Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Debut John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!”

Photo Credit: Michael DiDonna

On Thursday, Feb. 8, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead blew through Charlotte N.C.’s The Fillmore to kick off a Southeast run. The five-piece jam ensemble staged two sets of certified classics, punctuated by a brand new cover of John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!” This debut aligns with the 60th anniversary of The Beatles’ earth-shattering performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which brought the young band into American households and changed the music world forever.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s performance featured a range of covers from Bob Dylan, Bob Weir, Bob McGill and a heaping serving of the Grateful Dead. The sets showed a careful balance between the cover outfit’s live standards like “Scarlet Begonias” and “I Know You Rider” and relative rarities for the group such as “Black Peter” and “Touch of Gray,” the Dead’s highest charting single. To end the evening’s festivities, the band returned to the stage for its first treatment of Lennon’s 1970 single “Instant Karma!,” captured on video by 2nd Rail Productions.

This engagement follows a three-night run at the Capitol Theatre on Jan, 12-14 that kicked off the band’s 2024 tour agenda. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead will return to the stage tonight at Atlanta’s The Eastern to close out its current run, before its next appearance at the hotly anticipated Texas Eclipse on April 8. For tickets and more information on upcoming appearances, visit joerussosalmostdead.com

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead

The Fillmore – Charlotte, N.C.

Feb. 8, 2024

Set I: Cassidy+ > Catfish John# > Touch of Grey > The Wheel > Uncle John’s Band > I Need a Miracle  

Set II: Tangled Up in Blue^ > Feel Like a Stranger > Black Peter > The Music Never Stopped > Scarlet Begonias > I Know You Rider  

Encore: Instant Karma!*

Notes:

+ Cover of Bob Weir’s “Cassidy”

# Cover of Bob McDill’s “Catfish John”

^ Cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tangles Up in Blue”

* Debut cover of John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!”

Setlist vis setlist.fm