Bob Weir & Ratdog - The Robin Wolverhampton 23rd August 2003
Setlist: Set I: Jam / Shakedown Street / Queen Jane Approximately / Easy Answers-Youngblood - Weather Report Suite Prelude-Part 1 / Let It Grow / Dark Star
Set II: Blackbird / El Paso / Ramble On Rose / New Speedway Boogie / Estimated Prophet / So Many Roads / Dark Star / One More Saturday Night // China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider
It's not that often that you get to see someone of Bob Weir's stature in such a small club.
Well, actually, at The Robin, it is. This wonderful little venue in the West Midlands puts on some of the best gigs of the year, year after year, at maybe a half or two-thirds of the price you pay at an Odeon/Apollo, or one of those godawful arenas, where you are so far away you need binoculars and the sound is so bad you may as well just not bother.
Set II: Blackbird / El Paso / Ramble On Rose / New Speedway Boogie / Estimated Prophet / So Many Roads / Dark Star / One More Saturday Night // China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider
It's not that often that you get to see someone of Bob Weir's stature in such a small club.
Well, actually, at The Robin, it is. This wonderful little venue in the West Midlands puts on some of the best gigs of the year, year after year, at maybe a half or two-thirds of the price you pay at an Odeon/Apollo, or one of those godawful arenas, where you are so far away you need binoculars and the sound is so bad you may as well just not bother.
Only a few weeks earlier, I had seen Blue Oyster Cult at this same venue and late last year, Jefferson Starship. Just look through my reviews and see for yourself at the names that come to this place. There are venues like this around the country: The Brook in Southampton; The Stables in Milton Keynes; Fibbers in York; The Limelight in Crewe; there are others too and they are doing a great job of keeping music live. Support them, go see the bands and have a good night out! Digressionsville has been left behind. Honest.
Back in 1981, me and my mate Stevie, trekked down to London to see The Grateful Dead at The Rainbow; the only time I ever saw the band. Awesome, a little under 4 hours they played. Tonight, I had a reasonable idea what to expect as I had downloaded a Ratdog boot from a newsgroup and I had and I knew it would be good, it was more a question of what would they play? They tend to play substantially different sets every gig. Ah, what the Hell. Whatever they played was all right; as long as they played Shakedown Street... and Estimated Prophet... and Easy Answers... and oh, you could go on for hours and that way lies madness, my friends.
Back in 1981, me and my mate Stevie, trekked down to London to see The Grateful Dead at The Rainbow; the only time I ever saw the band. Awesome, a little under 4 hours they played. Tonight, I had a reasonable idea what to expect as I had downloaded a Ratdog boot from a newsgroup and I had and I knew it would be good, it was more a question of what would they play? They tend to play substantially different sets every gig. Ah, what the Hell. Whatever they played was all right; as long as they played Shakedown Street... and Estimated Prophet... and Easy Answers... and oh, you could go on for hours and that way lies madness, my friends.
The weirdest thing of all was that only a few weeks earlier, I had been in San Francisco, El Paso, and the South West of the USA. Now, here I was, standing just a few feet from Bob Weir! My recently gathered knowledge led me to a new understanding of certain songs, it's true. I understood what it was to be in the desert, in West Texas and Mexico. El Paso, in particular, I could put images to that made it come alive for me in a way it never had before.
I have no complaints at all. They could have played Alabam Getaway, Me and My Uncle and a host of others but what I got was just as good. The band was tight, the musicians faultless, the performance passionate, graphic, lively and professional to an extreme degree.
Monster!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
25th August 2003
I have no complaints at all. They could have played Alabam Getaway, Me and My Uncle and a host of others but what I got was just as good. The band was tight, the musicians faultless, the performance passionate, graphic, lively and professional to an extreme degree.
Monster!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
25th August 2003