After focusing on more song-oriented music for three years, the Benevento-Russo Duo seems to have embraced its improvisational past. The Duos recent San Francisco shows consisted of almost completely improvised sets, and the paired performers recently invited several old friends onstage during Gainesville, FLs Real Big Del festival. After the Stanton Moore Trios set was cancelled due to stage issues caused by a storm earlier in the day, Russo and Benevento invited Moore and his current bandmates

Robert Walter and Will Bernard out on an extended
improv-heavy performance in a covered barn on the festivals site.
According to a post on the groups MySpace page, Being served an entire Lemon Grove, Marco and Joe decided to create some mischief in a barn at the Real Big Deal festival in Gainesville when it looked like all hope for a tour-closing festival set was lost. While commiserating with old friends and frequent collaborators, Stanton Moore,
Robert Walter and Will Bernard, the guys hatched a plan to ensure that the crowd got
the show they paid to see … and then some. Finding a sand-filled barn and
some rain tarps that doubled as ‘carpets’), the guys set up shop as a five
piece – Joe Russo and Stanton Moore on Drums, Marco Benevento and Robert
Walter on dueling organs, and Will Bernard on guitar in the thick of it all.
No PA, no problem, as the ‘band’ proceeded to lay waste to the Real Big Deal
attendees with 2+ hours of musical madness.
Benevento and Russo will likely explore similar territory at Philadelphias Trocadero on September 26 when they perform as a quintet with Eric Krasno and Skerik. The Duos next headlining performance will take place at New Yorks Spiegeltent on September 23.