Bob Weir's Ratdog at Westbury, NY 10/30/08

I caught Bob Weir and Ratdog at the Capital One Theatre in Westbury, NY on October 30th '08 last week. This is the third year in a row Ratdog has played this venue on Halloween and the day before Halloween. This year and last year I decided to just go on the 30th so that I can spend Halloween trick-or-treating with my daughter. Oh well, I guess I have my priorities mixed up. For most people Halloween night would be the preferred night to go, if you were only going one night; and this year New York Deadheads had a tough choice with Phil Lesh and Friends playing right accross the river on Broadway at the Nokia Theatre for three weeks starting October 31st. I'll write about my Phil and Friends experiences in the next post (I went Sunday Nov 2nd and will be going this coming Sunday the 9th).

As for Ratdog I thought the show the night before Halloween was excellent. Bobby and Ratdog played with great energy and seem to be on a roll right now. Weir looked good with his trimmed beard and mustache and familiar shorts, even though it's autumn. For those of you who have never been to this intimate venue the Capital One Theatre is in the round with a revolving stage at the center. Ratdog always keeps the stage stationary, and previous years they placed a curtain accross the theatre making it even more intimate with seating in only about two thirds of the place. This year they removed the curtain and opened the whole venue up to seating. This really didn't make the show lose any intimacy since the place is so small anyway. Maybe it seats 1000 people or so, if I had to guess, at full capacity. If anyone has a picture from this show I'd love you to email it to me so I can place it in this post. I brought my camera but had battery issues and unfortnately couldn't get any photos. If you provide me with a picture or two I'll credit you for it. Here's the setlist and link to download a great audience copy below. Please comment on your thoughts if you've listened to this show or if you were there.

Set 1
Jam ~>
The Music Never Stopped ~>
Minglewood Blues ~>
Queen Jane Approximately
Youngblood
They Love Each Other
Tomorrow Never Knows ~>
Jus' Like Mama Said ~>
Playin in the Band

Set 2
Crowd / Tuning
You Win Again@
Victim or the Crime@
Last Time* ~>
Ashes and Glass* ~>
Stuff* >
Knockin on Heaven's Door ~>
GDTRFB
Encore:
Might as Well

*w/ Chuck MacKinnon on trumpet
''Stuff'' was without Bob
@ Bobby Acoustic

Download Show at http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=519720