4/11/2008 Setlist, Photos, and Reviews

Good show in general. Second set was nice and tight. It all came together for me around Mississippi 1/2 step, and rolled nicely till the end.

Just loved this venue and the acoustics were just great!! Crazy Fingers (with a reggae swing?) was such a treat as well as Terrapin, Black Peter and Saint! The Eleven was cooking and worth a copy of the show!! Was just okay with Liberty for a first set closer. A dude in line got Mark's playlist and the first set was supposed to close with Deal. Everyone at the end of the show was in a fog....Deal or No Deal? There was no Deal but that was not a deal breaker here. Many thanks to those dancing fools around us!

30 years ago on april 12, 1978 i saw the dead the first time at duke u. needless to write, but it transformed my life. so i had a positive karma heading into last night. anyone notice that the exit was montague(like the street in tangled up in blue)?

the venue was awesome! little hassles or lines, guessing around 1700 in a 2300 seat room and the sound was money. had a seat to bob's right in the 5th row.

1st set was spotty w/ little momentum. crazy fingers was nice and liberty got te crowd rocking. and then...

wow and wow in the 2nd set. start to end the best 2nd set i've seen. smooth blackbird and mexicali steered into an enchanting corinna. crowd got raucous and kickin' during a bullseye miss. 12 step and was rewarded with a thorough rendering of terrapin. my jaw was dropping the whole time.

when bob came back and black peter started, i was wary yet the dog nailed the heart and soul of it. when stephen stumbled out ( did i mention my name is stephen) all the planets and the sun had aligned. it was one of those times
when you're exactly where you are meant to be. the william tell bridge was sung with gusto and precision and then tauntingly weaved into my favorite piece of music...the eleven. it was purly magical. the ripple put a smiling bow on the entire evening.

thanks to everyone i've encountered on the way. when i've tumbled you've been there to pick me up and send me on my way with a kind word or bud. the woman in the dead scene are the best, the musicans utterly professional and the experiences i've had sustain me. i think of Jerry everyday with a sly grin on his face that puts one on mine. a special shout to Jim T in Fuquay-Varina and the Capitol crowd, Bob, Joe and Nana. But most of all to my best friend Greg C in Charlotte who has helped see me through. This has mostly been his fault.

Steve J.

p.s. and of course, a special thanks to Mr. Bob Weir and Ratdog. It wsa great to see MK's healthy smiling face again!

i forgot jus' like mama said, my fave new dog tune that i didn't think they'd play. bobby sung like a champ on it. what a great song!

steve j

classics songs one after the other, great selection, the james not quite reaching the same level as shows of the past, at least not consistently, stranger is the underrated best opener and into easy answers gets things rolling along, miss kimock and his magic moments of jerry-picking, I mean hitting notes that only god and Jerry could understand, or my dog and jerry. Praised be he, my mutt that is. piece.

This was my first time at the Charlston coliseum, but not my first time in Charlston. The coliseum was surprisingly nice! People being hassled by Charlstons finest unfortunately came as no surprise.

This was the best Rat Dog performance I have seen in a long time. Maybe it was the rest in between the Baltimore gigs or just the warm, southern weather. Every band member played to the best of their abilities.

The one band member who really stood out at this show was Bob. I was fortunate to have a great conversation with a lifelong fan of the Dead during break, and he was proud to say that he was a much bigger fan of Rat Dog than the Dead. He made comments on how there were so many nights that Bobby would carry Jerry's slack, as Jerry was too messed up on whatever drugs and then would go back to a ciggerette in between each tune. He would never face the crowd and played with no enthusiasm whatsoever. This brings me to Bob. Here he is 13 years after Jerry's death and he is still giving it his all, every night. If you think Weir slacks on certain nights, get yourself a copy of this show. The Easy Answers, Mexicali, Black Peter, and The Eleven were EPIC! During Black Peter, Kenny just sat back by Jeff's piano and was looking at Weir with a smile on his face, and you could just tell he was awed by how inspired Weir was performing this evening. I hope this band continues to tour for many years to come, but father time will eventually come into play, even for a legend like Weir, who still plays with more passion than any other musician his age. He reminds me of Tiger Woods when he drains a big putt in a major tourney and pumps his fist. During some of his vocals this evening, Weir was hitting such high points, that there were actually a few fist pumps. For all you synnical fans out there, take a look at the big picutre. We are fortunate to witness a legend perform and he now has bandmates behind him that appreciate what they have and relish this opportunity, unlike Jerry, who took everything for granted and many nights was just going through the motions.

Over all a nice show...It was great to see that there were alot of very peaceful and kind people out there.As I was driving down the road that day ,I was askin to see a Terrapin and they did ,thankyou RatDog.The second set was very tight and pleasing .A nice send off with a Ripple,Last but not least,What's in the water in Charleston!Man ,hot women everywere!!!!!

This was a high energy show ....with both Bobby and Mark in their element along with the rest of the band......the sound at the Performing Arts was right on ...the first set really took us back and we loved Maggie's Farm...then the second set taking it from Black Peter to St.Stephen and into the Eleven who could of asked for more....but then comes Ripple and everyone hugging...who could of asked for more....I want to extended a special thanks to both Bobby and MK for making my sweeties nite....

Bobby & Ratdog, Thank you for a real good time:) First time I've seen Ratdog outside of a festival and my expectations were blown out of the water. Perfect way to start of the show with Feel Like a Stranger, and even Crazy Fingers gave me chills. Second set was literally mind blowing; Mississppi-Half Step> Lady w/ Fan put a permanent smile on my face. What else could you ask for after they did Black Peter> Eleven> St. Stephen? I had chills up my spine during Black Peter; Mark Karen fucking tore it up and Bobby really is at his prime. I'm pretty sure my mind was on the back of my chair after the show:) Keep it up Ratdog!!!

Just to echo what's already been said of this show, I'm a veteran of 239 GD shows from '77-'95 and I never thought that RD could pull off Terrapin like the Dead, but man o man they came awfully close Friday night. Everyrthing from 1/2 Step on absolutely smoked and Karan ripped on Black Peter and the tears were rolling during Ripple. It was that feeling I remember from many years ago. The Spirit was in the House this night and I could feel our Absent Friends were smiling:)

Thanks!

Tony

Musica Universalis! Mr. Weir et al are simply amazing professionals. First set a good taxi to the take off at Mexicali in the second, and then we headed for the spheres. Like the days of yore...and still ..."the music never stops." We were fortunate yet again. Many, many thanks to the band and all associated. There is nothing like a RATDOG Show.
Peace,
perfessor
PS my head is working better now....

Even on crutches Ratdog Rocks my World! Thanks Boys, Charleston was so beautiful!

Things got off to a funky (in a good way) start with Stranger and Easy Answers. I wish that instead of going into a reprise of the vocals after the jam that the band would have gone into another tune. Franklin's would have been a good choice. Kenny plays some notes during E.A. that sound like the belong in Franklin's.

She Belongs to me and Crazy Fingers were beauties though.

I skipped Maggie's and She Says. Maggie's is repetitive and S.S. is too sweet and Bobby's voice sounds weak singing it.

I enjoyed the Liberty. It's a great song.

Second set got off to a good start with the first two acoustic numbers which were played pretty well. Then they started a dark and slinky number which I was afraid would turn out to be another Dylan tune but instead was Corrina. I really like this tune.

Unfortunately, rather than going into another jam tune the momentum stops and we get Jus' Like Momma Said. I don't mind this tune, but it's not a jammer and belongs in the first set not the second. Same with Half Step, which is also too sing-alongy.

At this point I didn't really care what happened next and I skipped most of the rest of the show. St. Stephen was all over the place. It's a song more suited for a rock band. Ratdog is more of a dub and r & b band. It would be better if it played more to its suits. Also--they should play more reggae and jazz numbers like Eternity.