Bob Weir and RatDog | RatDog.Org

Am I nuts? Am I doing something wrong here? Is it too soon? From the first note of the first show we did on that tour it felt so right. I needed it. My bandmates needed it. The people needed it. They needed the power of the music to fill our spirits, to make us strong, to make us, to make us feel whole."--Bob Weir on Fall Tour 2001 (11/29/01, "Power of Music" Panel)

Today marks the seven-year anniversary of the first show of Fall 2001, a tour regarded in the .Org household as nothing short of epic. Ten days prior to the opening show of tour, RatDog was preparing for its NYC Closing of the Wetlands shows, which of course never took place. The September 21 Memphis show was the first release of the immense emotion and energy the band and audience would experience over the course of the tour.

The tour kicked off with the breakout of Picasso Moon, followed by a locomotive-powered Wang Dang > Sailor/Saint > Memphis Blues > Saint Jam. "Good of y'all to come out tonight. Time to pull together and pull through," Bob told his crowd at the beginning of the 2nd set, a set that would hint at a tour full of "Love Supreme" jams and teases. The show fittingly ended with the band singing "Not Fade Away" into Bob's mic, arms around each other in a semicircle--with the crowd, naturally, sharing the moment.

The next night in New Orleans would feature sit-ins from Irvin Mayfield and John Popper, and the night after that at Suwannee, Wasserman began the National Anthem during Bass/Drums and before long, the whole band joined in. The show closed with the band's first ever U.S. Blues.

The September 25 show at tiny and now-gone Ziggy's in Winston-Salem was a rocker including powerful debuts of Brown-Eyed Women and Mississippi Half-Step. Following a NorVa show that featured Love Supreme Jams, a Spanish Jam, a few instances of Uncle John's Band, and a very random Supplication, an American revival transpired in DC.

The cathartic first set was peppered with overtly appropriate tunes like Shakedown Street, Black-Throated Wind, and Liberty, as well as songs that simply felt right. The second set closed with Bob directing the audience during Lovelight: "Everybody turn to whoever's next to you, especially if it's someone you don't know, and say hi. Just say hi. Maybe give em a hug now." The closing U.S. Blues ended with a Star-Splangled outro and sent the crowd out onto the capital's streets feeling liberated.

RatDog next stopped in Woostamass for a jammy show on the way to Portland, Maine, where Keller Williams opened a one-set show. Things got crazy at Lupo's - Jay spent some time laying on the floor by Wasserman messing with Rob's "sound toys," and two nights later RatDog visited the Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach for the first time since 8/9/95 and played a second set that tore the place down. That set included some Love Supreme jams, Smokestack Lightnin, a Playin jam, a Oye Como Va jam, and some other pretty good stuff too.

The Geneva NY show that followed - where the venue tasked the crowd with staying behing an "imaginary fence" - included another request from Bob to hug someone and "take that home with you" during Lovelight. The following two nights RatDog played solid rockin shows in two of the only reserved-seat venues of the tour, October 6-7 in Ohio.

As it turned out, the tour would be cut short when Bob's second daughter was welcomed to the world, but to many who caught some of the 13 shows, Fall 2001 would be one of those high points that keep us all coming back.

More Fall 2001 shows to come....