Monday, February 8, 2010

Government Mule HOB 2/2/10

I tortured myself again and went to the House of Rules (House Of Blues) to see the capricious Government Mule on Tuesday. As good as the band was The house of rules staff and management drives me crazy. I have come to expect the invasion of privacy of being carded at the age of 53, the metal detector wand shoved up my crotch, groping at my front pockets they say to feel my keys and generally being molested without the simple courtesy of telling me they will call me tomorrow and respect me afterwards. What I didn't expect was to be told that if we sit in the HOB restaurant and eat dinner that our drinks are at full price and not at the Happy Hour prices listed. No, to get the Happy Hour prices you have to sit at one of the 15 seats at the bar. These people are unbelievable. Talk about misleading advertising. Plus you used to be able to get in early and get stools right next to the sound board. Not no more. The area next to the sound board is fenced off for special people who pay extra. In other words GA means there is very little chance that you are going to find a seat in the House of Rules. Joe, Michael and I were lucky we found three stools off to the right of the stage under the overhang. We were the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth people in the venue.

Gov't Mule took the stage and started out jamming hard off of their new CD with "Broke Down on The Brazos". Joe called that one while we were eating. They then sulked into "World Gone Wild". And had the crowd roaring for DA DA DA DA CHANG DA DA DA DA CHANG, Yep you guessed it "Thelonius Beck". They swerved and rolled through "Painted Silver Light", "I Think You Know What I Mean", "Railroad Boy". "Railroad Boy", " Monday Morning Meltdown" and "Gordon James" are all off of the new CD but the crowd was very receptive. Warren played "Gordon James" on the electric guitar rather than the acoustic guitar like on the CD. They finished out the first set with "Thirty Days In The Hole" what a classic.

The second set starts out with " Which Way Do We Run?". Again one of my favorites "Fools Moon". "Trying Not To Fall". Then here we go again with the band snaking through a medley of songs "The End", into a nine minute drum solo that the young girl in front of me kept jumping in the air whooping it up for, I guess she liked it. After the Drum Solo the Mule played "Stepping Lightly" off of the new CD and slid into "Mother Earth". They finish the set with "Mr. Man" and a little teaser of "Highway Star".

The encore is a soulful version of "Forevermore" off of the new CD. Whoo Hooo the last song is... just like my daddy used to say, Soulshine, is better than moonshine, better than sunshine, and damn sure better than rain. The whole crowd is singing to "Soulshine". What a killer ending to a show. "Soulshine" I love that song.

Warren Haynes' voice is spectacular and it is hard to pick a better guitarist than he is. Matt Abts as always was strong on the drums. Danny Luois is really starting to become an integral part of the band. His keyboard runs are fitting in better than when he first became a member of the band. Jorgen Carlsson has found his niche he isn't copying Allen Woody he is his own bass player. Over all a good show four twirls and some moth catcher hand moves. Maybe the Gestapo tactics by the House Of Rules hampered the experience for me. Got Mule?

No comments:

Post a Comment