Reviews
When there are two one set shows, back to back at the same venue, it has the feel of one two set show to me, thus the one review of both nights.
"First set" I thought every song was solid the whole entire night with some really big moments, Althea, the jam at the end of Birdsong w'Warren (this went to some pretty cool places) and Sugaree was pretty huge. Bobby has that spunk back in his step this tour so far.
"Second set"
Pretty similar to the first set, solid pretty much throughout, no stumbles like the hell in a bucket in L.A. With the highs being the Tenn Jed, Estimated, Eyes. The band def likes playing here, cool venue. Bob's voice sounds refreshed.
Adam, Boston
We got a hot one tonight folks....A++
Started with an energetic Miracle opener and never slowed down....Tenn > Jack > Estimated > Eyes were all well played and spot on! Nice strong finish with Touch.
Bobby and the boys blew the roof off, saying goodbye to good old San Diego!!
Pony B., San Diego CA
phew! This was probably the worst post-dead gig I've seen.
Mule's set was really slow and lethargic, understandable given the venue wasn't 1/2 full even after they'd been playing for a whole hour. Death Don't was cool (but definitely could have had more spirit) and they got a bit of juice going during their closer, but otherwise it was a snoozer.
Ratdog was also pretty slow. Miracle had more energy than the entire Mule set, but was still pretty slow and they never really got it going. Jed had a nice jam, as did Estimated, but the band was really sub-par and the weakest I've seen them.
That said, I could have had a good time chilling and just listening to the music, but the crowd was full of screwballs! I had three guys get in my face for no reason other than what I looked like. Another dude was standing in the aisle next to me and was so drunk he kept falling over and bumping into me. Then another guy started staring at my wife until she was so uncomfortable we had to move to another seat. Anytime she started dancing, some a$$hole would start getting in her face. The last straw came when a still 'nother jerkoff came up during Eyes and interrupted her dancing to try and get her to drink his beer.
On the whole, it was a really really bad scene. We took off at LLR and went home wishing we didn't go out at all.
Note: Sorry for the bad review...I'm not a curmudgeony old Dead head who doesn't know how to have a good time at a show. I'm pretty open-minded and used to a good bit of wild behavior at shows. I've enjoyed all the previous Ratbob shows I've seen but this was just a weak performance and spectacularly bad crowd.
ben, San Diego
Thanks Bobby. Saw Both nights and This one was a gem. I hope the music never stops! Great Venue.
Tim, Toledo,Ohio
Well I've seen Mule too many times to count and this was my least favorite of the shows. I must say that I think Warren holds off when he plays with Ratbob and does not want to show up the headliner. Also not a huge fan of the Marleymule. The set did have some bright spots but ws low energy and fairly lethargic.
RD was better and as the desrved headliner enjoyed better sound and lights. This was my first RD show in a long time (last one was with RW in New Orleans) and I liked this set better but Bobby is getting gray that's for sure. Really liked Prophet and Eyes and TOG sounded great and completly appropriate! All in all I think RD is used to taking an hour or so to warm up but that hurts when you are only allowed 2 hours total.
Plenty of kooks there but some cool peeps as well, got to shake hands and say hi to Bill Walton who was seated right behind me (thank goodness he was not in front of me) as well as David "perfect game" Wells.
Good times, I hope that Mule was just having an off night.
Clay, SD
The one-set format really hurts the band, in my opinion. The boys were sloppy out of the gate, especially through BBM and Lucky Enough. However, things improved with nice grooves in Estimated and Eyes. Kind of bummed there was no encore, but hey, I got to hear some great music in a great venue and city, albeit surrounded by a bunch of idiots.
Joe, San Diego
I agree with a lot of what has been said here. The show was pretty weak and uninspired in my opinion, just a beat too slow or someting, hard to pin it down. I think they should bring Kimmock back, they sound a lot better with him. I also was less than thrilled with a lot of the crowd. Ironically enough many of the old heads are the ones that chat the whole show, etc.. As an old school deadhead I keep coming back though, still better than nothing. I think Bobby would benefit from some amphetamines or something to give the band a shot of adrenline.
mike, erie, pa/san diego
I'm on vacation and went to the Greek show on a whim. Loved the LA Mule and RatDog sets. I was very impressed with RatDog's full rich sound. Like any good DeadHead, one wasn't enough I went chasing the dragogn yet again..
I dragged my reluctant wife to this show to try to recapture my LA experience. I felt I needed to check out this venue as well. Venue was something to see and the show was pretty good, not great IMO. Highlights were Estimated, Eyes and Looks Like Rain. Eyes had a really good jam. Unfortunately the crowd in my section kind of ruined things for me. I had two idiots behind us spilling beer on us multiple times. I had another rowdy cigarette smoking fan ask me the name of She Belongs To Me. When I told him, he stumbled back over and said "Isn't that a RatDog tune?" I could only think to myself shame on your for not knowing your Dylan and shame on your for not ever hearing 11/1/85 Richmond She Belongs To Me!
Eric, San Francisco
Great venue, with good acoustics and ocean breezes blowing over us.
Yes, the drinking folks tended to be a bit yappy & loud, but that's to be expected, so I just move on to a slightly different spot.
Between both nights @ Humphrey's, Ratdog had a wonderful mix of songs - Tennessee, Estimated, Eyes, and Looks Like Rain were very sweet. Mark Karan is back playing with more enthusiasm and passion than ever, and Jay Lane is an animal on drums.
I liked this show the best out of 4 I've seen, just nudging out the LA Greek show.
Ben Anderson, Burlingame, CA
Yes, lots of idiots in the crowd. This isnt new . There was 5 men for every woman in attendance , a recipe for bad behavior. Mule was lethargic . The 1st 3 RD tunes were forced,maybe some "on stage" sound issues contributed to the chaos. The piano on song three was way out in front in the mix ,and the song was pop rock . Things began to click and by the time the band hit Estimated I was glad I came. Eyes was spectacular as was LLR. I felt Jerrys energy coming in for a look see and I swear Weir sounded like Jer on the opening line of touch. Strong finish, Bobby has surrounded himself with great talent! Ill go again next year(14 years after Jerry) but probably to the Greek. Its much easier to groove anywhere but Humphries. Ive had my share of great shows and admit that Ive always been more of a Jerry fan than any of the others, but its still great music and fun to "take the pulse" of the scene once in awhile. All in all ,big fun.
Daniel, SD,Cal
Geez, I thought Gov't. Mule was good.As DK says, any guy that plays a guitar that looks like a coffee table can be on my team anytime.
I just like seeing Bob play.I liked Miracle & BBM. I thought I was at a prayer meeting at the end of Tenn. Was waiting for Walter Brennan to come out and sing "Give Me That Old Time Religion". Really liked Estimated,She Belongs & Jack A Roe.
How about LLR!!! Perfect last song TOG. And old time hockey no encore. Didn't need one. Just relax and enjoy Bob while he's here. He's carrying the flag and doing a great job of it.
PETE , LOS ANGELES
I thought both nights were fantastic. I haven't seen RD in over 3 years so I was pretty excited to be there. I danced all night long, feeling and enjoying every note that came off that stage. First time at that venue too. I love that it was right by the bay. Kept it real cool. I do wish the sets were a little longer though...I'm sure everyone did. The Boys were excellent! Love you guys!
SKK, SD
I can understand how a bad crowd can ruin a show for someone, it happens all the time, I always say they should prescreen who is allowed in HOWEVER...........
All of you complaining about the two san diego shows WOULD BE THE FIRST PEOPLE I WOULD SCREEN OUT OF COMING TO THE SHOW!!!!!!!
Stop your freaking whining. Jerry is dead, blah blah blah. I miss him too,Ratdog will never be the dead. If that is what you are looking for, stay home with your headphones on. Sick of all your god damn negativity!!!!!!!!!!
adam, boston
Agree 100% w/Adam (boston) - if these shows didn't fill the void we all are still looking for post '95.....then stay home next year.
Fantastic shows, great venue, the show must go on!!
Keep rocking boys!
Pony B., San Diego
I am as picky as it gets but I thought both nights were decent. I did find 7-1 to be a bit better but I was not displeased at all with this show either. Mule was a bit more subdued but the LLR was really great to hear and I also dug Eyes especially Karan ripping.
BINB, SAN DIEGO
Hey DEAD-Peeps...Humphreys #2! Very laid-back scene as I mentioned...the Mule kept walking thru the swimming pool to get to the tour bus...so I got a pic with Warren, taken by his bass player, who could not have been nicer. Said hey to Bill Walton, circled around enjoying the entire venue, which I would easily go back to. Only suggestion would be, for the staff to turn it into a GA show for this type of gig/leave it at that. Otherwise, totally swingin! After a solid "night one"...could only imagine what opener would blast us off our rockers....well you guessed it..."MIRACLE" Bobbys vocals were perfect, heavy dancin right out of the gate. Tight-n-jammy, solid 10mn..."Too much of everything is just enough!" I left to get some of the killer CA spicy ahi rolls...at the start of BIG BOSS MAN...only to run out to hear the famed "But you won't let Bobby stop" lyric, WOW, you know you are where you wanna be when you hear this. This tune has a similar tempo, so the dancin just rolled on...funky...love this song. Awesome Karan and honky-tonk piano riff to follow, made up a perfect middle of the tune jam. Fabulous jazzy piano interlude into LUCKY ENOUGH, I love the growing dynamics in this intro, builds and builds and builds. Just dreamy and danceable, so the first 3 tunes all with great dance tempos...all 3 about 36 mn, dancin into the cool SD night. So cool, I bought the Ratdog black hoodie, very glad these were available. Next Bobby says "We're gonna bring out the big fellow"...an out comes Warren...then a signature WOW...TENNESSEE JED shows up. It was at that moment that I quick stepped to the "cd purchase table" and got my wrist band...feeling that this show was already a must-have. Totally tight-totally funky, Bobby and Warren swapping lyrics...you don't see this "special" exchange everyday, that's for sure. Lengthy guitar duel between Warren and Karan...talent ridden. Then a trippy jam....POW! ESTIMATED....sure glad I got the wrist band on. "Where ocean breezes blow"......aaaaaaaahhhhh. Fab guitar work, long jam yet again. This tune has such a cool ending...total spacey outtro. A brief pause, to strap on acoustics...and straight into JACK-A-ROE. Just a wonderful classic DEAD tune! Then again without hesitation...right into SHE BELONGS TO ME...clear-tight-clean, more memories of my '87 Dylan/DEAD @ Anaheim. Slight pause, while we all stroke our chin wondering if this set list would continue to astound....and my God...the intro notes of EYES OF THE WORLD sound off, I was in a slight "overwhelmed" shock at this point realizing that this gig would play on my ipod forever. This tune featured Kenny blowing harder on his sax then I have possibly ever seen, the sax riff went nearly 4mn, and after it, he appeared to be totally spent. All of the players stepped up at different times, showing that they have all grown musically individually and as a group. The flow and inter-play on this song was amazing. Karan had a hang-glider like guitar solo...this tune went on 18mn...what a kind nug! I would call it 7-2-08's highlight, although as mentioned this setlist had multiple highs. Robin also got off during this tune, he blows me away every time I see him. Next jazzy STUFF, Jay Lane solo, he has grown as well, I think those headphones must help him "dial right in"...great job. Jay sporting the killer (must-have) purple tour shirt no less. Feeling "way satisfied" we all drift together into FEELS LIKE RAIN...Bobbys vocal, again perfect, "the landscape would be empty if you were gone". Sensitive and passionate, another 10mn jam. Then a quick exit into TOG, you just knew this diddy was sealing the show. Couldn't help but imagine a visual of JG in the clouds over looking the stage...looking down, proud that this tune was rumbling into the night. Super show, 2 SD gigs, simply a blast. "We will get by"...after a quick end-zone dance, time to grab our disc and pack up for our flight to Vegas.
AZLavaman, Anthem, AZ
Wow again what a show. Can't say enough about the last 4 days. What a mini tour. Mark has been on fire. I love the venue hanging out by the bay before the show. Missed 1/2 of mule making friends in the parking lot enjoying the San Diego bay. Miracle opener, followed by big boss man, (1st time i have seen since baltimore 06. My 41st ratdog show and they keep getting BETTER. Tennessee and Estimated were awesome as well. Loved the acoustic she belongs to me. eyes stuff then LLR, my only repeat in 4 days was touch of grey, but hey its all right. My only regret is mule should have played an hour and bobby should have done his usuall 2 sets. other than that Ratdog has been on fire.
Bill, Cheyenne Wyoming
Round 3 and we get a Miracle opener-WOW-still hear it 2 weeks later, Tenn Jed, into Est Prophet they did not get too in Indio Fantasy show SMOKIN, They hit all the right cords on She Belongs,every time I listen it gets better on the CD and the Eyes of Ratdog/World just blew me away,the Sax was magical, nice touch with Looks like Rain,but it never does in SoCal-just a Real Good time with the Boys once again-see you in Red Rocks-maybe I can get that St Stephen? Bobby for the Beer I got you in Indio!!! Have fun on East Coast!!! AKA NJ Chris
Blanch, San Diego CA