Bri Boy and I took a road trip to Mansfield, Ohio to the beautifully renovated Renaissance Theatre, where Government Mule was performing thier power blues rock music for an adoring crowd. Government Mule is made up of Warren Haynes lead guitar and vocals, Matt Abst drums, Danny Louis keyboards and new bass player Jorgen Carlsson.
The band took the stage at 7:30 pm and jumped into a fan favorite "Brand New Angel", Warrens voice is spectacular. "Mr. High and Mighty" is next. Followed by "Bad Man Walking". The Mule pull out a little Jimi Hendrix and play "Little Wing". The fans from Cincinnati, standing next to me, loved "Rocking Horse". The instrumental "Thelonius Beck" was a crowd pleaser. The Mule then moved into "Monkey Hill" with a teaser of the Beatles "Shes So Heavy". They plowed into "Fools Moon". and finish out the opening set an hour and twenty minutes later with "Where Did You Sleep" sliding into "About A Girl" and back into "Where Did You Sleep".
After a 25 minute intermission the band took the stage again with a soulfull version of Procal Harems "A Whiter Shade Of Pale",(One of my all time favorite songs). Danny Louis steps out from behind his keyboards and straps on a guitar to help Warren with "Is It My Body". Then the Mule play a song that they have never performed live before, the bluesy B B King classic "Need Your Love So Bad". A rousing rendition of "Left Coast Groovies" was next with Warren going crazy on the guitar at the end and using the mike stand as a slide then holding the guitar by the strap and kicking the guitar until the notes finally fade away. Matt Abts gave the rest of the band a break and beat up on his drum kit for a while. Matt is a superb drummer. The band comes out and does Warrens tribute to Jerry Garcia "A Patchwork Quilt". I want to cry every time I hear that song. Then they lightened things up with "Slack Jaw Jezebel". Wheres my Mule, Wheres my forty acres, Oh sorry still singing form last night. Yes they did "Mule" then slipped that into "Catfish Blues", which slipped into "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zepplin and back to "Mule", Whew. The Crowd is in a frenzy and the boys leave the stage waving good bye.
There has to be an encore. Why yes there is. Warren takes the stage solo and performs the Eagles hit "Wasted Time". Bri Boy knew what the song was with the first three notes. The rest of the band joins Warren on stage for the grand finale, Marshal Tuckers "Can't You See". Warren had the crowd singing the chorus while he harmonized over the top of the crowd with the lyrics. The dancing hippie girls are dripping wet and drained after a great show like this. It is 10:39 and the crowd is heading for the parking lots.
Warren has to be the hardest working man in Rock and Roll. Playing with The Mule, The Allman Bros and The Dead. How does he keep it all straight? Matt Abts is one of the best drummers playing today. Danny Louis seems playful with his costume changes but never smiles, wierd. Jorgen Carlsson is a good addition to the band. Andy Hess the old bass player was just, there, he did not add anything to the music like Allen Woody did and now Mr. Carlsson does. I hope Jorgen sticks around for awhile.
The Renaissance Theatre was beautiful. The crowd was friendly and energetic. The sound was great, we were sitting right in front of the speakers and I could still hear once the concert was over. The Mule was excellent. And we had no problems getting to and from the show. This was an overall enjoyable experience. I rate this a 5 twirl show.
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