Bob Weir and RatDog | RatDog.Org

Bobby played an incredible set last night. He first took the stage for Bruce Hornsby's encore, 'The Way It Is,' and the place went wild. As always, I wish he had played longer. I love Bruce Hornsby, but Bobby didn't come on until 10PM which was a drag.

Bob opened with Blackbird (beautiful). Estimated was a wonderful surprise and it ripped! The Other One - KILLER. Dear Prudence brought tears to my eyes thinking of Jerry. Bobby did a beautiful job on that one. Well worth the 2.5 hour ride. Can't wait for NYC!!

Great Great show. Hornsby played for too long, but it was worth it to see Bobby in "The Way It Is." RatDog played gret songs. U.S. Blues was so good; the guy with the flag was cool.

GREAT show. A lil slow start, but Bobby rocked the place by the end. Bobby sounds better then he sounded on the spring tour, which I didn't think could happen :-). Bobby, you never seem to disappoint, and I like it; I like it a lot.

Overall, Saturday night at the Oak was a terrific four hours of live, jam-based music. And I love Bruce and his Noisemakers, but I was disappointed that his extended set cut into RatDog's stage time. If he wants to play almost two hours, great, but he should hit the stage at 6 p.m., not 7:30. Just a side note--on Bruce's website, he is listed as "co-headliner" with The Dog for these tour dates. Interesting.

The second half of the night was stellar, with outstanding performances of some classic tunes. Bob and the band looked healthy and full of energy, and that came across in the musicianship (but can anyone else in the band sing lead vocals? A little variety and a rest for Bob would be nice). Anyway, I haven't rocked out to Hell In A Bucket for ages, the Estimated Prophet was thick and smokey, and the Other One was tight and snaky. Dear Prudence brought tears to my eyes and was a beautiful piece of musical art. The only negative was the rush to end the show — Saturday Night was obligatory, but could Bob please get a little more creative with his encores? A few too many U.S. Blues over the decades. But as I said to open this review, we had a blast. Bob looks refreshed — the last time I saw him was a year ago at Jones Beach — and the fans the rest of the tour are in for a treat. Just don't expect a second RatDog set. Peace