreling down the tracks into “Rubin and Cherise” for a highlight of the first frame. In the second set, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead didn’t let up with a high-velocity reading of ’60s Dead rarity “Mason’s Children” before “China Cat Sunflower” led into the band’s debut of “Juke Box Mama” by Link Wray.
Whereas David Lynch created cinematic puzzles for viewers to decipher—or not—in the 1950s Link Wray delivered a style so accessible it changed the face of rock music forever. Credited as the pioneer of the guitar power chord and early innovator of distortion on his landmark single “Rumble”, Link Wray paved the way for hard rock, heavy metal, punk, and every aggressive style that put as much emphasis on how you played as what you played. Midway through the second set, Metzger stepped to the mic and honored the late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer with the JRAD debut of “Juke Box Mama”. Saturday was a bluesy show through the very end as the band closed out the encore with another early Dead cover favorite, “Wake Up, Little Susie”.
Check out some videos from Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at The Capitol Theatre and find full-show audience recordings on Internet Archive. The band returns to The Cap tonight, January 19th, to finish off the run with a sold-out show. nugs.net subscribers can tune in for a complimentary livestream here. Not a nugs subscriber? Start with a seven-day free trial. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Tennessee Jed” (Grateful Dead) — 1/17/25
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “They Love Each Other” (Jerry Garcia) — 1/18/25
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Good Lovin'” (The Olympics) — 1/18/25
[Video: Steve_Avers]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Standing On The Moon” (Grateful Dead) — 1/18/25
[Video: lauren’s videos]
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — “Wake Up, Little Susie'” (Boudleaux Bryant) — 1/18/25
[Video: lauren’s videos]
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 1/17/25
Set One: Tennessee Jed, Alligator, Viola Lee Blues (Cannon’s Jug Stompers) [1], The Wheel [2] > Long Black Veil (Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin) [3]
Set Two: Crazy Fingers, The Other One, Here Comes Sunshine, Casey Jones, Ramble On Rose, Let It Grow
Encore: Laura Palmer’s Theme (Angelo Badalamenti) [4] > Eyes of the World > Laura Palmer’s Theme Reprise
[1] “China Cat Sunflower” tease
[2] “Loser” tease
[3] LTP 12/2/22
[4] FTP, Marco Benevento only
Setlist: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | The Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 1/18/25
Set One: They Love Each Other > Hard To Handle (Otis Redding) > Scarlet Begonias > Silvio (Bob Dylan) > Rubin And Cherise > Good Lovin’ (The Olympics)
Set Two: Althea > Mason’s Children > China Cat Sunflower [1] > Juke Box Mama (Link Wray) [2], Brown-Eyed Women > Playing in the Band > Standing on the Moon
Encore: Wake Up, Little Susie (Boudleaux Bryant)
[1] “Norwegian Wood” (The Beatles) tease
[2] FTP