“I wish we could all live together,” Marco Benevento declared near the end of JRAD’s Saturday night performance at The Capitol Theatre. “We could all go out and see music together. We could all hang out, all day and all night together. Wouldn’t that be great? In peace and harmony, right? We could go out on the weekend and go to music festivals together.”

Not soon after, the band closed the night with a debut of “The Festival” by Chuck Berry and a rambunctious version of “I Know You Rider.”

Overall, the evening was filled with both frantic jams and tender ballads. The band took the stage at exactly 9 p.m., opening with the guaranteed good time of “Scarlet Begonias,” before jamming into a “Sugaree” that featured teases of both “Fire On The Mountain” and “I’m The Only One” by Melissa Etheridge. Set one also featured a debut of Phil Lesh’s “Pride of Cucamonga,” a track never played live by the original Grateful Dead. Set one was rounded out by “Playing in the Band.”

Set two featured almost twice as many songs as the first, opening with the Garcia/Hunter classic “Row Jimmy” that blend into a Tom Hamilton-led jam containing elements of “Playing in the Band” and “Terrapin Station.” “Terrapin” would appear more completely after a “Lady With A Fan” jam. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead then debuted another new cover, playing parts of Led Zeppelin’s “Your Time Is Gonna Come.” Later, they played Jerry Garcia’s signature solo song “Cats Under The Stars,” including a Benevento/Russo Duo jam.

The evenings encore of an extended Marco Benevento keyboard solo> “The Festival”> “I Know You Rider” had fans delighted, especially when the final song included elements of beloved Garcia ballad “Morning Dew.”

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will return to the Capitol Theatre tonight for their third and final performance.

See the full Saturday night setlist below:

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead
The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
1/13/2018

Set I: Scarlet Begonias> Sugaree @> Fire On The Mountain #> Good Lovin $> They Love Each Other %, Pride Of Cucamonga ^, Playing In The Band

Set II: Row Jimmy> Jam &> Lady With A Fan & +> Terrapin Station &> I Need A Miracle > Your Time Is Gonna Come ##> Ramble On Rose, Music Never Stopped $$, Cats Under The Stars%%> Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad ^^> We Bid You Goodnight &&

Enc: Marco Solo> The Festival **> I Know You Rider ++

Notes:

@: With an “I’m The Only One” (Melissa Ethridge) Tease & a Fire On the Mountain Tease (TH)

#: With Sugaree Lyrics (TH)

$: With a short Fire On the Mountain Jam

%: With a Shakedown Tease (Band)

^: First Time Played by Almost Dead. (JR)

&: With Playin & Terrapin Teases (TH)

+: With a Marco Solo

: with a “Dear Mr. Fantasy” (Traffic) tease (TH)

##: First Time Played by Almost Dead. JR vocals. Partial version of a Led Zeppelin cover, 1st verse & chorus were sung.

$$: With a Fire On the Mountain Tease (TH)

%%: With a “Duo Jam” and a “Hey Bulldog” (The Beatles) Jam (Band)

^^: With Mountain Jam Teases (TH & then MB)

&&: Traditional instrumental ending to GDTRFB, with a short “Cold Rain & Snow” Jam (Band)

**: Chuck Berry cover, First Time Played by Almost Dead. (MB)

++: With a Morning Dew Tease (TH)