Here's an article from Billboard regarding Bobby's new cd...
I'm looking forward to hearing that 'masters of war'


Weir Looks Back On Solo Retrospective

Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

Alongside a lengthy tenure with the Grateful Dead, guitarist/singer Bob Weir has consistently embraced opportunities to perform and record as a solo artist and with side projects. That aspect of his career is the basis of "Weir Here: The Best of Bob Weir," a two-disc set due March 23 via the New York-based independent Hybrid Recordings label.

"Virtually everybody in the band has done it from time-to-time. It's good for the Dead for me to do stuff outside," Weir tells Billboard.com. "You're gonna learn stuff that you otherwise wouldn't learn, you're gonna find limitations that you need to work on that you otherwise wouldn't find. You're gonna find strengths, you're gonna find all kinds of stuff that you just otherwise wouldn't find if you stay in one context.

"Plus," he adds, "it's rewarding, it's fun."

The first "Weir Here" disc concentrates on studio work, ranging from his 1972 solo debut, "Ace," to 2000's "Evening Moods," both released on Arista. Much of what is included -- such as "One More Saturday Night" or "Lazy Lightning" -- will be familiar to even the most casual Dead fan. Through such groups as Kingfish, Bobby & the Midnites and the currently thriving Ratdog, Weir has often revisited songs that are Dead staples.

"If I'm playing a song that I've been playing with the Dead for a while, the personnel are different and their approach is different," Weir says. "Especially with Ratdog, where a lot of the guys come from a jazz background and they're gonna take a given tune for a different sort of walk in the woods than I'm used to getting from the guys in the Dead or than I would be from getting guys that come from a rock'n'roll background."

"Feel Like a Stranger" from 1980's "Go to Heaven" represents the Grateful Dead on the studio disc. Also included are previously released recordings with Rob Wasserman and Dan Zanes.

Disc two is devoted to live material with all but one cut stemming from Grateful Dead shows, several of which are previously unreleased. Highlights include a version of "Me & Bobby McGee" from the band's extended March 1972 stand at New York's Academy of Music and "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" captured on July 4, 1989 at Buffalo's Rich Stadium.

The set's finale is a version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" recorded at a Ratdog rehearsal shortly after the United States launched its attack on Iraq. " I was pissed off," Weir says flatly. "In some ways, this is better than a live performance. It was done in a studio, with studio sounds available to us, but at the same time it happened with the spontaneity of a live performance. There was no crowd there, but ... it felt good. It felt right."

On Monday, Ratdog kicked off a 28-date North American tour that plays the House of Blues in Las Vegas tonight (Feb. 25). The band's official Web site lists the full itinerary for the tour, which will close April 3 in Waterville, N.H.

Here is the "Weir Here" track list:

Disc one (studio recordings):

"Cassidy" (from the 1972 album "Ace")
"Mexicali Blues" (from the 1972 album "Ace")
"Looks Like Rain" (from the 1972 album "Ace")
"Playing in the Band" (from the 1972 album "Ace")
"One More Saturday Night" (from the 1972 album "Ace")
"Lazy Lightning" (from the self-titled 1995 Kingfish album)
"Supplication" (from the self-titled 1995 Kingfish album)
"Feel Like a Stranger" (from the 1980 Grateful Dead album "Go To Heaven")
"Easy to Slip" (from 1978's "Heaven Help the Fool")
"Wrong Way Feeling " (from 1978's "Heaven Help the Fool")
"Shade of Grey" (from 1978's "Heaven Help the Fool")
"I Want To (Fly Away)" (from 1981's "Bobby & the Midnites")
"Easy Answers," (from Rob Wasserman's 1994 album "Trios")
"Two Djin" (from 2000's "Evening Moods")
"Ashes and Glass" (from 2000's "Evening Moods")
"Wabash Cannonball" (Dan Zanes' 2003 album "House Party")

Disc two (live recordings):

"Truckin'" (from 2000's "Ladies and Gentleman... The Grateful Dead: Filmore East New York 1971")
"Estimated Prophet" (previously unreleased Grateful Dead recording from Hamilton, Ontario/March 21, 1990)
"Hell in a Bucket" (previously unreleased Grateful Dead recording from New Jersey's Brendan Byrne Arena/Oct. 12, 1989)
"Me & Bobby McGee" (previously unreleased Grateful Dead recording from New York's Academy of Music/March 23, 1972)
"Man Smart, Woman Smarter" (previously unreleased Grateful Dead recording from Buffalo's Rich Stadium/July 4, 1989)
"Jack Straw" (from 2002's "Steppin' Out With the Grateful Dead: England '72")
"Sugar Magnolia" (from 2000's "Ladies and Gentleman... The Grateful Dead: Filmore East New York 1971")
"Throwing Stones" (from 2003's Grateful Dead home video and CD "View From the Vault Vol. 4")
"The Music Never Stopped" (from the 1997 Grateful Dead compilation "Fallout From the Phil Zone")
"Masters of War" (previously unreleased recording from Ratdog rehearsal/March 19, 2003)

-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

Hmmm, the Grateful Dead are being inducted to the West Coast Blues hall of fame- Here's an excerpt from an article in the Alameda Times this morning:

"Unlike other more-rigid blues award shows, this Bay Area affair takes a very broad approach in recognizing those who have helped perpetuate the art form. Nowhere is that more evident than with the inclusion of rockers Elvis Presley and the Grateful Dead in this year's batch of inductees to the Hall of Fame.
The selection of the Grateful Dead, in particular, has drawn some criticism from blues
purists. But Stewart is passionate that the blues community recognize the Dead.
"The Grateful Dead have done more to keep the blues alive than probably B.B. King," Stewart says in what will surely be taken as a controversial statement. "I think it's important that the public, especially the black community, know how important that the Dead is to blues."
Certainly, the Dead helped introduce a whole new generation to the blues. They would include an old song such as "Turn on Your Love Light" in their sets, which would in turn send their fanatic following scurrying off to learn the origin of that tune. In their search, they would eventually discover the Bobby "Blue" Bland version and -- presto! -- new blues lovers were born.
The Dead also picked many African-American artists to open their shows and, thus, introduced them to a much wider audience. Furthermore, the band has contributed with its wallet, donating thousands of dollars to organizations such as the Bay Area Blues Society.
"We are not trying to make the Dead a blues band," Stewart says. "We are just honoring them for helping to perpetuate the art form."

In addition to receiving the VFTV DVD of the Closing of Winterland, Scotto and I also now receive "San Francisco" magazine which I guess is put out by KQED- hard to believe as it is quite a glossy upscale periodical. Today. the March issue arrived....I started glancing through it- noting that it contains a nice long article on our most recent toy- the ipod...adjacent to the ipod article I spied a nice lil photo (page 44) of Mr Bob Weir! (why is he always following me around?) I hate typing but for you, I shall transcribe:

The Artists Sound Off
What 2 SF artists - one old Lion, one young buck-Think of downloading songs for free.
(photos)<-The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir 56, happy owner of an ipod.
Bob Weir:
It's a moral issue with me. I believe in honoring what I love. So, I'm not going to rip off artists that provide me inspiration. If a guy can't make a decent living making music, he's going to have to go back bagging groceries orworking on that MBA. What does that say for the future of music? If people won't buy it today, it won't be here for tomorrow.

Question: Isnt file sharing a new twist on the Dead's famous practice of allowing fans to tape live shows and swap them?

Bobby: It's way different. To do a show, we don't go into a studio for three months, spend a couple of million bucks, and carefully make an hour's worth of music. Live, it's casually performed for the audience. As Jerry said, once we're done with it, it's theirs.

Question: Would you give away your songs online if you were a young band again?

Bobby: I still think it's shortsighted. If you choose not to make records because you need to make a living and hone your musical expressions, and that living's not available to you because of file sharing, then I don't think [making records] is going to be worth it to anyone.

wOO HOO- First review is in!

From Graceful Dead aka Julie:
Just got home - had a great great great time dancing - got a set list and see that ashes and glass got moved from first set closer to after let it grow.... they added the strange jamming space thing with Jay and Jeff and the wharfrat and they replaced sugar magnolia with Ripple.... and beautifully done!!! I would almost always like a sugar mag, but after that absolutely wonderful cassidy.... whew! Nice change in the setlist, Bobby.... assuming it was his choice - acoustic and gorgeous with the stand-up base!! Robin pulled it out a couple of times - did three acoustic songs with it at the beginning of second set - at least I think he had the big base for all three of the songs...could be wrong. Some difficulties here and there, but for the most part - an excellent courageous set - bobby is using new timing on some of the songs and stretching those howling notes extremely well... thanks for a good time - sorry the HOB isn't a favorite for some, but once the beer spilling was finished even before they started playing, things went very well for Tree and I and several others we hung out with... On to San Diego.... School Girl!!!! What a rockin rendition!! Althea was phenomenal!! And again, that Cassidy! They offered the show on CD right after the show.... amazing world. And yeah, nice call Patrick and thanks for the pics! Already!! but went to look and get a message about Sprint and I can't go there... going to bed - will check in the morning. WOOF WOOF.

Ratdog @ H O B - Anaheim, CA 2.23.2004
Oy! It's been one thing after another around here- Now the kids are sick- coughing stuff- blech!

Ah- but here's tonight's setlist - tour opening setlist!
Hob (that's House Of Blues) in Anaheim The venue is practically in Disneyland (lol, on one of our VFTV, in an Anaheim segment during Minglewood,-instead of "those Texas fillies" Bobby sings "Those Disney Minnies"...:o)

All right- Here's tonight's list!

Set 1 :
Jam
Feel Like A Stranger
Big River
Easy Answers
Tennessee Jed {just flubbed first line....hahaha}{and the second line too}
Odessa
Dark Star{Verse one ONLY}
Jam{Funky}
Schoolgirl
ALTHEA.#1 !!!!!{{ holy shitzkies.!!!}}
END OF SET ONE:-))

SET 2:
EL Paso @
The Winners@
The WEIGHT@
Weather Report Suite[Prelude}@
Let it Grow
Ashes & Glass
piano/drums/kenny on chaos pad{jay asked for the lights to be turned
off} LOL JAY
WHARFRAT
Dark Star {Verse two}
Cassidy

E: Ripple

I thought I had blogged in a few times since the 14th? Hmm?
Probably forgetting to click in- too distracted by thoughts of strategies to get to some of the upcoming dog shows!

First addy, I am posting is where to go to play 'Fantasy setlist " Dave at Ratdog.org has been offering this game for several Bobtours now- It's free and simple- You predict from a list of choices which songs will be played when (better instructions at the site) and when your choices are played- you get points and rankings..Dave keeps up with the stats and posts them - on DNC, some folks are pooling cds to send the winner/highest ranking points...
http://www.ratdog.org/fantasy

The other addy is long, but if you like to keep up to date on when the Bobstar will be on tv- this is the place to go:
http://www.musicstation.com/cgi-bin/rotv/rotv_cgi?search_type=artist_exact&sort_by=artist&type=tv&search=168991

Insomnia doth suck!
However, it doth gave me time to find this useful addy:

http://www.musicstation.com/cgi-bin/rotv/rotv_cgi?search_type=artist_exact&sort_by=artist&type=tv&search=168991

if you can get it in to your browser, it should take you to a site that will give you the latest scheduling of any Bobby Television appearance which would be coming up..
...this week, Bobby will be on TV about 4 or 5 times- reruns of "controversy" and the Ratdog segment of Austin City Limits.

Here's Reisha's review of the Jemimah Puddleduck show at the Fillmore last night-

ok, MY thots ( like anyone REALLY cares?) on last nites gig - :~>) :~>) :~>)!!!! I 1st got turned on to these QUACKS @ the schnoz in bezerkley ( by {{ARROW!!}}) a few yrs ago. fell in love w/ their sound that nite. have 'followed' ( not stalked!) em ever since. played their cd into the ground ( my fave gardening cd, lol! :~>). watched em go thru several keyboardists. they were playin w/ ( im gonna SLAUGTER his name, goddess forgive me) arlen schrimebaum. i REALLY liked him, & have kinda cringed at a coupla the replacements. but this j.t. thomas ( did i get that rite?) character - (played w/ hornsby, rite?) is a good fit. or, maybe ive seen him enuff to finally be comfy w/ his style?
they all looked, & sounded awesome last lite. i think mark was really gettin off on bein on THAT side of the rail - dream come true.
whad'did they play.....( im SO bad at recall - shoulda brought a scribble set) .... uh.... rock your papa - hmm, did they maybe open w/ that? i think they did. wasna so sure that should be the opener, but i went w/ it ( or, i could be mistaken bout the whole thing?) u can stay was EXCELLENT, as was memphis radio - maybe those 2 were together? & i was thirsty & had to pee & started to take care of that, but then they went into the one or the othre, so i aborted mission! & groooved to both, & then i REALLY had to take of biz, so i kinda dinna get.... uh,.....i forget - antoerh song i like alot, & uh... oh! bait the hook was ROCKIN too. molo & gross are prolly my two ( current) faves at what they do, & together, they morph the rythem into this funky beast ( kundalini?) inside of me. (+ theyre both really delightful eye candy, in different ways).& mark has come into his own. confident, talented, adorable..... oh! & who was doin the lite show?!?!?!?!? {{{{KUDOS TO THEM!!!}}}} ttrrrrrrrrrriiippppppyyyyyy stuff, i felt dosed after watchin that for a while!!!! i wandered around a bit, judging sound & crowd - sound was great, crowd was into it. made me happy. my ONLY critique would be to suggest a strong ending to the songs. while *I* like them morphing on into another, as a 'new' band, i think the crowd was a lil confused as to when to clap. but i had a better time than i was expecting, i TOTALLY got what i wanted ( well, close enuff ;~>!) - even down to marks green shoelaces! ;~>

WELL DONE, GUYS!!!!! :~>
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey! Still sore- fell down again off a step in the garage- I'm all off kilter- better get myself into some sort of regime before I become too uncoordinated..Speaking of undertaking a fitness regime- here is the addy to John Perry Barlow's blog-
http://blog.barlowfriendz.net/
seems he's been doing some working out lately- havent finished catching up with his blog but I'll thank him for the inspiration..

Just back from Mark Karan and Sons of Champlin at the Fillmore...Again, the beautiful Kemmie drove me in as Scott is resting up for tomorrow-today- It's Valentine's Day..and that means it should be a busy crazy day for jewelery sales at the Pawn shop..Mark & Puddleduck played well- loved the Elephant Walk jam in the middle of "Annie Don't Lie"...Met up with Reisha, Mazzy, Val and most of the usual suspects...only hung around for a few S.O.C. songs- then back to the peninsula for us..
The Fillmore is so yummy- can't wait til Mar2!

I received the following article this morning from Miki...I've watched Bill Walton commentary before just for those wonderful Dead references...He is afterall, the Dead's first appointed "Hall of Famer" ...I wonder how he liked that chocolate birthday cake? Forgot to mention the cake story to my friends the other night at the Warfield- guess we'll catch up at the Fillmore....

Anyhoo- here:


Bristol, CT -- In a confidential memo leaked to the press Tuesday
morning, executives at ESPN expressed growing concern about incessant references to legendary counterculture rock band, the Grateful Dead, made by NBA analyst and lifelong "Deadhead," Bill Walton.

"If we could all make an effort to help Bill reduce the number of
references to Grateful Dead lyrics, concerts he's attended, and past and present band members throughout an average broadcast," the memo said, "it would go a long way toward bringing more viewers to Fridays [ESPN's Friday Night NBA coverage]."

"Seriously, I'm not kidding here," the memo continued, "it's got to
stop. Before we all gouge our own eyes out with sporks."

While the memo is believed to have been sent by ESPN executive vice president of programming/production, Mark Shapiro, anti-Walton-Dead-reference sentiment has been growing company-wide since ESPN began cove! ri! ng NBA games this season.

"If he tells me one more time how he did mescaline with Mama Cass and David Crosby backstage at the Greek Theater, Berkeley, '71, I'm gong to smack him," said Walton's broadcast partner, Mike Tirico. "And that's exactly how he always says it, too: 'Greek Theater.Berkeley..seventy-one.,' and then he starts grinning and grooving to some Dead music in his head, going, 'Yeaaaah, man..yeaaaah' like a total stoner."

"The guy's, what, fifty-one?" Tirico added. "Hey Bill, the 'Summer of
Love' ended thirty-three years ago. Time to move on, pal."

Shapiro's memo also indicated that Walton's references to songs,
concerts, people and events from more than three decades ago is not helping ESPN's NBA Friday night ratings.

"We're targeting a younger demographic," Shapiro's memo said, "so if you could all please remind Bill that today's 18- to 24-year-old viewer simply does not care that it's the 13th anniversary of [Grateful Dead ! ke! yboardist] Brent Mydland's death. They don't care who Ron! 'Pigen' McKernan was, and don't understand why Bill is comparing Pigpen's leadership abilities in
the Dead's formative Haight-Ashbury years to Jason Kidd's ability to run the Nets offense."

"No wonder we're losing Friday viewers to 'John Doe.' Why? Because 'John Doe' doesn't have some sad, aging, hippie freakster spewing Robert Hunter lyrics every three seconds."

While ESPN management had been initially lenient with the random Grateful Dead trivia, facts, and anecdotes that Walton began injecting into broadcasts for no apparent reason, insiders believe that it was the recent Bulls-Wizards matchup-which featured Michael Jordan's last appearance in Chicago-that was the last straw for Shapiro.

Toward the end of the game, Walton managed to shoehorn approximately 168 Grateful Dead mentions into a seemingly endless monologue.

"While these great Chicago fans hope to see Michael 'One More
Saturday Night' perhaps in the playoffs, he's beginning to show a ! 'T! ouch of Grey' in his hair, and while I've always believed that Michael must be a 'Friend of the Devil' to have had such a wonderful career, and he still plays with the aggression of a 'Wharf Rat,' his 'Unbroken Chain' of success must come to
an end. But his legacy will 'Not Fade Away' even as he disappears down the 'Golden Road.' For us fans, there's 'nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.'"

Tape of the broadcast then shows a visibly confused Tirico about to open his mouth to speak, but being immediately cut off by the former UCLA, Portland Trailblazers and Boston Celtics star.

"This is horrrrrible, Mike, just horrrrible," Walton nearly screamed.
"I > fear the NBA will go to 'Hell in a Bucket' without Michael, and the 'Eyes of the World' will be upon the next generation of NBA superstars, and David Stern is clearly saying 'I Need a Miracle' to the Kobes, the Garnetts, the McGradys, even the Lebron Jameses of the world, hoping that MJ's retirement! d! oesn't lead to a serious case of the 'U.S. Blues' for NBA! fans."< BR>
Walton then made a tangental reference to Michael's wife "Althea," and three children-"Bertha," "Casey Jones," and "Tennessee Jed"-all of whom, he claimed, were in the United Center that evening. When Tirico informed Walton that Jordan's wife is, in fact, named Juanita and his children are Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine, Walton paused.

"Hey now, Mike," Walton said, "hey now, Aiko Aiko all day, jockomo
feeno na na nay, jockomo feena nay. Hey now--"

It was then that ESPN producers abruptly cut to an emergency
broadcast system test pattern, then back to ESPN studio analysts, David Aldridge and Dr. Jack Ramsey.

"Well, I.." Aldridge said, awkwardly shuffling papers and clearing
his throat.

"Did Bill just say that Michael Jordan's son is named 'Tennessee Jed,'" Ramsey asked.

While Shapiro is clearly concerned about the effect Walton's Grateful Dead over-referencing will have on the success of ESPN's Friday night NBA coverage, he a! dm! itted in a later interview that it could be worse.

"At least he's not mixing in John Wooden stuff, too. I mean, can you imagine if he combined all that Jerry Garcia bullshitt with his incessant Wooden motivational quotes? Christ Almighty."

Shapiro then shuddered

HMMM- Received this in my email- I'm not sure of the original source as it was sent cut & pasted rather than in link- Here goes:


Bristol, CT -- In a confidential memo leaked to the press Tuesday
morning, executives at ESPN expressed growing concern about incessant references to legendary counterculture rock band, the Grateful Dead, made by NBA analyst and lifelong "Deadhead," Bill Walton.

"If we could all make an effort to help Bill reduce the number of
references to Grateful Dead lyrics, concerts he's attended, and past and present band members throughout an average broadcast," the memo said, "it would go a long way toward bringing more viewers to Fridays [ESPN's Friday Night NBA coverage]."

"Seriously, I'm not kidding here," the memo continued, "it's got to
stop. Before we all gouge our own eyes out with sporks."

While the memo is believed to have been sent by ESPN executive vice president of programming/production, Mark Shapiro, anti-Walton-Dead-reference sentiment has been growing company-wide since ESPN began cove! ri! ng NBA games this season.

"If he tells me one more time how he did mescaline with Mama Cass and David Crosby backstage at the Greek Theater, Berkeley, '71, I'm gong to smack him," said Walton's broadcast partner, Mike Tirico. "And that's exactly how he always says it, too: 'Greek Theater.Berkeley..seventy-one.,' and then he starts grinning and grooving to some Dead music in his head, going, 'Yeaaaah, man..yeaaaah' like a total stoner."

"The guy's, what, fifty-one?" Tirico added. "Hey Bill, the 'Summer of
Love' ended thirty-three years ago. Time to move on, pal."

Shapiro's memo also indicated that Walton's references to songs,
concerts, people and events from more than three decades ago is not helping ESPN's NBA Friday night ratings.

"We're targeting a younger demographic," Shapiro's memo said, "so if you could all please remind Bill that today's 18- to 24-year-old viewer simply does not care that it's the 13th anniversary of [Grateful Dead ! ke! yboardist] Brent Mydland's death. They don't care who Ron! 'Pigen' McKernan was, and don't understand why Bill is comparing Pigpen's leadership abilities in
the Dead's formative Haight-Ashbury years to Jason Kidd's ability to run the Nets offense."

"No wonder we're losing Friday viewers to 'John Doe.' Why? Because 'John Doe' doesn't have some sad, aging, hippie freakster spewing Robert Hunter lyrics every three seconds."

While ESPN management had been initially lenient with the random Grateful Dead trivia, facts, and anecdotes that Walton began injecting into broadcasts for no apparent reason, insiders believe that it was the recent Bulls-Wizards matchup-which featured Michael Jordan's last appearance in Chicago-that was the last straw for Shapiro.

Toward the end of the game, Walton managed to shoehorn approximately 168 Grateful Dead mentions into a seemingly endless monologue.

"While these great Chicago fans hope to see Michael 'One More
Saturday Night' perhaps in the playoffs, he's beginning to show a ! 'T! ouch of Grey' in his hair, and while I've always believed that Michael must be a 'Friend of the Devil' to have had such a wonderful career, and he still plays with the aggression of a 'Wharf Rat,' his 'Unbroken Chain' of success must come to
an end. But his legacy will 'Not Fade Away' even as he disappears down the 'Golden Road.' For us fans, there's 'nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.'"

Tape of the broadcast then shows a visibly confused Tirico about to open his mouth to speak, but being immediately cut off by the former UCLA, Portland Trailblazers and Boston Celtics star.

"This is horrrrrible, Mike, just horrrrible," Walton nearly screamed.
"I > fear the NBA will go to 'Hell in a Bucket' without Michael, and the 'Eyes of the World' will be upon the next generation of NBA superstars, and David Stern is clearly saying 'I Need a Miracle' to the Kobes, the Garnetts, the McGradys, even the Lebron Jameses of the world, hoping that MJ's retirement! d! oesn't lead to a serious case of the 'U.S. Blues' for NBA! fans."< BR>
Walton then made a tangental reference to Michael's wife "Althea," and three children-"Bertha," "Casey Jones," and "Tennessee Jed"-all of whom, he claimed, were in the United Center that evening. When Tirico informed Walton that Jordan's wife is, in fact, named Juanita and his children are Jeffrey, Marcus and Jasmine, Walton paused.

"Hey now, Mike," Walton said, "hey now, Aiko Aiko all day, jockomo
feeno na na nay, jockomo feena nay. Hey now--"

It was then that ESPN producers abruptly cut to an emergency
broadcast system test pattern, then back to ESPN studio analysts, David Aldridge and Dr. Jack Ramsey.

"Well, I.." Aldridge said, awkwardly shuffling papers and clearing
his throat.

"Did Bill just say that Michael Jordan's son is named 'Tennessee Jed,'" Ramsey asked.

While Shapiro is clearly concerned about the effect Walton's Grateful Dead over-referencing will have on the success of ESPN's Friday night NBA coverage, he a! dm! itted in a later interview that it could be worse.

"At least he's not mixing in John Wooden stuff, too. I mean, can you imagine if he combined all that Jerry Garcia bullshitt with his incessant Wooden motivational quotes? Christ Almighty."

Shapiro then shuddered

This would be interesting to see/hear! well, maybe? It's a Bobby cover band!
http://WEBSPAWNER.COM/USERS/WILMUTT/

And here one last one from Blair ( note:I do not agree with the comparison to the schweppes or cough drop guys, hmmpf!)
Not only was drums super short, it had NO trance-y, quiet, spacy part. I had really been looking forward to that, too. Mickey didn't stay out there long at all...a first! Or maybe Bob came out too early...always a possibility.

Does anyone else think Bob is starting to look like the Schweppes guy? And is it just the first step toward looking like the Smith Brothers (of cherry cough drop fame)? Or is ZZ Top going to be his ultimate goal? (I hope not, because knowing Bob, he'll get his beard caught in the guitar as he tries to spin it! Hey, we kid him because we love him, Irenie!)

Forgot to mention that the person behind me in line, who I was chatting with, was stopped for havinga counterfeit ticket he'd bought on ebay! Yikes! Nice guy from New York; was very excited to be goin' to the show. He did manage to get in--at the break, due to the good graces of someone from GDTS. But it certainly gives one pause about buying tix on ebay....

BTW, I was in the sixth row of the loge (three above the aisle) a little on the Warren side (did anyone mention that Jimmy has moved all the way across the stage and is now next to Jeff?) and i thought the sound was FANTASTIC from the get-go; really good. Lights were nice and un-busy, too.

Need to also remark that I thought the "Throwing Stones" was really well done. Never a favorite of mine, but I hadn't heard it in a couple of years live and they played the hell out of it--the big triumphal jam was as good as it can be, with Jimmy and Warren wailing away. And though "Around and Around" has been known to sop me dead in my tracks, this one fairly kicked serious ass! Truly!

Encore was a treat--I love what Warren does with "Madman" (I kept hoping Elton would come out and sing a verse...he woulda dug it, too) and then the "Iko" and "NFA" were like icing on the cake. "Iko," in particular, had some really exciting leads in there by both Jimmy and Warren.

I went out into the cool night air with a smile on my face, Plucked the parking ticket off my car (no parking midnight until 6...didn't see the sign, got in the car at 12:11...rats...35 bucks!) and drove back to Oakland listening to the "Dark Star"> "Eyes" from the semi-recent '73 Dicks Picks...perfect!

I will definitely go see this band again. How about a nice run at the Greek?

I also enjoyed the harmonies on "inspiration," etc; nice touch. And I know I'm probably in the minority on this one, but I actually like "Self Defense" and liked it in that #2 slot. Nice little blast of Santanaesque stuff; always a good solo or two in there. (If Mickey had never written "Baba Jingo" you wouldn't be thinking about "self defense's" similarity to that tune. But SD actually has a melody and Mickey actually "sings" said melody decently.)

I'm not usually a big fan of Weir singing Jerry tunes, but thought he did a great job on both "Althea" (a definite highlight of the night) and "West L.A.," which was mostly really good (until Bob tried to do a fancy-Dan ending he couldn't pull off--one of the few actual miscures of the night. One of the others was, unfortunately, on the aforementioned "Stella," where Jimmy got COMPLETELY and UTTERLY lost on the solo--never seen him mess up that bad before. Maybe the tapes will reveal that I'm wrong about that one, but I don't think so.)

"Unbroken Chain" was a real treat. Phil sang it really well, great jam, etc. Really dug "Built to Last," too, with Warren giving that song plenty of heft...thought of Jerry when WH was singing the line about "one more star sinks in the past...."

Didn't know "All That We Are" but liked it. Something in the chorus really sounded like a '60s band to me (I remember thinking of Quicksilver or even Big Brother); not sure why. "Just A Little Light" is always hot...

Appreciated getting the 'Lost Sailor"/"Saint" and though they were having to work pretty hard to keep the "Sailor" together, they did ultimately, and the "saint" was a nice solid, rockin' payoff.

Drums seemed really short to me, but I could be wrong. There was a nice period when Phil and Billy were playing alone; very cool. "Space" was not super-spacy or long. Haven't read earlier reports, so forgive any redundancy on info like this: The jam before "Friend of the Devil" started out with Bob alone onstage with his acoustic guitar. Thgen he was joined by Warren for a short jam, then Jeff, then Phil, then the drummers, and that's when "Friend" emerged.

Kudos to Jeff, by the way, who brought a bit of jazz to nearly every solo he played

Blair Jackson's comments :
Mornin' all...
Had a great time last night seein' the new, and I must say, much improved lineup. I was one of those people who dug Joan's singing and liked what she brought to Garcia's songs, but I found that her NOT being there was fine; much less distracting, of course. Totally changes the vibe of the band, but in a good way, I think. Warren has the gravitas this band NEEDS, and, of course, the vocal prowess to pull off a "Stella" or--oh joy, joy, joy!--"Terrapin" (thanks for lettin' that one go, Phil!)

Wasn't until that "terrapin" that Warren totally cut loose, IMO. It's not that he seemed uncomfortable earlier; he was juck pickin' his spots, listening more. Jimmy seemed to be playing even MORE than usual, if that's possible, and louder, up until then, but the clash of three guitars I was expecting didn't really materialize. Bobby stayed out of Jimmy's and Warren's way quite effectively--I really dug the tone he had playing a telecaster most of the night...

Wooo!
I'm recovering from my night out... Sleep deprivation along with a tumble (I'm such a klutz!) I took on the street behind the Warfield has made me sore and lazy today...

Took the 5:04pm train (just down the hill from my house) up to San Francisco- arriving at station at exactly 5:42pm...Scott arrived about a moment later and off to Market street we sped. The neighborhood around the Warfield is a blend of theaters and peep shows. Even with "The Lion King" playing across the street from the Dead, we were still able to get a spot in the parking garage behind the Warfield. Scott had brought super burritos from the Mission for us..we caught up on our day and munched those burritos before leaving the car. As usual when the Dead play there, the sidewalks were filled with all sorts of deadheads, dogs, ticket scalpers and a limited number of peddlers. More than the average amount of kids holding up variations of signs looking for a miracle...There were absolutely NO tickets left. We ran right into Reisha - who had been in line all day, and she told us that all the Deadnetters in need, had been able to find tickets through the day! As predicted, the box office did release a very small wave of tickets sometime during the afternoon and our buddies had been waiting in that line there since very early in the morning . Later on, we learned that one of our friends had unfortunately purchased a bogus ticket from someone on the street and ended up having to leave :O(
The scene in line was basic chaos, though the doors were noted to have been opened at 7:00, we didnt enter the building until 8pm...the delay due to the abundance of bogus tickets- the staff was being extra vigilant in checking everyone's tix.
Finally, inside, connected with many friends, bought a diet cola and found the way up to our seats in the balcony. Imagine the surpise to find myself seated behind the famous GDTS Goddess, Ruby...Especially since we didnt make the cut with our mail order tickets this time around...We got our tickets from a friend, who had bought them from Ticket master in case she couldnt get in on mail order- she got her mail order floor- and gave us her balcony tix which landed us in a very nice part of the balcony- right by Ruby oooo the synchronicity of it all!
The show was fun! Of course!!! Our guy looked well from afar, all seemed happy. It was all enjoyable not quite on par with the smooth NYE show, but after all it was the first show of this configuration of players and the Warrenheads said that Warren had just flown in from Florida (Gov.Mule on tour?) and it was fun! I have already forgotten the order of all the songs but it was somewhere in the middle of MAMU that I first got lost enjoying myself in the Bobby moment. All I need is one Bobby moment..There were Brent tunes sung by Warren (wonderful voice for those)and also 'Madman across the water" which was unexpected (I've only been to/heard a few Phil shows) though it is known to be part of his repetoire. There were many highlights in this show for me..
Must attend to some things round here tonight- but hang around- I'll go try to dig Blair's review out of Deadnet and post it here...

Okay, well I love my Ratdog shows being only Ratdog, However-
this morning, I noticed in the Pinky (it's the Chronicle's entertainment guide) that Ratdog Fillmore shows will have opening musicians that go by the name of "The Waybacks"...I was disappointed and dubious..but then - thanks to Dave Rosenberg's Ratdog.org site, I was able to follow a link to The Waybacks website and am quite excited to see at first glance that they seem to be kinda folky and I've been on a real roll with folk music lately- My new family slideshow movie is set to a Nickel Creek song "When you come back down"...
Great choice (if there must be an opening act) !!!!!!!!
http://www.waybacks.com/index.html

Funny how things turn out...
Original plan was to see who could be rounded up to help answer phones for kpfa...Then there was the possibility of fumbling up to the Avalon to catch MK and Molo opening up for The David Nelson band...none of it came together...but I am listening to PigPen doing the Good Lovin thing off of KPFA as I'm blogging- final hour of the marathon..I pledged online a few hours ago..I will be very excited when my pledge gift arrives (Hard to believe I had managed to put off getting a copy of "The Illustrated Trip"til now, eh?)
After fiddling around on my homepages , I tried to watch Lord of the rings with my family but it just wasnt working for me...So, I retired to my room and began the remote roulette...I don't usually watch Country Music Television, but they were talking about murders..I pushed my Info button and discovered the show entitled "Controversy: Murder They Wrote-2004" was "A look at country songs about murder, includes interviews with Joan Baez, BOB WEIR, etc" How lucky was that? Bobby was among many folks (Tanya Tucker, Willie Nelson, Porter Wagoner) interviewed. Bobby's comments were about "Folsom Prison Blues" and "Goodbye Earl" ...
This is the second time Ive stumbled on Bobby on CMT. The other show is "Elvis" which shows up semi regularly on CMT. I'm not sure what the difference is between country and Folk.. I like em both.

Ah, a few more daze until Bobness with The Dead at the Warfield!
We've got seats in the balcony- splendid! I'm saving my strength for The Fillmore rail next month..Last Valentine's day, The Warfield was superpacked. The line wrapped all the way around the block-and it's a pretty long block. Since I won't be able to join the Deadnetters in doing line duty- I'm quite relieved to have seats-the floor is open space with some tables (most better floortables are reserved for VIPs)..It can be difficult to navigate and just way too crazy.

My son's new teacher is a deadhead-how about that?!
We got to talking and he said he has been looking everywhere for Dead tickets...Mr B. is one of 5 teachers at that school who are Deadheads, that I know of! Last December, I saw the 1st grade teacher and his wife then saw the 3rd grade teacher and her daughter at the SEVA benefit...The PE teacher used to do the Grateful Dead tours..Suzy, the kindergarten teacher has a picture of herself with our Bobstar (from the 80's) ..and Scott's cousin Andrew- (he was in the luxury suite with us on NYE in exchange for some kidsitting) works at the same school with all these charactors...he doesnt teach but works in the after school homework club.
This is so Bay Area!

Today is the best day I've had in a couple of weeks!
The learning different child was accepted back to his old school..the work will be difficult but the community of friends he had made there will see him through. I have read where our Bobstar had also struggled through school because of his own dyslexia. Having a brain that works in it's own unique way is said to make for an extra dose of creativity...
Meanwhile back in the cyber weir freak world, I have now received word (2nd time this week)that there just might be a UKDog in 2004..The dates are slightly different from the first round of rumors-and source unrevealed but even without confirmation from TPTB, I google trailed the source of the first rumor and found that such a person does exist and indeed is/has been involved in booking bands- including Ratdog. ...Of course, nothing is very certain until Bobdog puts the info out (and sometimes even then...)
at any rate, that anything is there to ponder, makes me happy!

LOL- How funny is this- another Ratdog blogger! Well sort of!
here

Superbowl and the Bobstar! Someone at DNC linked this article-

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/football/article/0,1406,KNS_321_2623953,00.html

Well, this is an exciting development in the Warfield Dead show (one week away!) Phil Lesh's organization Unbroken Chain has released a bunch of tickets to eBay to auction off . The profits will be donated to helping schools..For a pair of Lower Loge (excellent seats) I might have to get in on the action..There are also the much sought after GA(floor)tickets available...
Check it all out @
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/unbrokenchainfoundation