Bob Weir and RatDog | RatDog.Org

There is something to be said for musicians who reinvent themselves in the interest of escaping their past. There is something equally admirable, though, about those who embrace the past without being consumed by it. Although Bob Weir will never escape the fact that he spent nearly forty years playing guitar for the Grateful Dead, his past has not swallowed him. Weir's music will always live and breathe in the spirit of the Dead, but with Ratdog he's moved in more contemporary directions. There are more ballads, more rockers and fewer jams. (Though on Ratdog's recent "Live at Roseland" release, Weir proves he can still be counted on for those epic jams the Dead were famous for.)

Ratdog's most recent full-length release was 2000's "Evening Moods." Fans attending the live show can expect a combination of retooled Dead classics and original Weir compositions. Judging by the legions of loyal fans Ratdog attracts, Weir seems to have developed a formula that works.