Golden Gate Park

Suddenly, RatDog Is Everywhere!

Analise Dubner — Mon, 14 May 2007 19:36:29 -0400

Bob Weir and Sammy Hagar after a rippin' version of
"Loose Lucy" at RatDog's Earth Day celebration in
Golden Gate Park, April 22. Photo: David W. Clark

Bob Weir and RatDog, already on one hell of a roll, continued to build momentum, make new friends and engender mass communal bootay shakin’ on the band’s triumphant late-winter/early spring tour, which found the doggies raising joyous havoc along the West Coast in February, and then doing likewise, only more so, in the Northeast and South through most of March. The tour featured some welcome additions to the band’s repertoire, pleasant surprises in the guest appearance department and performances that made it easy to understand why RatDog’s audience has been growing ever larger and more enthusiastic over the past few years.

It’s hard to single out high points in a tour so jammed with goodies, but a good place to start might be the glorious homecoming show on Valentine’s Day at The Fillmore in San Francisco, which featured one especially audacious (and appropriate) song choice: a swoonworthy rendition of the great Rodgers & Hart standard “My Funny Valentine,” crooned by Bobby as he prowled the stage apron with a hand-held microphone. Then there was the whole show in Vancouver, which some longtime followers of the band placed high on the list of best RatDog performances ever. The Eastern swing peaked with a spectacular three-night stand, sold out for months in advance, at New York’s Beacon Theater. Among the highlights: A potent guest shot (on “Milestones” and “Turn On Your Lovelight”) by the legendary soul/R&B/jazz bass player Jerry Jemmott (possessor of a truly staggering session discography that includes many of the greatest records by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, King Curtis, B.B. King and others too numerous to mention); dear friend Donna Jean Godchaux Mackay lending her unmistakable sweet harmonies to “Friend of the Devil,” “Cassidy” and other favorites; and instrumental reinforcements by such mainstays of the NYC scene as DJ Logic, Tom Pope, Chuck MacKinnon and Dred Scott. And then there was the wonderfully played bit of musical pranksterism that Bobby devised for the Beacon run: On each of the three nights, the band played “Stagger Lee.” No, not the same song three times, but three different takes on the classic American folk legend, in the chronological order of their composition. On opening night, it was Mississippi John Hurt’s immortal country blues version; in the middle spot was the 1959 R&B hit by Lloyd Price; and to close things out, the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter revisionist, Delia DeLyon-empowering retelling of the tale from 1978. It was, all agreed, three halves of a hoot.

Bob breaks out his old Gibson ES-335 in Golden
Gate Park, 4/22/07. Photo: David W. Clark

If you missed out on the tour (or were along for the ride and want to revisit your own fave moments), get thee to www.ratdoglive.com and peruse the selection of high-quality soundboard recordings mixed by the band’s audio wizard, Mike McGinn.

After the tour was over, the band returned home for another San Francisco date, this time as part of the annual Green Apple Music and Arts Festival, a multi-city celebration of Earth Day. RatDog headlined the biggest of the Bay Area festival events, a free show at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park, on a terrific bill that also included Stephen and Damien Marley, The Greyboy Allstars, Martin Sexton and Jonah Smith. Sammy Hagar joined the fun with RatDog on “Loose Lucy.” And hey… was that Bobby’s beloved old Gibson ES-335 guitar (a mainstay of the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound era, but very seldom seen onstage since), making a rare appearance for part of the set? Why yes, we believe it was!

The Green Apple weekend wound up being something of a mini-fest for RatDog’s extended musical family as well, as the days preceding the big bash featured club shows by Mark Karan’s band, Jemimah Puddleduck, and Alphabet Soup, the hip-hop/jazz/funk unit featuring Kenny Brooks, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti.

There was one more local chore before the guys took a well-deserved pre-summer-tour break: An appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien, on the penultimate night of Conan’s week of shows taped at San Francisco’s venerable Orpheum Theatre. The band played a compact (four minutes!) version of “Jack Straw” (with Bobby on that 335 again). Alas, there was no meeting of the canine minds between RatDog and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.

On the not-too-distant horizon: A very busy summer, of course! Several choice festival dates (including Bonnaroo in Tennessee, 10,000 Lakes in Minnesota, All Good in West Virginia and the Gathering of the Vibes in Connecticut; plus a bunch of dates with Keller Williams, another with the Allman Brothers Band and more. We’ll be catching up with Bobby and the other ’dogs along the way to get their impressions, musings and unhinged observations, and will pass them on right here. Stay tuned!

And be sure to pay a visit to the band’s official site as well: www.rat-dog.com

—GL

Jerry Sitting in with the Diga Rhythm Band

Analise Dubner — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:29:23 -0400

Jerry Sitting in with the Diga Rhythm Band, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Grateful Dead - Lindley Meadows

Analise Dubner — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:25:33 -0400

Grateful Dead, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Jerry Garcia - Lindley Meadows

Analise Dubner — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:16:35 -0400

Jerry Garcia, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. Photo: Ed Perlstein

Donna Jean, Bobby and Phil, Lindley Meadows SF

Tue, 01 May 2007 17:55:55 -0400

Bobby, Donna Jean and Phil, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, SF, CA

Bobby - Lindley Meadows

Analise Dubner — Tue, 01 May 2007 12:43:13 -0400

Bob Weir, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, SF, CA.

Little Fan, Lindley Meadows, SF

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:37:48 -0400

Little fan, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, SF, CA.

Paul Kantner & Grace Slick, Lindley Meadows SF

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:54:31 -0400

Grace Slick, Paul Kantner on stage Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, SF, CA

Billy Kreuzmann - Lindley Meadows

Analise Dubner — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 11:51:27 -0400

Billy Kreuzmann, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

Phil Lesh - Lindley Meadows

Analise Dubner — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 11:49:10 -0400

Phil Lesh, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

Jerry Takes A Break

Analise Dubner — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 11:46:28 -0400

Jerry Garcia Taking A Break, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Jerry Garcia Memorial

Analise Dubner — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:27:23 -0400

Jerry Garcia Memorial, Polo Fields, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

Jerry, Bobby & Phil - Lindley Meadows

Analise Dubner — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:12:59 -0400

Jerry, Bobby and Phil, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Phil Lesh - Lindley Meadows

Analise Dubner — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:10:41 -0400

Phil Lesh, Lindley Meadows, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.

Chocolate George's Wake Party Poster

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:29:59 -0400

Chocolate George's Wake Party Poster.

Bill Graham Memorial Concert

Analise Dubner — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:39:33 -0400

October 25, 1991 - Bill Graham Dies at the Age of 60. Grateful Dead with Guests. Polo Field, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. 'A Benefit for Laughter, Love & Music'. Memorial for Bill Graham

Bobby Plays in Golden Gate Park in April 1967

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:33:27 -0400

Bobby playing Speedway Meadows, Golden Gate Park.

Jerry & Pigpen Play in Golden Gate Park in April 1967

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:28:42 -0400

Jerry & Pigpen play Speedway Meadows,Golden Gate Park.

The Dead Playng in Golden Gate Park in April '67

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:24:14 -0400

Grateful Dead playing Speedway Meadows, Golden Gate Park

Bobby Playing at Golden Gate Park 1967

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 13:17:09 -0400

Bobby playing Speedway Meadows, Golden Gate Park.

Laminate, Jerry's Memorial

Jonathan Lane — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:38:45 -0400

Laminate, Jerry's Memorial. Designed by BGP. The Polo Field, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Crowd next to Pigpen playing in G.G. Park

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:31:29 -0400

Crowd next to Pigpen, playing in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Jerry Playing in front of Crowd in G.G. Park

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:27:15 -0400

Jerry playing in front of crowd in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Jerry playing in G.G. Park Summer

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:25:07 -0400

Jerry playing in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Jerry Standing Backstage in G.G. Park Summer

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:18:45 -0400

Jerry standing backstage in Golden Gate Park

Jerry & Phil play in G.G. Park Summer

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 19:28:31 -0400

Jerry & Phil in Golden Gate Park

Human Be-In 1967 Poster Two

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:49:51 -0400

Human Be-In 1967, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. Artist: Rick Griffin

Human Be-In 1967 Poster

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:30:31 -0400

Human Be-In. Attendance: 20,000. Performers: Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Dizzy Gillespie, Allen Ginsburg, other lesser known local bands, and spur-of-the-moment performers. Artists: Kelley Mouse, Michael Bowen. Photographer: Casey Sonnabend

'A Benefit for Laughter, Love, and Music', Memorial for Bill Graham

Jonathan Lane — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:54:01 -0400

'A Benefit for Laughter, Love, and Music', Memorial for Bill Graham, Polo Field, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA