Gov't Mule Ends Fall Tour in San Francisco

The "Kinder Revolution" Fall 2008 tour ended for Gov't Mule at the Fillmore Theater in San Francisco, where they played for two nights, Friday, November 21, and Saturday, November 22. The weather was unusually warm for the Bay Area, which made waiting outside in line more bearable. Since Joe and I had decided not to try for the balcony this time, we didn't worry about being one of the first in line. (The sound quality down on the floor is better, but you stand in one spot for hours, and it's physical endurance time.) We talked to some of the other Mule fans that we've gotten to know over the years while we milled around on the floor, listening to early 1950s rock and R&B classics, which were played both nights before the show started. Man, those tunes took me back to early childhood when my mother used to play her 45s on her little portable record player. Music has that ability to transport you back in time in a heartbeat.

British blues-rock trio Back Door Slam from the Isle of Man opened for Gov't Mule both nights. These guys sound like grizzled blues veterans, but they look like they could be starring in High School Musical, they are just that young and fresh-faced. They had me at their cover of Cream's (and Blind Joe Reynolds') Outside Woman Blues, which is also on their CD Roll Away. So I had to buy it. It's now in rotation in my Prius, and I love it. I don't know where the Mule found this band, but they really had the crowd cheering. Lead guitarist Davy Knowles rocks the Fender Stratocaster like nobody's business, sounding like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Eric Clapton all rolled up into one. Being the opening band can be tough, but Back Door Slam won some new fans in California.

The Mule also brought their A game, but then don't they always? Especially the last shows of a tour. Matt Abts was sporting a full beard, which made him resemble Chuck Norris' younger brother. Highlights of Friday's show was the St. Stephen jam; She Said, She Said into Tomorrow Never Knows; and then ending the first set with Dear Prudence with Davy Knowles on guitar. Friday's second set saw War Pigs and When The Music's Over (played at Red Rocks), with a two song encore, All Along The Watchtower and Goin' Out West, with guest musicians Jeff Coffin and Eric McFadden.

Saturday night was THE last night of the tour. The first set opened with a very soulful Soulshine, done gospel style. Warren's song Patchwork Quilt, a tribute to Jerry Garcia, was a nod to Jerry's legacy at the Fillmore and in San Francisco. Between sets, the road crew came out on stage and did a hilarious sight gag ala Morris Day and the Time, dancing to Jungle Love. From Gov't Mule's web site: "Set Break Mule Crew Jungle Love with Kenny Harwell, Brian Farmer, Chris Rushin, Danny Bennet, TJ Centrella and Big E on the mirror." It was quick, but funny.

Phil Lesh came out to join the Mule at the beginning of the second set with Loser, Terrapin Station, and Sugaree. A number of Mule fans are also Deadheads (like us), and of course it was San Francisco, so Phil was very well received. (Warren has toured with the Dead and Phil Lesh & Friends, so it's all interconnected.) The band treated us to not just one, but two encores, and the second encore was Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, which everyone sang along to at the beginning. That was very moving. Wonder if they had Jerry in mind.

Something I found interesting: Warren introduced all of the band members, including the guest musicians who jammed with them, at both shows....but....he did not introduce the new bass player, Jorgen Carlsson. Hmmm. I joked that maybe he is still on his probationary period.

To see the entire set lists, go here to Gov't Mule's site. I have to say that the crowds were friendly both nights, and it didn't get too packed in on the floor. As always, we were left happy, satisified, and as Warren sang in When The Music's Over, knowing that "music is your only friend, until the end."

A Change Is Gonna Come

I honestly did not intend to take a hiatus from blogging. It just sort of happened. The degree to which I got totally sucked into the political vortex surprised even me, a hardcore politics junkie. This has been the most exciting election in my lifetime since the '60s, when the Vietnam war was raging. I watched both conventions, the debates, too much MSNBC, and I was commenting on the political boards on my favorite social networking site. I am so relieved it is all over, and I'm happy with the outcome. Now comes the hard work, cleaning up after the debacle of the last eight years. Things are looking pretty grim, but I'm trying to remain optimistic that a positive change is gonna come.

So let's get caught up with the last few months, shall we? Joe and I traveled to Morrison, Colorado soon after the Outside Lands Festival. We landed at the Denver airport on August 29, the day after Barack Obama's stadium speech, which was the finale to the Democratic National Convention. We saw conventioners at LAX and Denver. Excitement was in the air, which continued at the two shows we attended at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre.

On Saturday, August 30, Bob Weir's Ratdog opened up for The Allman Brothers. I'm happy to report that Ratdog sounded much better than their show in L.A. at the Greek Theatre. The Allmans always put on a good show, thanks in part to Warren Haynes on guitar. Poor Gregg Allman; he had to cancel concert dates in the spring due to his hepatitis C. He is one of classic rock's survivors, and although he is sounding a little ragged these days, you have to give him props for having the health and energy to perform and tour. On Saturday, the weather was plenty hot, and being at an even higher altitude than Denver, the hot air was also plenty thin. To walk up the hill to the entrance, and then walk up and down the many steps inside, is quite the endurance in the heat, especially when you are "vintage". (All of my band photos came out extremely blurry. Cosmic juju or cheap camera?)

On Sunday, the skies opened up while we were standing in line outside waiting to get in to see Umphrey's McGee and Gov't Mule. It poured, and we all got soaking wet. Once we got inside, Joe bought a bright orange rain poncho with a hood and the Gov't Mule "Dose" logo on the front. He looked like he could be working for CalTrans, but it kept him warm until we all dried out. I had never seen Umphrey's McGee before, and I enjoyed their set. They definitely put the "jam" into the term jam band. I'd love to see them live again.

Ah, but we endured the weekend weather extremes for our man Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule. This was the last show of their summer tour, and it would be the last time we would see bass player Andy Hess with the band. What a treat of a show it was, too. The set list was highly unusual, with a few very rarely played numbers.

The politically charged energy in the air did not go unnoticed: Black Sabbath's War Pigs was received by a very enthusiastic audience as it ended the first set, but when the band broke into The Doors' When The Music's Over in the second set, everyone went wild...with the entire audience joining in on "We want the world, and we want it NOW!"

Other songs performed that had relevance to me, in no particular order: Brighter Days (with a new government, perhaps?); Unring The Bell ("Take back what we had; it's yours and mine"); the Bob Marley Get Up, Stand Up tease ("Don't give up the fight"); Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth ("Everybody look what's goin' down"); and Blind Faith's Had To Cry Today ("It's already written that today will be one to remember"). Don't Step On The Grass, Sam, is vintage Steppenwolf, advocating for marijuana decriminalization/legalization, and Morning Dew is a classic folk song from the early '60s about an imagined nuclear war aftermath. Yes, all these songs and more in one show! I love Gov't Mule....always a great show, but a great show at the magical Red Rocks is just....wow.

Then bummer of all bummers, The Black Crowes cancelled all their tour dates in California and Nevada in September. We had tickets to see them at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, the Greek in L.A., and the Santa Barbara Bowl. All we could learn from the Internet was that someone in the band was ill. Always makes you wonder what the real story is, but we were concerned and just hoped that everyone would be okay, no matter what was going on. Majorly bummed, though! So, to somewhat soothe our broken hearts, on September 20 we caught an excellent Led Zeppelin tribute band, Heartbreaker, at the Thousand Oaks Civic Auditorium. We never did see Led Zeppelin back in the day, sadly (I think it was because tickets were just too hard to get, or too expensive for me back then). Heartbreaker was pretty impressive, and I rocked out easily, but I felt myself wishing I really was seeing Plant and Page and the fellas about 35 years ago. Sigh.

We traveled back up to San Francisco in early October to catch three Dark Star Orchestra gigs at the Fillmore on October 2 -4. Now that's a tribute band....the closest thing you will ever now experience to live Grateful Dead. A delightful time was had by all the Deadheads in attendance, judging by the beaming faces with "nothing left to do, but smile, smile, smile".

So I'm back. This weekend it's Gov't Mule at the San Francisco Fillmore for two shows. I promise not to take so damn long to report on it.