Joe Russo’s Almost Dead kicked off a four-night jaunt with a show at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium on Thursday night. In a nod to the late John Perry Barlow, the group got started with a rendition of “Cassidy,” a tune that Barlow penned with his longtime friend and collaborator Bob Weir. Barlow, a writer and political activist who co-wrote dozens of songs with Weir over the decades, passed away last week at the age of 70.

The Wake of the Flood number “Here Comes Sunshine” was up next before the band moved on to Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” a cover that was a staple of the Grateful Dead’s live repertoire. Guitarist Tom Hamilton then took over vocals for the JRAD favorite “Reuben & Cherise,” a tune that the tribute act has now played a lot more often than the Dead ever did (30 times to the Dead’s four). That number gave way to one of the night’s most exciting moments, an appearance by Nashville resident and occasional JRAD collaborator Nicole Atkins, who handled the vocals on the quintet’s second-ever take on “Doin’ That Rag”. Finally, Hamilton returned to the mic to wrap up the first set with a cover of rockabilly pioneer Dorsey Burnette’s “Magnificent Sanctuary Band”.

JRAD opened their second stanza with a rousing “Eyes of the World” that flowed seamlessly into “The Eleven” after an extended dive into improvisational territory. The music never stopped as the band transitioned to a “Feel Like A Stranger” that eventually jammed its way into the tried-and-true “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” combo. After all of that was said and done, JRAD wrapped up the set with the psychedelic time signature madness of “The Other One” before returning to close out the night with a “Shakedown Street” encore.

“Eyes of the World” > “The Eleven”

You can check out a photo gallery from Christian Stewart, below.

Setlist: JRAD | War Memorial Auditorium | Nashville, TN | 2/15/2018 

Set One: Jam @@ -> Cassidy ## -> Here Come Sunshine @ -> Not Fadeaway # -> Ruben & Cherise $ -> Doin That Rag % (NA), Magnificent Sanctuary Band ^

Set Two: Eyes Of The World & -> The Eleven * -> Feel Like A Stranger -> China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider > The Other One

Encore: Shakedown Street

@@ – With GDTRFB teases (Band)
## – With New Speedway Boogie Teases (Band)
@ – With a “Fearless” (Pink Floyd) Tease (MB)
# – With an “I Want Candy” (Bow Wow Wow) Jam, A “Simpsons Theme” (Danny Elfman) Tease (SM) & Throwin Stones Teases (Band)
$ – With a Terrapin Station Tease (Band) & maybe something else?
% – First time played by Almost Dead since 2016-01-10, Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, a gap of 79 shows. NA is Nicole Atkins on Lead Vocals.
^ – First time played by Almost Dead since 2016-10-08, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 55 shows. (It was played at the Tiger Auction Benefit last May – not a JRAD Show.)
& – With a DD bass solo & the “1973 Ending” changes
* – With a “Duo Jam”
+ – With a “Fly Like an Eagle” (Steve Miller) Tease (MB), maybe an “Axel F Theme” (Herbie Hancock) Tease (SM) & unknown teases from (MB & SM) that I’ll update if I figure out.