Govt Mule at the Masquerade in Atlanta

What a show!!

Starting things off were Outformation which was not a bad act and they were pretty tight and were able to hold your attention.  Unlike Perpetual Groove, last years opening act, that just were awful and put you to sleep.

Next up was J.J. Grey and Mofro who were pretty good.  Maybe not as improvisational as Mike Gordon and Friends but they still went down pretty good with the crowd.

Then the Mule came on around 7:00 pm.

God.

This was a show that was different to last years.  I might have mentioned last year's show and the fact that it might have been on the mellow side but this one was as much as old school Govt Mule as anything. The new bass player was turned up in the mix. No he was not anything like Allen Woody. But he sure captured the spirit with soaring bass runs.

The song selection was terrific. Warren seemed to concentrate on the Allen Woody era of the first couple of Govt Mule albums. "You Know What I Mean" incorporated part of Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks" and the crowd was just beside themselves.

The encore was something from the upcoming Mule Album. Inside Outside Woman Blues.  Something like that.  This sucker just downright rocked.

This show for me was classic Mule:  dirty, loud, nasty and rocking.
It cant get better.
But it didnt end.

Afterwards, I headed inside the Masquerade to catch Hill Country Revue which has members of the North Mississippi All-Stars.

Man.

These guys are serious blues rockers. They are not like the Allstars at all. If anything, they rock harder and they have a nice bluesy edge. Cody Dickinson who drums with the All-stars was playing guitar and he is pretty damn good. Kirk Smithhart the other guitarist was cutting loose with blazing slide.

Of course I was thinking wouldnt it be nice if Warren showed up to jam.  And does he? You bet! Joined for the jam midway through Buddy Miles "Changes" and added hot slide on "Georgia Women."

The show went for two hours. No encore. I have their only one cd and I think they went through most of it with a few extra songs thrown in. But I didn't care. These guys were rocking the house at a maximum level.

I think for me this will be the show of the year.