Bob Weir and RatDog | RatDog.Org

Bobby had not performed at this venue since the classic 1980 Dead shows when they played acoustic. Needless to say, I had been awaiting these shows since they went on sale.

Tonight, Ratdog was opening so I was sure to be in Radio City by 6:45. The venue was a little cooler than the previous night so I was ready to dance. The band came on and after a short jam they went into the rarely played "Casey Jones." The seats filled up quickly and the place was rockin'. Other early highlights were "Brown Eyed Women" and an impeccably played "Crazy Fingers."

I always enjoy hearing songs I've either never heard the band do or at least not for some time. I was not disappointed here as Bobby went into "Big Iron", a Marty Robbins song that they busted out recently. Things were really jumpin' during the "Uncle John's/Other One" combo. This duo of tunes easily contained the best jamming from either night at Radio City. A great version of "Sugaree" followed after the "stuff" portion of the show.

After "Throwing Stones," I thought the show was over as a group of men I mistook as roadies walked on stage. Then Bobby introduced them as The Persuasions. My jaw dropped because I had just listened to a tape of a 2000 RD show that The Persuasions guested on two days ago. They did "Liberty" and then came back for an a capella version of "Black Muddy River".

What a great cap to two days of top notch Ratdog. My only disappointment was that they didn't play "Eyes of the World," a song that was not played at all at Radio City in 1980. But now I'm looking forward to the Atlantic City show next month.