Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Open California Run with First Complete Cover of “Lay Down Sally”
On Thursday evening, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead arrived on the West Coast for the first in a string of regional concerts that picked up at the Channel 24 Venue in Sacramento, Calif. As expected from the Grateful Dead cover band, the concert consisted of borrowed material and associated covers, including the complete delivery of Eric Clapton’s “Lay Down Sally.” While the Grateful Dead never covered the jam vehicle, the Jerry Garcia Band played it over 50 times in the 1990s. Notably, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead has teased the cover, but this was the first time it received complete coverage.
While the night’s performance of “Lay Down Sally” did not emerge until the concert’s encore, the ensemble performed stretched-out versions of classics during the first and second sets. Part one consisted of the Sonny Boy Williamson original, turned early adopted Dead cover, “Good Morning, School Girl.” The tempo shifted through the arrival of barnburner “Bertha,” and scorched into “St. Stephen.” Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” took the set’s mid-spot, before “Scarlet Begonias” and “I Know You Rider,” both of which were snubbed by the miss of their sister songs.
Set two brought out Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” and JGB’s “Cats Under the Stars,” before a dive into Johnny Cash’s “Big River.” The group picked up “Saint of Circumstance” before bookending set one’s “I Know You Rider” through the completion of “China Cat Sunflower.” Ultimately, the band left their Golden State audience with traditional “Samson and Delilah” before taking the stage one final time for the evening’s encore of “Lay Down Sally.”
Up until last night, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead had not submitted a full cover of the Clapton original; instead, they sampled it by way of teases performed on June 14, 2019, in “Cumberland Blues,” and most recently emerging during “Silvio” on September 11, 2025. The band returns to the stage tonight at the Fox Theater in Oakland, Calif. Tickets remain on sale.
