Joe Russo’s Almost Dead were slated to kick off a two-night run at New York’s Pier 17 last night. However, both shows were cancelled due to an incoming Nor’easter that shutdown most outdoor live-music events throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions this weekend.
The New York-bred Grateful Dead project had already arrived at Pier 17 and started to soundcheck when they learned their show could not proceed as planned, so the quintet decided to stage a free pop-up show outside the venue instead. JRAD setup in front of the concert space’s street-level box office and performed from 5:23-6:52pm, a “gentleman’s 90,” in Joe Russo’s words, for fans who had already made their way to Pier 17. The extended set kicked off with “Scarlet Begonias,” before segueing into the Bob Dylan/Robert Hunter collaboration “Silvio,” Jerry Garcia Band’s “Ruben & Cherise” and The Rascals’ “Good Lovin.” The ensemble paused briefly and then jumped into “Shakedown Street,” Dylan’s “All Along Watchtower,” “Slipknot!,” “Help on the Way,” the rest of “Slipknot!” and “Franklin's Tower.” From there, JRAD closed the impromptu performance with a segue from “Feel Like A Stranger” into “Terrapin Station,” before encoring with “I Know You Rider.”
As always, the group dotted their show with teases. Keyboardist Marco Benevento included a bit of Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” during “Ruben & Cherise,” guitarist Tom Hamilton teased The Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” during the second “Slipknot!” and he also riffed on “Brown-Eyed Women” during “Feel Like A Stranger.” Hamilton later weaved in some of “Morning Dew” and a Doors nod during “I Know You Rider.”
JRAD will return to the stage for a show at Madison, WI’s The Sylvee on Thursday, October 1.
