11/5/2005 Setlist, Photos, and Reviews

Wow wow wow, what a show. First I was a little skeptical of the 50 dollar ticket, then I when I was ushered to the sixth row, I felt this was gonna be good. Started with a abnd and ended one too. Two words: Jack Straw. The set was phenomenal. The big moment came with He's Gone into Loose Lucy--I lost my freakin shit. Although Loose Lucy was real loose and it almost seemed Bobby forgot the words, it was still beautiful to hear. That one didn't even come into the pre-concert conversation. Thansk guys--you made my night great after a real tough week. See ya in Worcester!

Holy Hell!! This show was awesome. I got off work at 5 ran to Grand Central for the train and then the bus at New Haven; a long mission. As soon as I got in they were ripping on Jack Straw, and I mean ripping. Mark Karan is out of his head right now sick tones, speeds, and runs very nice. This makes up for the Bertha opener I missed. They went into a nice Dark Star, really spacy. Watchtower was sick. Karan absolutely crushed the solo, adding some nice wah effects. The whole place was screaming like crazy for Mark and he deserved all the credit. I dont really dig This Time Forever, but the Shade of Grey was very nice, with a good hard jam. Kenny was blowing it up on this one. Into Bucket. The place was nuts when they heard those notes. Bobby was right on the money with the vocals and the crowd was right there with him. Jeff was real hot on this one too. Bobby came through big time with some extended "RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!" action. He spaced on the "You analyze attempt to despise me" line, or do they still do it like that? I don't know. Regardless, he was crazy at the end of Bucket and the crowd was on their feet screaming their heads off. I was laughing so hard. Bobby is awesome.

I was pissed when I saw Bobby strap on the acoustic. Everytime I see these people, it's a one setter. The place has a curfew, but still I have bad luck. They did Lazy River Road and Victim. I dig Victim. Bobby strapped on the Ibanez he used before he switched to Modulus, and they went into a thumping Brown Eyed Women. Nice vocals by Bobby. Mark took a long turn with some very nice runs. Jay was excellent on this; the bass drum was kicking. Oh, the He's Gone was AWESOME!! It had grate atmosphere and an excellent coda. Loose Lucy is a good sing-along; I think it was too long, but still fun. The highlight of the nite was The Other One, imo. At this point, I was in hysterics, as was the rest of the crowd. They drew it out really nice, but Robin didnt do the roll(I don't know if they do this in Ratdog). Anyway, Kenny, Bobby, and Mark were really leading into it hard. Jay Lane was completely all over this though. I was thinking, "Why does it have to be so hard?" I mean, he had almost a reggae rockers beat going, where he is just beating on the bass drum and the highhat. He kept at that whole song, just kicking my ass. Bobby goes into it. Of course he spaces on "The Bus Came By and I Got On." and he points to his head. He blew two of my favorite lines in the world! Everybody was laughing. Killer solo by Mark too. Into Stuff. Into SOTM. This is becoming a tour de force for Bobby--two rounds of emotional "be with yous." The place was going NUTS. This is def a winner. Into a fun and rocking OMSN. The Touch encore the icing on the cake.

All in all this show was awesome. Great setlist, tight jamming, good vocals and energy from Bobby. This was a ripper from beginning to end. Def getting the OCR. Ratdog Rocks My Face!!

Overall, an extremely well-played show. The length and setlist were a bit disappointing in some ways, but the band was tighter and more energetic than I've ever seen. Bertha -> Jackstraw was outstanding. The Other One was eerie.

Holy S**T, what a show! I cannot beleive how on Bobby was. Bertha was amazing way to open to the show--felt like the Vibes again. Jack Straw was weird as a secound song but played great. I don't think the whole night there was a single song i didnt dig. Hell in a Bucket sent me places :-). The Other Ones was very cool. One More Sat couldn't of been played any better. Touch of Grey was an amazing version and song to end a very GREAT evening. This is up there with one of the best RD shows I've ever seen. Cant wait for the Penn's and Woosta shows.

Saw the band at Foxwoods last spring, and, putting the shows side by side, last spring was much better. Last night's show had a lot of promise in good song selection and some fine moments, but, all in all, the energy was not there, and at moments the band seemed to hit a number of spots where it wasn't sure where it was going next. The venue also got to me this time. We had matre d' tickets but were not seated down front. We asked why, and got a lame response about how those seats were saved for members of the tribe and their friends. The joke of the night for us was that we didn't see any Indians at the show, certainly not dancing down by the stage. I would give the show a B- or C+. The highlight for me was All Along the Watchtower. Brown Eyed Women came in a close second.

Had to be one of the best RD shows--even better than the last show at the Fox. It didn't hurt any to be ushered to the 3rd row and have a hot waitress serving me drinks. Great venue, Bobby was right on with the vocals, and it was nice to hear some different songs. Bertha--great start and it just got better with each song. A couple of missed lines but who cares. The band was tight, the sound awesome. See you in Woosta.....

Smokin' show. Really like the current lineup. He's Gone was unbelievable, Lazy River Road a nice addition, and I always like a good Victim or the Crime. One long set with one song encore. Would have liked two sets with a three song encore but something tells me the venue writes the rules....

Grateful Dead lyrics are fraught with images of the gambler. Dealers and Losers and one eyed jacks abound on the fringes of bad luck. Any GD related experience is a game of chance. Would Ratdog come out ahead this evening at the Foxwoods casino?

The odds began in our favor as the maitre'd plunked us down in some choice center seats. With the crowd still shuffling in, RD sauntered onstage, avoided any opening jam and launced into a solid and rousing Bertha. A spacey intro to Jack Straw kept me confused until Bobby finally began to share the women and the wine. Dark Star kept the roulette wheel spinning, loving the way Bob phrases the title lyric. An abbreviated Watchtower completed the opening hand.

After being up a few chips the band retreated to play the quarter slots. We were serenaded by a couple of Heaven Help the Fool tunes which brought the energy down considerably. I tried to wander a bit but security kept sending around in circles. They won that hand as I folded and returned to my seat.

One set shows are always a gamble anyway. Not quite sure where we were in the show, I listened to the overplayed Lazy River Road and the quirky Victim as the acoustic segment of the show. A pleasing rendition of Brown Eyed Woman followed.

Finally it was time for some no limit high stakes poker. He's Gone built to a crescendo reminiscent of old, Loose Lucy was my delight and everyone was all in as the players blew the roof off with The Other One. Stuff was a short as ever, really just a twisted nod to Kenny's birthday (dressed for the occasion in white t shirt and ripped jeans). A blue Modulus appeared around the curtain and SOTM was a poignant as ever. You guessed it, that's right Saturday Night down at the local casino as the band put on their rocket shoes. Touch of Grey was a good choice for an encore as the PA was finally turned up to rock concert level. Maybe I brought a different set of ears, but the sound did not seem to match that of last spring's.

Ratdog continues to evolve as one of the finest ensemble of players out there today. They may have held their cards a little too close this evening, but anytime you give these gamblers some instruments and a stage, it's the fans who hit the jackpot!