4/8/2008 Setlist, Photos, and Reviews

Fantastic show...last show was landmark, and it was fair to midland, tonights show was smoking fun. from start to finish, tune selection was great, jams were great, sound was great, nothing to say but fantastic show. pat, happy birthday and happy first rat dog show, hope you had fun, i'm sure you did...see you tomorrow night, on the left side...rob, thanks a million. enjoed it very much

great start, downhill from there, another putrid birdsong to bore us, killed 2 sets with one song

i go to see bobby to see 'his' songs - cassidy - sugar - minglewood. i used to get pissed off after seeing a second set list like tonight - but gotta say that it was extrememly dancable. the winners rocked. i do wish that bob would go on an acoustic tour cause that portion has been the highlight of the shows i've seen the past couple of years. seen a couple of shows this tour and gotta say that the energy of the band is somewhat down. yeah - i know - pay for your ticket and don't complain...hope to hear that silvio tonight ...and i LOVED that birdsong - just goes to show...

Great first set from start to finish. Second set cooled down a little bit. But all in all a wonderful show!

I thought the show opened great and was pretty good throughout. There were some lulls and peaks, but playing music all night ain't as easy as it looks. I was happy and will be getting a copy. I prepaid for the cd of the night, but at the end of the show, the last thing I wanted to do was stand in a line for an hour. I rolled. Oh well. I saw some great energy in the crowd and on the stage. Thanks, to the band for gettin' it done!!

I have to echo sivad - first set was spectacular with very few bumps, although Rooster never hit the peaks it sometimes can. Second set didn't quite grab me, and as much as I like loud music, it was too loud during Masters of War (great tune and rendition though).

All that said, there were still some high moments in the second set including Milestones (YOWZAAA~!) and dare I even go there? Touch of Gray! :-)

Security was tight and overbearing and I will have second thoughts about going to the Rams Head again. Saw some guy get thrown out for carrying a balloon. WTF???

Good show, A bit country, with Jazz like jams mixed in. Bobby needs to work on Birdsong. Here comes sunshine was agreat opener for spring, and Music never stoped was great to hear on a Tuesday. the Big River was done in a funk style, and "the Winners" was done in a rock n roll style, and groovy. I cant wait for Wed. night, see you all there.

GREAT TO SEE MARK BACK IN BALTIMORE!!!!

That "MASTERS OF WAR" was spectacular - LOUD AND DEFIANT, just the way I like it. Milestones was a treat as were Music Never Stopped>Big River. Left the floor for 2nd set to catch the sound upstairs - WOW!!! is all I gotta say, much more of a clear/balanced mix and the birds eye view from that upper rail is sweet.

So, Baltimore went No Smoking indoors this past year, hence some of the heat from security, and in all fairness the City's Main Police Headquarters is on the other side of block, don't be foolish - just enjoy the music while we have it. See you tonight my fine fellow freaks.

Great show all around. First set cooked. Nobody expected a HCS opener, so that was pretty sweet. Winners to open the 2nd was awesome and well played. JBG for an encore was typical fare.

I don't know what to say about the security other than WHAT SECURITY? RHL is always a great venue with pros on staff that let you have a good time. If someone got kicked out, I'm sure it was for a good reason.

This was my 4th Ratdog show and first since Aug 06. Very enjoyable evening of music. Not going tonight, but will definitely be back soon. First set was great. I too thought the 2nd set fell into a bit of a lull, but it finished strong. Don't want to be too harsh on RHL security, as it is such a cool venue and I have never seen problems before - but was it really necessary to eject a guy for trying to float a baloon off the balcony. I mean seriously . . .

This band has really matured over the last few years. They all have great chops and they all listen to each other very well now. Last night was a relaxed and confident musical conversation more than a dance rocker type of show. HCS was nicely done /MNS serious thick funk at points/ Big River fun country almost reggae beat/ . MITR nice Bob acapella opening with a white spotlight on him and done with passion/ BEW nice tempo high energy MK ripping leads/ LRR went to get a beer... heard some nice chicken pecking riffs from Bob on slide/ DW nothing special fun sing along/ BIRD SONG BIRD SONG BIRD SONG--- They were so relaxed and listening to each other so well on this. MK quoted Eleanor Rigby/ nice dueling trading off lines between MK and Kenny... got really out there at points ..pure improv fades out and Bob announces "We're gonna take a little break... Make sure to tip your waiters"

Second Set had it's moments. Winners had a nice piano lead by Chimenti/ MASTERS OF WAR WOW... Jay lane playing machine gun hits on the snare to start ...Bobby says into mike jokingly "you're scaring me mister" Loud, growling nasty.. MK using an echo effect. Bob delivers a pointed vocal ( stand over your grave til I'm sure you are dead). Masterpiece-great sing along . Jus Like Mama Said kind of killed the tempo but was well sung and played...Wheel nothing special .... Milestones was incredilble, they were really in a jazz mood tonight... thus going back into the Bird Song groove that they were so comfortable in early on .. Touch and JBG lightened things up a little to end things.

If you like the jazzy side of Ratdog do yourself a favor and listen to the Bird Song (pt 1 and 2) and the Milestones from this show. If you want to get freaked out listen to the Masters of War ( which almost had a Black Sabbath kind of feel to it)

you know whaqt an over mellow beat show it was when you read in the previous review what a "relaxed and confident musical conversation" the show was. La dee da, charles, now go back and sip your 1987 cabernet and put some extra egg whites on your caviar, and hopefully we'll see some rock n roll tonight, lika a hard driving saint of circumstance.

another great show. Here come's sunshine was amazing - one of the great ratdog openers i've seen. Mission in the rain was awesome. MAsters of War/Masterpiece were powerful. the wheel and standing on the moon were great. great set list, great show.

... I was so happy! I was hoping for MASTERS OF WAR ... and WHAT A THRILL for it to happen. Last time I heard it was Penn's Peak SNOWDOG show during the blizzard on March 16, 2007.. now THAT was an erie version of Dylan's song... this one wasn't as powerful as Penn's Peak '07 but I did like the added stuff like Jay's machine gun drums at the beginning like someone described. The sad part is that it's as if Dylan wrote the song today and not 40 years ago. Yes, HCS as an opener, what a delight.

Standing on the Moon was a nice Jerry reminder of how he lives in our hearts (but boy do I miss that sweet voice...)

I myself thought some security was rude, I had a few problems with general things on several encounters with security, however, one security guy at the very end actually was a reasonable person and helped me with my problem.

As an aside, there are some people that need to *chill* and try to remember the SPIRIT of the Grateful Dead days - like dancing with 75,000 fellow heads at the same time in jam-packed 100+ degree outdoor stadiums, squeezed in like sardeens in gargantuous indoor venues, visiting the Twirl Girls in the hallways while watching the tens of thousands of heads in the stadium - actually GETTING ALONG... "strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hands..." and carry that spirit through these RD years. There's a lot of THIS IS MY TURF and NOT YOURS issues happening up front. I myself saw and heard stories from a few young heads getting bullied from elders who should know better. THERE'S ENOUGH BOBBY TO GO AROUND GIRLS... I would've liked him in shorts, but alas, it wasn't meant to be .... THANK YOU FOR A REAL GOOD TIME ;)

Although I did some wandering during the first Ram's Head show, I am blown away by the sound quality difference between being on the floor around the bar and what's on the disk. Ram's Head really blew it when the remodeled. The acoustics on the first floor are horrible. It's much better upstairs. Great show. Glad to see MK (and the rest of the boys) in such fine shape!

THis was my first show that my wife came along. The Sunshine opener was veddy veddy nice and the vibe carried through the rest of the night. Always good to see the family. After the show my wife and i conceived our first son!!!!! This show will always be a hallmark in our lives Thanks boys,LRNFA