The first – of hopefully many – Denver Comes Alive events took place last Friday at the beautiful Mission Ballroom. A steady buzz around this evening had been building for months, so it was no surprise that the show ended up selling out.
Well that was one for the books. While Joe Russo’s Almost Dead is consistently one of the most exploratory and compelling bands on the scene, they always seem to push their limits for the Colorado faithful and this year was no different.
In stark contrast to the last time JRAD was supposed to play Red Rocks, the weather on Thursday as the show approached was a perfect late Summer Colorado day. The lots were hopping early, and the show was very obviously the go-to pre-party for the annual “Phish Dicks” Labor Day celebration across town at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. As Phishheads and Deadheads rubbed shoulders in the amphitheater, to say the energy and anticipation was high would be an understatement – the place was buzzing.
The Fillmore was packed on Saturday night. If it wasn’t sold-out, it was damn close. As showtime approached, the floor was full to the back and there were people lined up in bar lines a mile long everywhere you looked. There was a buzz in the air as the uninitiated waited anxiously to get a taste of the most energetic and innovative Grateful Dead cover band playing today – Joe Russo’s Almost Dead – and the veterans salivated over the early Christmas present they knew was on-tap for the evening.