Bob Weir's Grateful Dead spin-off band Ratdog [ tickets ] has scheduled a short spring tour beginning in March.

Vocalist/guitarist Weir--whose Ratdog side project suddenly became his primary musical vehicle following the death of Dead co-founder Jerry Garcia in 1995--will lead his band through nine cities on the outing, kicking off with a March 18 show in Norfolk, VA.

The trek includes multi-night stands in three cities, including a three-night stretch at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre, traditionally a Grateful Dead stronghold when that band was active.

Weir formed Ratdog in 1995 with bassist Rob Wasserman, who is no longer involved with the group. The only Ratdog studio album is "Evening Moods," released by Arista Records in 2000.

The band started a live-CD series in the fall of 2003, making many of its past performances available on CD and as downloads exclusively via online music store MunckMusic.