Joe Russo’s Almost Dead returned to Perinton Amphitheater last night for their second of two nights just outside of Rochester, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s passing with another phenomenal show – combining dense improvisation with a handful of deeper setlist cuts.
The night began with the quintet’s trademark laid-back intro jam, keyboardist Marco Benevento getting things started with some textures courtesy of his Rheem combo organ. Guitarist Tom Hamilton entered the fray with some punchy MuTron work as the energy rose a bit, Benevento moving onto organ and Rhodes as drummer Joe Russo upped the intensity. Guitarist Scott Metzger led the rest of the band into some “Feel Like A Stranger” teases, hinting at the possibility of that being the opener – but the band continued to jam patiently before beautifully dropping into “Reuben and Cherise.”
The beginning of the song felt like a beautiful release after nearly ten minutes of opening jam, Hamilton leading through the vocals before hitting into a relaxed jam space. Whereas lots of JRAD jams tend to have one of the musicians soloing or clearly leading, this “Reuben” developed in a very democratic motif, some great interplay happening between guitar and keys as they patiently worked through the space. Hamilton eventually pushed his way to the front and weaved together a massive peak, Russo capitalizing on the burst of energy and transitioning into a more percussive and driving space alongside bassist Dave Dreiwitz.
Seamlessly, the band dropped into “Beat It On Down The Line,” tearing through the song with a fantastic “Tennessee Jed”-infused solo from Metzger before a rare break in between songs took place.
“China Cat Sunflower” was tapped next, following a pretty standard path to its jam space and even hinting at a segue into its usual companion “I Know You Rider,” Benevento leading a stripped-down and major-key jam with some “Scarlet Begonias” teases peppered in among his beautiful piano work. The upbeat vibe continued as JRAD segued into Tom Petty’s “Time To Move On,” played for just the fifth time in Almost Dead history – and it fit like a glove out of “China Cat.”
The energy rose once again as a clean transition was executed into “Big River,” the second song in the cowboy category getting tapped in the same set and giving the band another opportunity to flex their chops through a round of playful solos.
Descending into another transitional jam from there, the tone turned menacing as Benevento leaned into thick combo organ textures again, Hamilton joining in on the vibe shift with some wild and bendy guitar. Dreiwitz and Russo began to hammer things in HARD, teeing up the eventual crash into “The Other One” to release the pent-up tension. The real star of this set-closing jam was the lengthy Duo jam, Benevento and Russo showing off their decades of musical chemistry with some whirlwind and virtuosic play – my jaw was on the floor for the duration of this segment as the two musicians sported ear-to-ear grins. Smashing back into “Other One,” JRAD brought the relatively short hour-length first set to a close on a wild high note.
Returning for the second frame, the band began in a shuffling groove in a moody vibe, Benevento teeing things up with a thick bed of Rhodes. Shifting up into a pleasant melodic space, Hamilton took a nice solo before leading the band into “Here Comes Sunshine.” Metzger took the lead on the ensuing jam, throwing in some nice “China Cat” teases before shredding through a peak, the band nicely touching back into the “HCS” form before venturing back out into uncharted territory. Increasing in energy and intensity, Hamilton pushed the rest of the band into some aggressive Hendrix-like play akin to “Purple Haze,” which Russo used as an opportunity to pull off a beautiful segue into “New Minglewood Blues.”
Metzger growled out the lyrics before Benevento attacked the first solo section, turning his Rhodes’ distortion pedal up to the max to make it almost sound like a guitar. Keeping the Hendrix-esque pounding going, a full-band “Here Comes Sunshine” tease led to more strong guitar soloing before wrapping up the song.
Without stopping, Russo hit into a new vein of musical inspiration, this time opting for a major-key vibe. Benevento swirled on some hypnotic tremolo-heavy Rhodes as some playful interplay took place, building beautifully (and of course, patiently) into the beginning of “Cassidy.”
Some great back-and-forth was imminent during the first solo section, the two guitarists and keyboardist passing the baton to one another seamlessly. A great mellow vibe developed out of the last verse, Russo leading the slow-down as the band kept things in a major zone. Dreiwitz kept things beautifully anchored as Metzger produced some strong leads, gradually informing the imminent arrival of “Jack Straw.”
Benevento tore through the first solo section, the explosive build leading to some extensive “Cassidy” teasing after the second verse. Hamilton decided against a straight solo for his turn in the second half, leading the band into a minimalist space as he produced some hypnotic waves of feedback from his guitar. This jam never quite lost its sense of “Jack Straw,” but was a really amazing departure from the standard performance of this song – and made the re-entry and absolutely VOLCANIC peak even more impactful.
Cooling down with a beautiful Garcia tribute in “Mission in the Rain,” the band went back into Bob Weir material with “Truckin’,” the high-energy jam featuring some hints at “Cryptical Envelopment” and “The Other One” as the song so often does, as well as teases of “Bird Song” and “Here Comes Sunshine” by Metzger. That easily could have brought the set to a close, but Hamilton led the band through a heartfelt rendition of “Dear Prudence” to cap the second frame – not quite the weight of Friday’s “Morning Dew,” but it was damn close.
For the encore, JRAD once again tapped a non-Dead tune – in this case, a perfect call for “The Weight.” The members traded vocal duties on each verse and beautifully traded melodic solos in the middle section of the song, putting a perfect cap on two nights in upstate New York.
JRAD hits Jay Peak, Vermont tonight to close out the weekend – with three nights in Colorado just on the horizon that I can’t wait to attend!
I loved this show … and a great review that makes me appreciate it more. :)