Joe Russo's "Almost Dead" Re-Charged My Soul
I am high on life after attending a wild 2 night Joe Russo’s Almost Dead run at Westville Music Bowl in New Haven over the weekend! It was my first time to visit both New Haven and the brand new music venue which used to be an outdoor tennis bowl. I am trying to get my live music fix in the next few weekends before football season starts and all hell breaks loose at Barstool Sports.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead turns Grateful Dead music into an up tempo dance party. These guys are unbelievably talented. I have seen them in Dallas before and had my eye on this two night run for awhile. The weather was perfect both nights around 68 degrees and vibes were high at the shows. The venue felt intimate and there was plenty of space to move around and dance on two beautiful summer evenings.
The band started at 6:30 PM sharp on Friday night. As I was walking in, I heard Friend of the Devil which opened the show. I knew right then that it was freaking on the next 2 nights. The 1st set was highlighted by a rocking Jack Straw as the sun set in New Haven.
JRAD played one of the best Altheas I have ever heard early in the 2nd set which was one of the highlights of the weekend. I was bummed Big Cat was not there to see it as he would have loved it! The other big highlight of the 2nd set was Box of Rain which I have grown to love the last couple of years. The vibes and energy were both off the charts all night and I was thrilled I made the trip.
Saturday night I walked into the show to the Bob Dylan cover of Stuck Inside of Mobile with The Memphis Blues Again. Once again the weather was perfect. JRAD then played a monster version of West LA Fadeaway that was the highlight of the 1st set before closing it with Bird Song.
The final set of the weekend was highlighted by an incredible version of Throwin’ Stones which included a massive jam mid way through. JRAD closed the 2nd set with the best version of Terrapin Station I have ever seen. It was over 20 minutes long and they took that song to a place I have not been. I definitely feel like letting my inspiration flow after hearing this song!
JRAD encored a rocking Sugar Magnolia to end the 2 night run and send all the Deadheads home happy. The shows were so good that in another life I would try to follow more of their tour. I definitely feel more energized writing this blog at work on Monday after the shows and am ready to get back to work and after it in the gym.
I want to give a huge compliment to the Westville Music Bowl. This was my first time to check out the new outdoor music venue and I could not have been more impressed. I met the head of marketing and the booking agent for the venue at set break on Friday and they could not have been nicer to me. They are booking fantastic bands if you are into the jam band scene and I could not recommend checking it out more! Upcoming superstar Billy Strings is playing there next weekend and Trey Anastasio Band has a Sunday night show there in mid September.
Follow the venue on Twitter and IG @WestvilleMusicBowl.
I have also been enjoying following the Phish Tour which started last week in Arkansas and caught fire at Oak Mountain Friday night by Birmingham. Phish then rocked Alpharetta near Atlanta both Saturday and Sunday nights even playing an over 30 minute Tweezer early in 2nd set Sunday night. My next big show run is the Phish 3 nighter on the beach in Atlantic City Aug 13-15th and I can’t freaking wait! I am getting a good response to tweeting about Phish and Widespread Panic Tours on Twitter and will keep more content coming.
I have also been enjoying seeing some Sup Fellas Merch at the shows. You can get a shirt here.