Last night at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead opened a three-night run. It was an emotional evening for the band members and audience alike, as the show occurred less than a week following the passing of Bob Weir. The second set also took on additional power and nuance as Warren Haynes appeared with the group.

The evening opened with Cap owner Peter Shapiro taking the stage to offer some reflections. He noted that Weir had appeared 42 times with the Cap (which Douglas Adams wrote in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the “answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything”). Shapiro also pointed to a message that Bob Weir penned in the Cap guest book during his last time in the venue, and was projected onto the wall: “This place is plenty cozy. Great to be back.” Shapiro then encouraged everyone in the house to take 10 moments of silence and summon their favorite memory of Weir.

As Shapiro stepped offstage, Scott Metzger began a solo acoustic version of the “Prelude” to “Weather Report Suite,” the Wake of the Flood song co-written by Weir. This led into a blistering version of Weir’s “Let It Grow.” The five songs that followed, segued from one into the next, both sharing messages of optimism and hope, while also incorporating two of Weir’s most beloved compositions (“The Music Never Stopped” and “Cassidy”) as JRAD moved through “Here Comes Sunshine,” “The Music Never Stopped,” “Scarlet Begonias,” “Cassidy” and “I Know You Rider.”

When the band returned, it expanded to a six-piece, as Warren Haynes joined Russo, Metzger, Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, and guitarist Tom Hamilton for the remainder of the night. Haynes was a longtime friend and collaborator of Weir, as well as his bandmate in The Dead, performing with him in that group during its intermittent tours from 2004-09. In addition, Haynes was a member of what came to be known as the Phil Lesh Quintet (aka The Q). Although the guitarist had previously appeared with members of JRAD in multiple settings, last night’s show represented the first time that Haynes guested with the group.

The music that followed offered a nod to both the Grateful Dead repertoire as well as Haynes’ longtime tenure in the Allman Brothers Band. As with the first frame, music flowed from start to finish, opening with a jam into “Bird Song” (which included an intense “Other One” tease) and closing out with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” a tune that Weir had made his own. The blend of material included a version of the ABB’s “Mountain Jam,” which appeared in the middle of “Bird Song” and Dickey Betts’ “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” which was sandwiched between “Shakedown Street” and “Deep Elem Blues.”

The encore was a fitting “ No One to Run With,” which cascaded into a climatic, closing “Not Fade Away,” which ended in proper Grateful Dead manner with the audience taking over and singing, “You know our love will not fade away…”

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will return to the Cap this evening.

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SET I: Weather Report Suite Prelude* > Let It Grow > Here Comes Sunshine > The Music Never Stopped – Scarlet Begonias > Cassidy > I Know You Rider

SET II  Jam > Bird Song > Mountain Jam > Bird Song > Truckin’ > Shakedown Street > In Memory of Elizabeth Reed> Deep Elem Blues > When I Paint My Masterpiece

E: No One to Run With > Not Fade Away

*Scott Metzger on solo acoustic

Second set and encore with Warren Haynes