Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to their home court of Brooklyn Bowl last night for night four of the 2017 “Fall Ball,” and with them, they brought the ferocious improvisational style that has become their trademark. It was a night filled with wild and aggressive playing, crazy teases, intense energy, crowd sing-a-longs, birthday cake, and an out-of-left-field Radiohead cover that sent the Bowl into a frenzy of confusion and excitement. There’s a lot of hyperbole surrounding the almighty Almost Dead, however, it must be noted that the band continues to deliver incredible performance after incredible performance with an unmatched ease and comfort.

The Fall Ball is the Autumnal cousin of the annual Freak’s Ball, organized by the famous Freaks List of New York. The Almost Dead originally formed as a one-off band for the 2013 edition of the long-running Freaks Ball, and the band holds a special relationship with the group of fans who helped mold them. That relationship was evident last night, as the crowd was filled with custom t-shirts celebrating guitar player, vocalist, and Freaks List favorite Scott Metzger, who was celebrating his 40th birthday. The “Wolfpack / Metzger 40” t-shirts were a surprise for Metzger, and the crowd took delight all night as he surely noticed more and more people around him grinning widely as the joke was revealed.

The band’s homage to Metzger’s fourth decade was more straightforward: they opened the night with forty consecutive hits, building the tension until dropping into Bob Weir‘s political classic “Throwing Stones.” This was a raucous version, led by Metzger of course, that was punctuated by a pulsating rhythm and lots of ambitious jamming. The band wove at least three unique sections of improvisation into the fabric of the song. Joe Russo showed off his octopus-esque abilities on the drumkit throughout, moving around the kit with ease as he anchored the band during the impressive opening segment. The improv was so deep that the seamless transition into “Jack Straw” was a surprise to many in the room. The crowd howled with excitement as they caught on, and they sang along loudly to the song’s opening verse. The energy in the room was already palpable and tremendous, a sure sign that this would be a special evening throughout. Sometimes a show just has “it,” and “it” became apparent during this emotional and energetic, Tom Hamilton-led “Jack Straw”.

With the opening two songs lasting almost twenty-five minutes, “Jack Straw” eventually fizzled out into a “Duo Jam,” led by THE Duo themselves, Russo and keyboardist/pianist/organist extraordinaire, Marco Benevento. The two have used their off days between Fall Ball shows to sneak in some rehearsal time for their upcoming performance as the Benevento/Russo Duo at this month’s Suwanee Hulaween festival, and they seemingly couldn’t help but slip some of their hard work into this JRAD set. Marco shined brightly here, showcasing his diverse talents and enthusiastic playing while taking the whole crowd on a journey. He went so out there that even his bandmates seemed to be lost in the woods, but the confusion didn’t last for long, as a huge smile emerged on Marco’s face, and out of his roundabout playing came the melody of the plodding ballad “Ramble On Rose.”

Next up, the band busted out the ultra-rare “Weather Report Suite Prelude” and “Part 1,” both played for only the second time ever, following a performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN back in April 2015, exactly 100 shows ago. While the band eschewed “Part 2,” the rarity was still appreciated and filled with lots of layered improv, with Metzger taking on some interesting parts that led the band into an impromptu jam on “My Sharona” by The Knack. The band moved into “Black Throated Wind,” using the song as a landing pad before eventually leaving the song unfinished as they meandered their way into “Scarlett Begonias.” The euphoric classic was met with open arms by the Bowl faithful, and the band returned their energy with a fun take on the fan-favorite.

A few times throughout the first set, the band centered themselves around a swampy vibe that seemed to keep popping back up again and again. Well, to close out set one, the band dropped into “West L.A. Fadeaway,” and all of a sudden the swampy vibes made sense. The Bowl was filled with the song’s funky feel and downright dirty groove, the perfect way to end a high-octane first set filled with highlights. Before walking off stage, Russo encouraged the audience to sing “Happy Birthday” to Metzger, and they sang it loudly as a cake emerged so he could blow out his candles and make a birthday wish. All in all, the band played for almost two full hours to open up this show, and the set break provided a much-needed breather for band and crowd alike.

JRAD returned from their set break with a slow jam that built up into the bluesy “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.” The song was a bit of an energetic let down from the roaring first set, but the band made up for that with a wild, jazzy piece of improv that wound its way into one of the band’s most exciting segments: “Help On The Way” -> “Slipknot!”. For a band known for their wild jams, “Help” into “Slip” is one of their crown jewels, consistently setting benchmarks for the band. Tonight’s version was no different, whipping into many different directions as Russo continued his dominance of the kit. Dave Dreiwitz was on fire throughout the whole show, but he, in particular, turned it on during “Help” and never let down for the rest of the show, dropping bass-bomb after bass-bomb, redefining what it means to “take a walk” up and down the scales of his bass.

The band was loose and aggressive, and they built “Slipknot!” to a remarkable peak that dropped directly into the biggest surprise of the night: a spot on cover of “The Bends” by Radiohead. The song has only been performed once before by the band–on Halloween night last year–and the audience seemed divided into two categories: those who were ecstatic, and those who were confused and didn’t realize what was going on. By the time Tom Hamilton starting crooning the song’s chorus, the whole room was in sync again, a euphoric vibe washing over the audience as JRAD crushed the Radiohead classic and moseyed their way into a huge version of the reggae-tinged “Estimated Prophet.”

When Katie Jacoby quietly walked on stage, many in the audience knew what to expect. She has lent her talents to JRAD before, bringing her flying-v electric fiddle to several previous shows at the Bowl, and often joining the improvisational fray with ease. She fit right in as the band worked up “Tennessee Jed,”  giving the bluegrass-tinged song a much-needed twang, and she stayed on stage for the remainder of the set. The jam was intense, and Jacoby harnessed that tension with some dissonant, out-there playing. The band clearly loved what she was doing, and Russo signaled for her to continue building the madness. When the band finally landed on a calm moment, Metzger included a quick tease of “China Cat Sunflower” before building up the introduction to “Truckin’.”

“Truckin'” served as the tease-centric highlight of the second set. “Cryptical Envelopment,” “Bird Song,” “Easy Wind,” and “The Eleven” were all clearly quoted alongside “China Cat,” and I’m sure that more teases were in there if one listens closely enough. Dreiwitz was absolutely remarkable during the long improvisation, linking up with Benevento for some really special moments. “Truckin'” transitioned into a jam based around “Born Cross-Eyed,” the perfect rhythmic blast-off needed to cap off the non-stop second set. The band took a quick encore break, returning to the stage for a fun take on “Tell Me Momma” by Bob Dylan, which they performed for only the second time ever.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead is an amazing and captivating live band, and they once again showcased that at Brooklyn Bowl during night four of the Fall Ball. Many have claimed that so many shows at one venue can become repetitive, but the fact remains that each and every Joe Russo’s Almost Dead show is compelling and special, and Brooklyn Bowl is where you can find the band at their most loose and comfortable. Last night’s show was just one of many examples of the greatness that this band can achieve when at the top of their game. JRAD returns to Brooklyn Bowl tonight for their fifth and penultimate show of the Fall Ball.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 10/12/2017

I: Throwing Stones @ -> Jackstraw -> Duo Jam # -> Ramble On Rose -> Weather Report Suite Prelude $ -> Weather Report Suite Part 1 $ % -> Black Throated Wind ^ -> Scarlet Begonias -> West LA Fadeaway

II: Jam -> Good Morning Little Schoolgirl * > Jam -> Help On The Way -> Slipknot! -> The Bends + -> Estimated Prophet -> Tennessee Jed @@ -> Truckin’ ## -> Born Cross-Eyed Jam @@
E: Tell Me Momma $$

@ – Began with 40 Hits for Scott’s 40th Birthday
# – With a Marco Solo
$ – Not played by Almost Dead since 2015-04-22 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, a gap of 100 shows (2nd Time Played)
% – With a “My Sharona” (The Knack) Jam
^ – Unfinished
& – Sung by the Crowd
* – Not played by Almost Dead since 2016-10-06 at Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, a gap of 42 shows (2nd Time Played)
+ – Radiohead cover, not played by Almost Dead since 2015-10-31 at The Ritz, Raleigh, NC a gap of 71 shows (2nd Time Played)
@@ – With Katie Jacoby on Violin
## – With Katie Jacoby on Violin, with teases of New Speedway, Cryptical, Bird Song, China Cat, Easy Wind & The Eleven and probably more
$$ – Bob Dylan Cover, Second Time Played by Almost Dead

[photo by @handisnax]