Bob Weir and RatDog | RatDog.Org

Bob Weir, a touch of grey kinda suits you anyway.

The Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist proved he still knows how to jam, even without his famous band as his other group, Ratdog, had Valley Deadheads dancing in the aisles at the Celebrity Theatre Saturday night.

Now in its ninth year, Ratdog has evolved into one of the tightest jam bands around.

While Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh’s shows are characterized by long, meandering jams occasionally punctuated by songs, Weir keeps a tight rein on the improvisations, pushing them into uncharted territory but never getting lost in the process.

(Relatively) new bassist Robin Sylvester, who joined Ratdog shortly after the group’s last Valley show, at Nita’s Hideaway last February, has tempered the group’s jazzy impulses as well, leading to a more rocking sound. He was still able to follow the band into its spacier improvisations, however.

Clad in shorts and a tee shirt and sporting a bushy beard, Weir looked much like his former bandmate, the late guitarist Jerry Garcia. He was also in strong voice throughout the show, with no signs of his characteristic cracks or wheezes.

After a brief jam, Ratdog opened with the famous ode to touring and drug busts, “Truckin’.” For the next three hours, Weir led the hemp-smoking, patchouli-scented crowd on a long, strange trip through Grateful Dead faves and rarities, classic rock standards and a few of his solo tunes.

The first set was highlighted by two of Weir’s finest songs in the Grateful Dead repertoire, “Lost Sailor” and “Saint of Circumstance.” Originally released on the 1980 album “Go to Heaven” the pair have not been played in the Valley in over 20 years.

The first set also featured a lovely version of Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” and the R&B standard popularized by the Rolling Stones, “It’s All Over Now.” A rollicking version of the unreleased Grateful Dead song “Liberty” had the Deadheads twirling and brought the first set to a close.

After a half-hour intermission, Ratdog returned in an abbreviated form. Sylvester now had an upright bass, lead guitarist Mark Karan was armed with an acoustic and drummer Jay Lane was playing hand drums for a brief unplugged set that started with the moody “Victim or the Crime,” from the Grateful Dead’s final studio album, “Built to Last.” The crowd let out a roar, however, as Weir picked the familiar opening riff of the classic “Friend of the Devil.” Although the song is most often associated with Garcia, Weir did a fine job on the tune, with the audience singing along.

The rest of the band returned for the rest of the set, which was highlighted by a stellar and complete reading of the rarely performed epic “Terrapin Station.” Another fan favorite that Valley heads haven’t heard in over a decade, the “Terrapin Station” suite (“Lady with a Fan”, “Terrapin”, “At a Siding” and “Terrapin Flyer”) from the Grateful Dead’s ’76 album of the same name occupied a healthy chunk of the second set.

As the set wound down, Ratdog left the Station and headed to Liverpool with an anthemic reading of the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence.” It seemed that the set was over, but it wouldn’t be a Saturday show without Weir’s signature tune, “One More Saturday Night.” And with his trademark scream and the fans dancing and shouting “play another Saturday night,” the band left the stage.

But this is rock and roll, so there’s gotta be an encore. Another microphone stand was brought out and local concert promoter Danny Zelisko joined the band for a joyful sing-a-long on the Grateful Dead’s lone hit single, 1987’s “Touch of Grey.” The chorus “I will get by, I will survive” took on a new meaning as Zelisko is recovering from colon cancer.

The surviving members of the Grateful Dead have reformed as simply the Dead and are playing to tens of thousands during their annual summer tours. But even if Weir and his old bandmates don’t make it back to the Valley anytime soon (its been 10 years since the last Grateful Dead shows and the reformed Dead has yet to visit), at least Ratdog is making the Valley a regular stop.

And if Ratdog continues to play with the vigor it showed Saturday night, Weir might want to consider letting the Dead return to the grave.