1/28/2009 Setlist, Photos, and Reviews

mark is amazing..loved the way he brought on the band little by little..excellent material

This was the best part of the trip for me. Mark started the set solo and did a great job of filling out the sound with just his guitar. He seemed completely comfortable holding down a stage on his own, whether he actually was or not, that is the way i perceived it and perception is reality to most people. He played a second song by himself. A new song he wrote while in the hospital battling cancer. It was very emotional and inspiring. Then it was time to get down, he started having members of Ratdog join him one by one until they climaxed with an extended version of Don't Let Go. After Robin joined and up until this point the jamming was very free form. Mark was constantly changing the themes of the jams and allowing the rest of the band to take it from there. Most of these tunes were surpassing the 10 minute mark once Kenny and Jeff were up there. Bob Weir then came out to join and sing two Bob Dylan tunes and Aiko AIko. This sounded more like Ratdog, the solo's were assigned specifically and cut down to 2 or 3 rounds each. Weir seemed to condense the songs compared to how Mark had been opeing them up. Weir's vocals were powerful and his guest appearance was a nice surprise. Now, back to the jammin...Mark finished up the set singing Lovelight, Schoolgirl and Deal. His voice sounded great, this being the first time we had all heard him singing lead since his treatment. Schoolgirl was played similar to the fashion in which the Grateful Dead used to play it. Jeff's raunchy blues piano filled the gaps after each lyric. Mark played his solo before passing it on to "Kenny B" as he called him into the jam. Jeff brought the instrumental section back home perfectly right as Mark came in right on cue to finish the vocals. It was started to sound like this set had been rehearsed for a week while in actuality it was all thrown together that day. Deal was played just as well and ended with a Reggae outro suited perfectly for the location and was a quick reminder of how cool it was that we were all in Jamaica for a week with Ratdog. Being able to hear Mark sing and take the leash of of the fellas and really see everyone stretch out and jam with each other was a very special treat which I will cherish forever. "Let MK Sing"