Photo: Cassidy Rose

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead took their talents to The Anthem in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, November 15. During their performance in the nation’s capital, the ensemble produced a potent statement by way of Woody Guthrie’s “All You Fascists,” which represented a first-time play for this collective, who covered the track that Billy Bragg/Wilco-adapted for Mermaid Avenue, Vol. II. The concert’s debut came four moves into the show, after a spacious “Loser,” Allman Brothers Band’s “Revival,” and Jerry Garcia’s “Cats Under the Stars.” 

The onset of the night’s debut could have been mistaken for “Lay Down Sally,” edging sonically on the Clapton composition before clapping into Guthrie’s grabbing lines. Place and proximity seemed to add value to its delivery, given Washington’s current political circus and its curve toward the far right. “All You Fascists” felt like a brazen protest against authoritarian motives and dictatorship dreams, which seemingly positioned ongoing disapproval of the presidency. 

“All You Fascists” was initially written by Guthrie as a form of disapproval, his response to economic exploitation and the continued hardships felt after the Great Depression and into WWII, with wealthy elites pedestalled above the vast majority of hard-working Americans. [Sound familiar?] Guthrie demonstrated his perspective with the phrase “This Machine Kills Fascists” painted across the wooden body of his acoustic guitar, one of many public moves that showcased his position on the subject. 

During Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s debut, they presented Guthrie’s lines: 

I’m gonna tell you fascists
You may be surprised
The people in this world
Are getting organized
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose

Race hatred cannot stop us
This one thing we know
Your poll tax and Jim Crow
And greed has got to go
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose.

All of you fascists bound to lose:
I said, all of you fascists bound to lose:
Yes sir, all of you fascists bound to lose:
You’re bound to lose! You fascists:
Bound to lose!

People of every color
Marching side to side
Marching ‘cross these fields
Where a million fascists dies
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose!

I’m going into this battle
And take my union gun
We’ll end this world of slavery
Before this battle’s won
You’re bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose!

The song has made a comeback in other circles as well, covered by groups like the Sam Grisman Project and others, who are using their voices for good and speaking out against single-party rule and nationalist values. The night wasn’t all political; it also relied on a hefty dose of Dead originals, including “Mama Tried,” “Fire on the Mountain,” and “Mississippi Half Step,” which filled out the first half of the concert, after Guthrie’s tune. 

Also striking connections to the Grateful Dead songbook were “Estimated Prophet,” “Playing in the Band,” “The Wheel,” “Ramble on Rose,” and another nod toward change by way of the next generation [“So the kids, they dance, they shake their bones…”] on “Throwing Stones.” For the evening’s only encore, they focused their talents away from San Francisco, in favor of The Garden State and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”

Audience recordings from the concert, including the first-time cover of “All You Fascists,” are available here.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead 

The Anthem – Washington, D.C.

Nov. 15, 2025 

Set I: Loser, Rivival, Cats Under the Stars, All You Fascists+, Mama Tired, Fire on the Mountain, Silvio, Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodleloo

Set II: Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodleloo, Estimated Prophet, Playing in the Band, The Wheel, Ramble on Rose, Throwing Stones 

Enc.: Born to Run 

Notes:

+ Debut 

Setlist and notes via almost-dead.net.