Photos and Review by Stephen Bloch
When going to a restaurant for a fine dining experience, there are many factors that could contribute or detract from a five star Yelp review. First and foremost is the food. Over or under seasoned/salted and the review takes a hit. There is also the ambiance, level of service, pace, value, and novelty. To get that elusive five star rating, all of those qualities have to be in alignment. The same can be said for going to concerts. Of course, the music takes top priority, but there is also the venue, crowd, lights, sound, and how the band interacts with listeners.
On Thursday night, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead played at Madison’s Sylvee Theater and easily earned a five star Yelp review because of the complete experience. They are arguably the heir apparent to the music of the Grateful Dead but really are much much more than that. Check convention at the coat room when spinning into a concert hall. This is not a cover band looking to recreate a Dead-like experience, but there certainly are fans of the band in attendance, young and old. Thursday was a complete departure from the other JRAD shows I’ve seen this year. It was a show filled with deep cuts, Jerry jams, and other covers. Rather than doing a song play-by-play (personally that’s verboten with Dead and Dead adjacent bands IMHO), I’ll summarize it in courses. The amuse bouche was the delicate jam that kicked off the show. Jazzy, spacey, and groovy. Drifting into a relative rarity, “Jack-a-Row” and then into a Pig Pen era scorcher, “Alligator”. The first set gave nods to Dylan, The Beatles, and additional covers. The “Birdsong” closer could have gone on forever.
If the first set were appetizers, you wouldn’t have had room for the second or third course or the dessert, but hey, you only live once. The second set began with another amuse bouche jam that seemlessly drifted into “Eyes of the World”. Much like the first set, deep cuts and covers were the theme. The chefs (Joe Russo, Marco Benevento, Scott Metzger, Tom Hamilton Jr., and Dave Dreiwitz) put out a palate pleasing spread but nobody was prepared to push themselves away from the table. A robust encore of “Sugar Mag>>Sunshine Daydream>>Deal” closed out the evening. The tasting menu from Thursday was something special. You never know what you’ll get when you show up and leave it to the chef(s). For the 4th time this year, I walked away from a JRAD show full and ready to deliver a five star review. Highly recommended, but bring an empty belly. Never skip the dessert (missed the “Terrapin” last time, unfortunately).
