Review From the Lowell Sun:

Ratdog worth the long, strange trip
By JILLIAN LOCKE, Sun Correspondent
Article Last Updated:11/12/2006 06:41:21 AM EST

LOWELL -- As I drove toward Lowell Memorial Auditorium, so many people flooded the streets: young to old, gray hair to dreadlocks, tie-dyes to button-downs. There were the obligatory Jerry Garcia look-alikes, and teenagers paced up and down East Merrimack Street with pointer fingers raised high, signifying they were in need of tickets. Why all the commotion? A legend had come to town.

Ratdog, featuring the legendary Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, made its way to Lowell Friday night to play a sold-out show.

I made my way through the mobbed floor to my seat, weaving through concert-goers as they danced and swayed and flailed in the aisles. Ratdog had just taken the stage and already had the crowd under its power. Bob Weir serenaded the onlookers while guitarist Mark Karan, bassist Robin Sylvester, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane launched into signature sounds; funk-laden, bluesy, country-spliced rock.

I was never a fan of the Dead, or any band that follows in the same vein, for that matter.

However, the style and grace with which Ratdog executed transitions, perfected the escalation and descent of climax and breakdown, and commanded the audience's attention and enthusiasm, caught me. They were enveloped in their self-made tunnel of sound and vibration and I could completely relate to and respect that.
In "Lazy River Road," a Dead cover, a slow tempo dominated the very lazy-sounding tune, making me feel as if I should be floating down the Mississippi rather than standing in a concert hall. The song was packed with twangy, country-influenced chords, with a hint of blues. I didn't even realize they had transitioned to the next song until I heard the familiar chords of Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower." They took a somewhat tame, funk-driven approach to the classic, jamming out until they dropped into an unexpected reggae breakdown, and picked back up with Weir and Karan wailing their dueling guitars.

"Might as Well," a Dead favorite, had a straight-up roadhouse rhythm, and was one of the biggest sing-alongs of the night. Weir led the crowd in a call-and- return of 'might was well,' over and over. They turned out another cover, jazz vocalist Peggy Lee's "Fever," then eased their way into my favorite selection of the night, "The Victim or the Crime," a song that emanates a darker, more seductive vibe. "He's Gone," another Dead cover, was delivered with passion and clarity as they continued to sing 'he's gone,' well after the music stopped.

As they busted out the last song, the Dead's "Franklin's Tower," a sea of people moved like a wave. There was a kid with long hair and a Grateful Dead shirt on in the row in front of me, and I sporadically asked him for song names throughout the night. A few times during the course of the show, he would turn around, scan the expanse of all the dancing, smiling people that filled the hall, and smiled the brightest, warmest smile, like he was home.