7/10/2006 Setlist, Photos, and Reviews

It was hot and cold. Bob and gang sounded tight and together on some tracks, and off and in a different stratosphere on others. Scarlet was very well done, and the crowd responded; Althea was butchered. However, one of the best aspects of the show was the invitation of everyone with lawn seats into the indoor seating. It was pouring out for most of SCI's set, and just before Bob and the boys started, they opened up the gates to the indoor seating for everyone - very cool of the site. Overall, a great night.

Just got home and am pretty tired, but I will try to set the scene. It was POURING rain and there was lightning and the whole works. Just as Chrissy said they should either start playing or let everyone in, they made the announcement to, in an orderly fashion, come in and fill in the empty seats. VERY COOL. Thanks to Ratdog or the promoter or the venue management or whoever did that. People were, for the most part, orderly, friendly, and happy to get out of the rain. Bertha opener was perfect into a second opener Jack Straw. Great show; the drumming part was spectacular with the SCI bongo guy. Thanks Ratdog, come back here again soon.

WOW! Spin the Wheel of Adjectives!!! I never got to see the Dead play even though I did go to Englishtown in '77. Thanks to Dick’s Picks I can hear what I left too early to actually experience. Then all the planets aligned and I met an Angel, the "girl by the whirlpool." She introduced me to a piece of my life that was missing. So now we go to shows. We've seen Phil twice, most recently at Darien. That show was great but I'm not a big fan of that venue.

So now it was our first Ratdog show. And when I say 'our,' I mean the two of us and Angie's seven-year-old son--his first show of any kind. It could not have been better. We had a little problem with the "rules" of the venue that left us with nothing to drink and no cash on hand (I left it in the truck in the parking lot), but I had my trusty debit card. What! No ATMs inside and you mean I can’t go out and come back in?! As I was spinning my tale of woe to a great soul with a kind and understanding spirit, a mountain of a man with a walkie talkie said, "What’s wrong?" I told him and he said, "No problem, I’ll let you back in." More great karma!

SCI set a great mood. T was dancing like no one was watchin,g and A and I were loving life. And then the rains came. I loved it. We were all loving it. All the fools on the hill enjoying great music, great old and new friends, and nature at her finest. As the rain started really getting going they invited us all under the roof! As T would say sahweet!

Ratdog just blew us away! Without question the finest live show of any kind I've ever seen. We didn't stop dancing once. The music was tight and free flowing. The setlist could not have been better. For a person who missed out all those years ago that setlist seemed like it was written for me. I am almost speechless about the sights and sounds that surrounded me. More than once I had goosebumps or tears in my eyes. As long a set as it was I wished the music never stopped. We'd still be dancing. Althea, Bertha, Birdsong, Friend of the Devil, Silvio, Drums.... Words cannot describe the beauty of the music or the experience!

Two days later and a seven year old can’t stop talking about it. Can it be any better?

This show was really great. It seemed the thunder, lightning, and rain energized RatDog and provided the mystical element for the crowd to enjoy. When everyone was invited into the covered portion of this venue it really created a lot more energy for the band to feed off of. Bob Weir is a true artist and RatDog was in the groove for this show.

I have seen over 300 Grateful Dead shows, 25 Jerry Band shows, Furthur Fest, Other Ones, The Dead, Phil and Friends, and this would be my 37th Ratdog show with the first dating back to Bob and Rob at Darien Lake in either 89 or 90. I have to say that this was my favorite post-Dead show that I have seen. My wife and I showed up at the venue from a walk from our hotel and enterend the rear entrance behind a community college. No line, no check at all--the women just asked us if we had anything on us that we shouldn't have. I knew right then and there that this was going to be cool.....

Venue was cool on the inside and out. When it started to downpour right before the Dog, they announced that everyone on the lawn could fill in the seats which gave the whole energy of the venue a boost with out overcrowding.

The music was good and the whole crowd was into it. As far as song selection I enjoyed this one the most I have ever seen with the Dog. My highlights were Bertha into Jack Straw opener, then Bird Song into Odessa. Acoustic part was awesome Blackbird and Friend of the Devil into Tuesday Blues, which was much better than the one I saw in Syracuse a few months before. On Althea, Bobby flubbed the words but to me it made it only better, kind of reminding me when Jerry messed them up way back when and just smiled at the crowd to say my bad. The Scralet smoked, as did Come Together, and the St Stephen to close was the first time for me to see as a closer. Even the Touch as an encore didn't bother me. Between the vibe, the venue, the song selection, and the crowd, it was until now my favorite Ratdog show.

Overall a great show. I truly appreciated the venue allowing general admission into the pavilion. Music-wise, this was a great show; the Scarlet was just over the top. St. Stephen was also done very well.

cannot say enough about that show. Just letting everyone inside when it started to pour was a gift in its own, then bobby and the dog blew the doors down with that opening BERTHA, JACK STRAW sooooo sweet. SCARLET was as hot as ever, THANKS BOB- PLEASE COME BACK AGAIN!! WE LOVE YA HERE IN UP STATE,NY PEACE FROM THE EAST