4/22/2005 Setlist, Photos, and Reviews

I just dont know what it is about Hampton Beach but this was my 3rd show here and each one just seems to get better and better. We had a Dead/Ratdog virgin with us and the Truckin opening was about the best cherry buster you could have imagined. A sweet, sweet Row Jimmy and a very well done Deal closed out a awesome first set.

Second set starters on acoustic of El Paso, Candyman and Deep Elem Blues and you knew the rest of the night was going to be something special. Help/Slip/Franklin's was a treat. And U.S. Blues had me singing my oh my oh my oh my...all the way home.

What a special and notable venue Hampton Beach has become for this band. Jerry's spirit always seems to fill the place and now we have a 10 year anniversary show to add to it.

Thanks again Bobby and boys for a real good time.

Ten years? Ratdog has been around a decade already? That's just the coolest, and it was pretty awesome to see them play on the 10th anniversary of their first gig, an Earth Day show in San Francisco in 1995. There is a vibe at Hampton Beach that adds a lot to their shows, too. I’ve seen them at the Orpheum in Boston, the Worcester Palladium, and in Hampton Beach several times. I always like the Hampton shows best. Bob sounds great in that old barn. Plus the fresh Red Hook on tap is a great bonus. Friday night’s show was the nuts: jazzy, trippy, and sing-alongy. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years I have been going to shows, and I get so psyched every time I see young “kids” at these parties because that means a whole new generation digs this killer music. The tunes were mostly Dead songs, and there’s nothing wrong with that! I especially liked El Paso, Candyman, and Deep Elem Blues. And I loved the flag waving on U.S. Blues. Thanks for a decade of groovy music, gang!

The 10th Anniversary show was a bash indeed and a real celebration of what Ratdog has evloved into these past 10 years. Dead, Midnights and solo stuff.... Bob highlighted it ALL!

Fist set gems were a killer Josephine with great dynamics into a solid Row Jimmy. Wrong Way feeling was hoppin'. Deal ended the first set on a very highhhhhhh note! Set 2 kept it sizzlin' with an El Paso into Candyman! A Help > Slip > Prudence > 2Djinn > Slip > Frank that... well... list speaks for itself there. Encore with Useless Blues.

HUGE kudos and thanks to the boys. They were all ON! Bob looks great and the musical dialogue he was having with Mark in some of the jams was very 1980s Grateful Dead. Jeff played his ass off and as much as I scratch my head about Kenny sometimes, his baritone sax was totally taseful and added alot to the vibe. HAPPY 10th guys!! Damn glad to have ya!!!!

Clarity reigned and interbeing was manifest as the the musician's awareness of the crowd and the crowd's feeling of the music magnified one another, bringing the music to unperceived heights, intensifying and expanding consciousness until the conventional limits of self were transcended and self was indescernible to the infinite.

Awesome show. It was the highest energy Rat Dog show I have seen. I catch them every year at the Casino and this was one of if not the best. The crowd was in the highest form right from the start, and they never let up. The band was on fire and seemed to be enjoying it as much as the crowd.

WOW, what a show! The second set was a killer! The boys had the crowd going wild the whole show, thanks to the security guards, who had their backs turned!

What a smokin' show. Best Tower jam ever. The guys were on fire tonight. Crowd was great, and it was kickin to Bobby showing the energy he did back with the Dead. Good to see him smiling and dancing. One of the best show I've seen to date.

Got in the car with the woman, and made the drive down the road to the show. Chilly winds were blowing as we stood on the doorstep; shuffled my feet to keep warm. The doors opened and we walked into something that only now in hindsight can I comprehend as the best display I have seen.
The Truckin opener was awesome and it hit the spot. The Blues is Alright chant was really cool. Brown Eyed Women... what can I say; this one was SWEET! The band moved like a cohesive unit of psychadellic wonderment. Row Jimmy got me teary eyed as I rested my head on my girlfriend's shoulder. We rocked at a medium pace into a swinging Wrong Way Feelin. Ramble On Rose was a highlight for me. Bobby forgot where he was at one point and had to ask Mark what the lyrics were. HAHA. Bobby gave the crowd a great big bearded smile and simulated hitting himself in the head with his guitar. The Truckin jam into the poignant Deal was really tight and blusey. "I've been gambling hereabouts for ten good solid years" was a great line for the tenth anniversary of Ratdog.
Second set blew me away. The El Paso was tight with a cool solo from Mark. Candyman left me wanting more of that scat yelling Bobby does. Deep Elem was a pleasent surprise, and it moved right into Good Morning Little Schoolgirl. Help on the way was spacey and really groovy coupled with one of the best Slipknots I've ever heard. The jam had a Slipknot feel and was laden with really heavy playing from all. Bobby came back and Dear Prudence got everyone swaying a little slower. Two Djinn was tight and to the point. The boys swung back into Slipknot and into the best Franklin's Tower to ever come out of Ratdog. Bobby pulled out all the stops for this one. He was on fire, as was the whole floor. US Blues opened with a Blues is Alright chant, and kicked into high gear for a great US Blues to close out one of the best concert expeiences I have ever had. Thank you Ratdog for the tunes and the great evening... get back truckin on !

I'm surprised no one's weighed in on this show, so I will (would have done so sooner, but was busy in Burlington seeing Gov't Mule). A stellar show by Ace and the Boys. I will see RatDog any time, any place, and they did not disappoint: a great set list, played with passion. The first set featured "Row Jimmy, Wrong Way Feeling, Ramble on Rose." And it was a powerhouse second set, including: "Help on the Way, Slipknot!, Dear Prudence, Two Djinn, and Franklin's Tower." Dear Prudence was especially good. And they simply nailed Franklin's Tower. During the U.S. Blues encore, a giant flag was waved on stage. The place went absolutely nuts. It felt like a return to the Haight-Ashbury days! Even the infamously inscrutable Bob Weir seemed touched. It won't be soon enough until RatDog rolls around again. Did anybody notice Gov't Mule's tribute to the Dead and Bobby the night before, playing Patchwork Quilt and The Other One jam? Warren Haynes had to know that Jerry died the day Bobby was playing in Hampton, and that Bobby was playing the night after Mule's Thursday night show in Hampton on what was RatDog's 10th anniversary. Very cool.