reCAP :: Joe Russo's Almost Dead :: 2016.01.02
Joe Russo's Almost Dead goes for broke all the time, every time -- so much that its name should probably be something more like "Dead or Bust." Every show they've played is a high-speed getaway: you know they're going to make it, but you're still jolted every time one of those massive tension-and-release jams they've mastered comes thisclose to falling apart, and then clicks into place with Swiss Watch-like precision. The crowd goes wild. Trust, and you'll be rewarded, not to mention thrilled.
For both the still-need-convincing and the lovers of this band who know what's meant when a JRAD show is described as "powerhouse," this final night of the 2015-2016 New Year's run had it all, from psychedelic sprawl-outs to teases, in-jokes, throwaways, good-time Americana, hard-pounding rock 'n' roll and astounding displays of improv, chops and delicious adventure.
JRAD works not only because its five compadres -- Russo, Marco Benevento, Dave Drewitz, Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger -- so clearly love the power and feel of this music, but also because their collective personality outshines their fealty to the Grateful Dead catalog. They salute the Dead orthodoxy as faithfully as any other national touring band playing it these days, but they're decidedly not pious -- they're not afraid to prod, knead and slap it around a little bit. Of course "St. Stephen" should drop, almost as if someone cut the power to the building, into a haunted "Space" before winding its way back through the "St. Stephen" moves with several other curious detours along the way. Of course a molten "Viola Lee Blues" should give in to the natural tendency of Russo and Benevento to go off on a Duo tangent, and that would indeed be "Big Whopper" just before a quick jam on "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," just before the rip-roaring return to "Viola." Of course birthday boy Dreiwitz should belt out "Alabama Getaway," and of course his parents' dixieland jazz band, the Speakeasy Jazz Babies, should unexpectedly open the show.
This was the kind of three-hour-plus night of music where you could pick out virtually any passage from either set and be accurate calling it a highlight. To these ears, what stood out was the opening stretch from "Alligator" into "Bertha" -- Marco pounding those piano keys into submission -- into "Throwing Stones," which is one of this band's strongest tunes. This one had dazzling guitar excursions, a spooky first jam, a Motorhead-like second jam that began as a sinister stomp, and peak after peak after peak, with the audience howling its approval and howling louder as it collectively realized the band was just getting warmed up.
Joe, Marco, Dave, Tom and Scott have been clear about JRAD's humble origins and surprisingly extended life -- no one intended this to go on nearly three years and one superlative show after another. All signs point to a wind-down as the respective members return or go on to other bands, and you have to admire their discipline in leaving the JRAD-crazy audience wanting more. But man, do you want them back soon.
Set 1: Alligator > Bertha > Throwing Stones, Alabama Getaway, Cumberland Blues, Brown Eyed Women, One More Saturday Night, Happy Birthday to Dave Dreiwitz
Set 2: Jam > The Wheel > Jack Straw, St. Stephen > Space > St. Stephen > GDTRFB Jam > St. Stephen > Viola Lee Blues > Big Whopper > Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy > Viola Lee Blues, Candyman, Uncle John's Band
Encore: The Weight