Bob Weir and RatDog | RatDog.Org

Nice show by Bob and the boys. Highlights for me were a Crazy Fingers that, though a peaceful song, grabbed me by the throat and yanked me in. It was an amazing performance.

Also lots of fun were Might As Well, Blackbird and Sugar Mag.

They're a good band, but nothing against Kimock, but I'm hoping Mark is back the next time I see them.

Excellent show. I thought Ratdog's song selection was great. Particularly like the West LA into Aiko, really hot ! I had hoped for Sugar Mag and sure enough I got it ! The Allman Bros performance was par-excellence ! Dont know the name of that last song/jam, but it was pure musical excellence. Ratdog and Allman Bros at the same show, who could ask for more. My only complaint was that Ratdog wasn't quite loud enough whree I was in the back, bear the lawn. But at outdoor shows thats how it is sometimes. This was my third Ratdog show and not the same song twice. Thats what I love about the Dead/Ratdog, always an adventure musically. Never old or boring. Keep on rockin' Bob, hope to see you again soon !

These guys are hittin philly soon, and I was wondering who took the stage first and around when?

The show was so-so. It started rough and got better as the set progressed. Music selection was decent, but the band members had a hard time keeping in-sync with each other. In addition, there was more than your average share of missed lyrics and flubs. But, overall, it was worth the price of the ticket. On a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 7.5.

I came to see SK, I know there are a lot of MK fans out there but this is a different band with SK. I was not too impressed with this show from that standpoint though the Truckin>Crazy fingers>Playin was nice. Highlite for me was the Playin Reprise before Sugar Mag (which seems to be missing from the set list posted). Finally SK stepped out and I thought it was a terrific jam, worth sitting through the rest of the show for.

:)

SK is not too good at the "play a rock solo here for 45 seconds" thing but he can take the jams places that Rat Dog has not been before. Great interaction between Bobby and SK.

Great Show. For some stupid reason, I stopped going to see members of the GD after Jerry. WHAT HAVE I MISSED? Oh well. Bobby looks great, the band was hot. Opening acts never get the volume of the headliner....my only negative comment. Bobby worked on Blackbird...literally fell from the sky. Sugar Mag/Playin/IKO???? man....Danced hard and smiled and smiled and am still smilin.

Thanks for the reviews. Looks like RatDog is playing a smaller song selection as they are the "opening" band. Was afraid that was going to be the case.

They are in Buffalo (Darien Lake) on the 19th......just wondering what time they actually took the stage. Any info. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

This was a fantastic performance, one of the better I've seen in the past year or so. RD hit the stage right at billing time, 6:30, and walked off after the JBG encore at 8:30. So that's 2 solid hours of RD, which was great.

The music started very strong with a great 3 song selection in "Truckin > Crazy > Playin" and continued with fine performances of "Blackbird" and "Corrina," which was especially groovy, before sort of fizzling gently out at the end. Very nice. "Silvio > Tequila" sequence was average but fun and got the crowd into it. The entire run from "West L.A." to "Knockin" was fairly mellow but very well played.

But the end of the show was epic. "Playin reprise" was actually a slightly unexpected I think b/c imo they really played it out in its first slot and with the one set I didn't really see them returning to it this show. But sure enough it came with a vengeance, before giving way to an utterly amazing "Sugar" which brought the house down. Bob was howling his best at the end and the jamming . . .good god . . . such powerful energy. Bob had soooo much energy and was actually smiling the whole time. Then the "JBG" encore. I usually sort of loathe it b/c is typical fare, but damn, they hit is hard and then brought it to a false ending. Then bam!!! They play for another 48 bars or so. Kimock was on the whole time. I really enjoyed his playing. Great all around show. Couldn't have asked for more after an average show at best the last time we saw em (Greensboro).

Oh, and ABB was sick, but as expected a very typical repeat setlist. "Statesboro," "Trouble No More," "Wasted Words," "Soulshine." "Schoolgirl" was cool with Jeff, but why no Bob?

Nice chunk o songs. Kept it a little too familiar maybe, since they're not headlining. Slvio-tequila my favorite of the night just for the quirk-factor. Would have liked to hear Kenny a little louder/longer
The lawn was a fun scene, but i felt like i was missing something. The last couple of Ratdog shows I caught were at Ram's Head in Balt, and i suppose i got spoiled being so close to the performance.

I forgot the show was on Tuesday night, I guess i still had One More Sat. Nite in my head from C-Ville. Figured out the show was tuesday night at 6pm. Packed a beer, wife and two kids and we were truckin to Nissian. Missed Trucking and most of Crazy Fingers. Two hours of Ratdog was perfect for the family. I'm dancing in the ile and the usher comes up and grabs me, tells me to get my kid whow in the ile with me. Yeah you know the story. He says follow me and takes us down to the second row durning Sugar Mag. That was so cool on his part, blew me away. Stuff like that just never happens anymore, unless your name is ChickenWing. Break...Break!

Nice show. Once again happened to be "in the area" for this one. Who are Ratdog and why are they following me?
Playin reprise absolutely rocked as did the re-entry back into Playin. (the first one) after the noodling part. Does anybody out there know what I am talking about? Might As Well was executed as well as they come, Crazy Fingers was not but who is keeping track. Some people do not like Silvio Tequila Silvio Tequila Silvio Tequila Silvio Tequila Silvio Tequila Silvio Tequila...

A wonderful scene in Bristow. Friendly but massive parking lot scene that immediately reminded me of the old days. Great sound from where I sat and beers only $10.00. Thats $2.00 cheaper than the Greek last month in CA. This is still my first favorite band and nothing bad I can say about them will change that. Looking forward to Darrien Lake on the 19th. Hope to see some old friends there because this is where it all began for me as far as seeing GD way back in the early 80's. May the Bus continue on for a long time to come with these guys.

Thanks
Fred S.
NC

Hitting this show was the epitome of spontaneous beauty, in that I didn't even realize there was a show until the evening before. Overall it was the perfect way to recharge those twirling batteries. Thought the Ratdog set was tighter than some of the other reviews, and I found the set list to hit all the right notes, without being stale. Further, indeed! I had the pleasure of being with my wife and another good friend. My wife had never seen the Ratdog outfit and was clearly impressed with the music and the scene. I have seen ABB on numerous occassions and always enjoy the show, but -KABAM- thought the Haynes, Trucks pairing is one the best I've ever seen them tour with. They were tight without stepping on each other. The twin attacks were so sweet, sick and complimentary. Also really enjoyed the infusion of smoking sax on a couple of tunes. P.s. statrting set did begin promply @ 6:30, so don't get caught in the lot dozing!

Great show. My first Rat Dog Show.
I've been to 75 Dead show's.
My 12 year old son plays drums-bass guitar & guitar.
He has lately learned ole school band totally rule.
We went to the show at Nissan yesterday.
We love you guys!!!

Tight set. Bobby was cranked and doing that familiar thing that just feels like an ancient language in my bones. Fantastic.

Bobby is an excellent sound renderer, too. He has made the Jerry tunes they did his own, quite seemlessly and with authority.

Kimock is [ one of my very favorites ]. Would have liked to hear more of him stretching out doing his thing. Was very exciting to hear him in the mix... When his tone would thin a little, the sound man could jack him up where he belonged, but sometimes his tone was too fat to put up where it should be in the mix without canceling something else... Just a minor eq issue, easily fixed. He's the man. Well, this was my first RD show, so I can't compare his work to Mark's. All of the other instruments sat perfectly in that mix, bass was kickin'.

To the soundman and my man Steve K., "Thin the eq of the guitar, bring up the mids, and CRANK STEVE UP AND LET HIM RIP!!!" If they can get him up where he can take comand as the improviser he is, that band will go AROUND the galaxy (on this show they managed to go clear across it, for sure, don't get me wrong). He's perfect for the job!

Love you guys. Thuroughly enjoyed every second of the show. COME AGAIN! ...SOON.

Having listened now to the 11th and 12th shows on Archive.org, I MUST RETRACT my unsolicited 'advise' on how to mix Kimock, or on how to 'turn him loose' (see review above).
Nissan Pavillion will always present cancellation problems, in my experience (too much concrete and steel) ...but on these other shows, it is evident that this band knows exactly how to highlight Steve, and that he is quite comfortable TEARING IT UP with Ratdog, and marshalling some INCREDIBLE improvs. Beautiful. Exceptional playing. I hope this band plays and continues to tour for a LONG, LONG, LONG time.
Also must add - Weir's guitar sounds as good or better than ever. Masterful. Bob knows how to present these tunes and make them happen NOW.
God bless.

I can rationalize why quite a bit on the band's behalf, but I thought Tuesday a weak performance relatively speaking.

Now I consider a day with the 'Dog on an off night better than most or nearly all other music evenings, no matter how well the artist is performing, but this show was just a little off compared to the recent several years of Ratdog shows.

The first segment of the show was pretty good, and the crowd was for the most part really digging it. A Love Supreme quotes in the opening jam and a lively Truckin' and smoothly played Crazy Fingers. Kimock clearly is comfortable with Playin' In The Band and Might As Well and the entire opening segment came off okay.

At that point, it seemed the band and Bob lost a little interest, though. I wouldn't say they phoned it in, but Kimock seemed to be holding back, and Kenny had a few rough spots. Silvio > Tequila struck me as a trainwreck, and Knockin' just seemed like a difficult setlist choice, tempo-wise.

Gotta say, listening to the CDs though, Bob's voice sounded great; smooth, strong, and confident.

loved the show, had soo much fun. I have a quick question...does anyone have a copy of the show they could send me? I bought a copy of both Ratdog and Allman Brothers but my Ratdog cds somehow fell out of the envelope and now they are scratched and skip alot. Let me know please!!!!!! :)

Wonderful night! Many musical intricacies. Fun, punchy set, which my first timer 15 year old daughter mostly recognized and totally dug!

Thanks to the guys on stage for coming out, and bringing us home again and again.

BTW, I'm remembering two "Bands" in the first Playin'?

Another great show by the boys. Definitely not one to be late for with the killer Truckin>Crazy Fingers opening. I really liked the tune selection throughout the night. Jeff's playing on West LA was awesome as was Kimock's on Iko. Bobby was on it all night with great playing and vocals. You gotta love dancing to Sugar Mags on a hot summer night. Seemed like they were all trying to play their asses off to say, "Hey we aint no opening act."
Following Ratdag up with a couple of hours of Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks didn't suck either...
The only disappointment was the size of the crowd...Certainly not the 650,000 to see the Dead and ABB at Watkins Glen...
Hope to see the band again soon,

Life may be sweet and for this I don't know,
seems like it might be alright,
David

This was my first Rat Dog show and won't be my last.
Truckin was a great to open with, i only wish you could have played longer and the sound crew would have let you shake the place up!!!