Last night, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead headlined the first in a series of socially distanced shows at New Haven, CT’s Westville Music Bowl. Though JRAD filmed three crowdless livestreams tied to LOCKN’ at Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre in October, yesterday’s performance marked the outfit’s first performance in front of an audience since February 23. 2020.

JRAD’s first set opened where the second set from that last proper concert–which also took place at the Cap–left off, with a take on “Not Fade Away.” The show, which went forward in the pouring rain, then continued with ” Rubin and Cherise,” “Minglewood Blues,” “Sugaree,” “The Wheel” and a first-set closing “Touch of Grey.”

The band’s second set began off with an appropriate version of Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” a few days after the Bard’s 80th birthday, and then segued into some 1980s Dead with “Foolish Heart” and “Help on the Way.” The quintet moved from “Help on the Way” into a take on “Slipknot!” that included a bit of The Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog”–with Russo on vocals–and then back into “Hell in a Bucket.” Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” and “Ripple” brought the set to a close, before the ensemble returned for a take on Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s “Fuckin’ Up” featuring Chris Harford on vocals. (Harford plays with the members of JRAD in Band of Changes and has performed some Neil Young selections with the group on occasion.) JRAD closed their Feb 23. 2020 show with the same Young original, featuring Jimmy Fallon on vocals.

JRAD will return to New Haven this evening.