Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Continues East Coast Tour

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead — featuring Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz, Benevento/Russo Duo keyboardist Marco Benevento and American Babies/Ghost Light guitarist Tom Hamilton — are making their East Coast tour this fall and winter. Already scheduled to visit Madison’s Sylvee on November 30 and Chicago Riviera Dec 1 and 2, they have added two additional dates to their run.

JRAD unveiled an original cover in their encore slot at Thursday night’s show in Charlotte – John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!,” perfectly fitting with this year marking 60 years since The Beatles made history by debuting on Ed Sullivan.

The band possesses an unerring knack for striking an effective balance between classic Dead songs such as Scarlet Begonias and Black Peter and lesser-known gems like Touch of Grey – their highest charting single. This balanced approach allowed the band to meet all fan bases, including those who remain steadfast Deadheads. Their energetic set flow kept things lively throughout the evening. Russo has long expressed his distaste for encore performances, yet the band managed to make archaic concert practice enjoyable by performing Marco Benevento’s boogie-woogie piano a cappella as their walk-out music. Although there were minor technical glitches throughout, everything ran smoothly with an enjoyable rendition of Bob Dylan’s “When the Ship Comes In.”