10/28/2005 Setlist, Photos, and Reviews

Drove 2 1/2 hours with no regrets. The show was great, besides being a terrible venue (no beer in the show... what?). Me and My Uncle followed by Masterpiece semiacoustic was my highlight. Bobby, thanks for 40 years of music. You seem to be the most motivated out of GD to still share yours and Jerry's and the GD's great music with us. :) Also,Mark you are really smokin on guitar. How about coming through Ohio on the next east coast JP tour.

Made the hour and a half journey to Erie. The venue was surprisingly empty--lots of open seats everywhere--and the low turnout seemed to contribute to a rather average show. Also no drinks were allowed in the seating area; they had to be consumed in the lobby... kinda lame.

Bobby started off solid with Truckin > Brown-Eyed Woman,Take Me To The River. Senor seemed to kill the momentum. Bobby doesn't sing Senor very well compared to most of his material; I think he should definately consider dropping Senor from his playlist. It's not a good one for his voice. But he started to get the momentum back with a very well done Row Jimmy .Golden Road took it up another notch, and Wang Dang Doodle and It's All Over Now were both well done and kept the crowd in it.... Unfortunately, after getting the momentum back, Bobby chose to end the set with She Says > Liberty, a rather weak finish for the set. When Bobby started playing She Says, I saw packs of people heading for the lobby for drinks and to have a smoke. Many didn't make it back until the 2nd set.

The 2nd Set started off with Bobby bringing out the acoustic. Bury Me Standing was kind of a weak opener for the 2nd set.... Me and My Uncle and Masterpiece sounded pretty good and started the crowd back into it. The electric came back out for a very good Hell In A Bucket. Lady > Terrapin was a bit of a mixed bag. Lady with a fan is not a song Bobby sings very well; in some lines he'll sound like himself, and other lines he seems to mimic jerry's vocal phrasing. It's rather disconcerting for me to hear some lines phrased in the Bobby style while others were in the Jerry style. Although Terrapin sounded decent, Bobby sings the Terrapin part much better than the Lady with a Fan part. Sugaree was kind of weak. Finally Bobby brought the 2nd Set to a close with Two Djinn, a very poor choice. This song is definately not strong enough for a show closer. A true buzz kill to end the 2nd set just like the first set. Bobby encored with At a siding > Terrapin Flyer, which was very well played sounded very good. It helped to make to journey worth it after the weak endings to the first and second sets.

All in all it was in my opinion a lackluster effort for Bobby. It had its moments but the weak set openers and closers made the show an average effort at best. Oh well, I guess they all can't be magical...

This show was a testimony to the power of the music. Despite lack of Shakedown Street, heads overcame the presence of the legal drug alcohol. (Some cry that the glass is half empty on account of "no beer"--liquor was unfortunately indeed slightly slopping up the scene--while others recognize that the music is what makes the glass full).... With smiling bass and the theatre rocking with reverb and trailing waves of the welcome scent of success (and skunk nuggets), the band broke out a stellar version of a perfectly audible Terrapin, also a slow but jamming Helen A. Bucket, with a conclusively on top of the game Terrapin Flyer and an all-time high drum solo. This was a great night in the chilly city with the wind torrenting from the great lake and miracles abounding amidst stoked spirits. Also significant were wonderful renditions of Liberty and Sugaree....

Great show and awesome venue. I really loved the Terrapin > Astronomy Domine. The Hell in a Bucket was the best I've ever seen or heard. The band was on and everyone seemed to be having fun. Good times once again...

Ithought it was a excellent show I also remember loving the sounds of Hell in a Bucket. Thanks for a wonderfulshow. p.s. i was happy there wasn't any alcohol allowed for once. The show really made everyones glasses turn from empty to full -peace

Drove up from PGH to catch the show. Saw a Boby and Friends show at the Warner in the spring or 2000 and it was quite fun - although i do not see Ratdog often The Warner is close enough and it is a beautiful old theater so off I went. Had great seats - 5th or 6th row on the left. A bit close for taping but I flew the mics and the show started. I am not going to go through a song-by-song review but I will say that having not seen Ratdog since 1998 I was pleasantly surprised. The show was solid, the new(er) songs grabbed my attention upon hearing them for the first time and the 'At a Siding' -> 'Terrapin Flyer' encore was a real treat. Complaints about the place being a poor venue are unfounded. You may have had to keep alcohol out of the theater proper and in the lobby but who cares. The room itself is beautiful and it sounds good. If you are complaining about that because you can't have a drink at your seat you are probably in the wrong place. Tapes sound good and an easy ride home down I79 capped off a good night.