It’s only February, but a clear pattern is starting to appear in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s 2024 setlists. The new songs entering their repertoire are “Almost” bands other than the Grateful Dead. JRAD’s second run of the year through Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA was once again full of well received bust outs of songs far from the Dead spectrum.
The trio of shows kicked off at a jam-packed Fillmore in Charlotte. A spacy, electronic jam morphed into Cassidy to get set one started. The night featured full throttle versions of The Wheel, Feels Like a Stranger, The Music Never Stropped and I Know You Rider. The crowd had to wait until the encore for the first debut of the weekend. Tom Hamilton’s ebullient take on John Lennon’s Instant Karma!.
After a quick trip south to The Eastern in Atlanta, the weekend hit another level for the final two shows. Night two featured one of the meatiest setlists in a long time with too many highlights to cover. One of the tops was a ‘73 GD version of Eyes of the World that let each band member unload mind (and crowd) melting leads that rattled the foundation of the venue. While there were no official debuts, the band offered a very clear tease of ZZ Top’s Waitin’ for the Bus.
The band picked up exactly where they left off for the final night at The Eastern. The first set featured a Peggy-O with some of Hamilton’s finest vocals in a long time. After that, things hit a fever pitch with apoplectic versions of Shakedown St and They Love Each Other, JRAD shook things up by inviting vocalist Alecia Chakour for the debut of River Deep, Mountain High. Chakour stayed on stage offering a vocal assist to Scott Metzger on the set closing Good Lovin’.
The breakouts and pace never slowed down the rest of the night. The band found the full version and debut of Waitin’ for the Bus in the second set before welcoming Chakour back for a double bust out encore of Georgia on My Mind and Baby Don’t Do It.
The band has a big gap in its schedule allowing each member to concentrate on their other musical projects. They will play the Texas Eclipse Festival in April and their annual New Orleans jazz fest shows in May.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Setlists-
Charlotte 2/8/24
Set one- Cassidy, Catfish John, Touch of Grey, The Wheel, Uncle John’s Band, I Need a Miracle
Set two- Tangled Up in Blue, Feels Like a Stranger, Black Peter, The Music Never Stopped, Scarlet Begonias, I Know You Rider E: Instant Karma!
Atlanta 2/9/24
Set One- Tennessee Jed, Man Smart, Woman Smarter, China Cat Sunflower, Cats Under the Stars, Maggie’s Farm, Viola Lee Blues
Set two- Foolish Heart, Minglewood Blues, It Hurts Me Too, Reuben and Cherise, Eyes of the World, All Along the Watchtower E: Stella Blue
Atlanta 2/10/24
Set One- My Brother Esau, Peggy-O, Truckin’, Shakedown St, They Love Each Other, River Deep, Mountain High, Good Lovin’
Set Two- Here Comes Sunshine, The Other One, St Stephen, Waitin” for the Bus, Candyman, Let It Grow E: Georgia (On My Mind) Baby Don’t You Do It
Cover Photo Courtesy Trent Burkholder