Pete, David, Maggie, Roger, Ian916 and his son, William and I were at the 02 Shepherds Bush Empire for this, the first date on the European leg of the tour to promote Warren Haynes’ newest soul, funk and blues infused solo release, Man In Motion. With no support, the band took to the stage at around 8.15pm and, after a short instrumental intro’ to warm up, went straight into the title track from the CD, followed by the customary “How ya doing?”. Apart from tenor saxophonist, Ron Holloway, the other members of the touring band are different to those on the album but Nigel Hall on keyboards, Ron Johnson on bass, Terence Higgins on drums and Alecia Chakour on background vocals are all top musicians and ably kept up with the great man in motion, Warren Haynes. The following four numbers were all from the new CD, but each was around twice as long as the studio version and included a lengthy jam, as befits any performance by a man of Warren’s pedigree. We even got a few bars of Voodoo Chile in On A Real Lonely Night. This was just a taster for the next number, Hendrix’s Spanish Castle Magic, which turned into a full blooded jam as it segued into Everyday with some tasty sax playing reminiscent of King Crimson and Mel Collins at his best. The last track of the first set, Invisible, was the first of two songs from Warren’s first solo album, Tales of Ordinary Madness, released in 1993. This number again turned into a jam but this time it cooked with a really funky feel.
A fifteen minute break and a change of shirt saw Warren back for a solo spot on a darkened stage. The four songs played included Old Friend, a song written by Warren which he has previously dueted on with Derek Trucks, Elton John’s Indian Summer (I could almost smell the wood smoke) and two Mule songs from By A Thread; Forevermore and the traditional story of unrequited love, Railroad Boy. Both very atmospheric and beautifully sung in Warren’s slightly gruff tenor voice. Thankfully the audience were respectful, giving due reverence to these special songs in this intimate setting and not yelling. British reserve can sometimes be a bonus. 
Then back came the band to join Warren for the old Sam Cooke song, A Change Is Gonna Come and the explosive Fire In The Kitchen, another track from Warren’s first solo album, before returning to the new CD for its most Mule like track, Hattiesburg Hustle – superb. For the last song Warren dived into The Deep End with Tear Me Down, a pretty funky Mule song.
It didn’t take too much yelling to get the band back for an encore, in fact Nigel Hall appeared on the stage to lead the cheering! The first encore was I’ll Be The One from the Mule EP, Mo’ Voodoo, then what else but Soulshine to end on a big high. Check out Pete’s video of Soulshine on youtube. As David said on Facebook “Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!”.
I must mention Alecia Chakour, who did more than provide background vocals, singing solo on a couple of songs including Soulshine. Her voice is incredibly mature and soulful for a young lady and my reaction was similar to hearing Joss Stone for the first time. I shall be listening out for her in the future.
It was another good night for souvenirs. At the end of Hattiesburg Warren seemed to look at me and tossed a pick in my direction. I lost sight of it in the gloom between the stage and the barrier but I’m pleased to say that William managed to have it retrieved by security when the lights came up. I did receive a handed out pick, however, so all was well. I also managed to get the setlist for set 1 and was handed a rather battered drumstick, which I gave to William. Roger had the other.
The only slight disappointment was that the venue was only around half full. Great for moving around but sad that so many people missed a great gig as Warren never disappoints. 
If you haven’t got bored and moved to another thread, here are some of my pics from the night.
If you’re seeing Warren in Koln tonight or on any of the other dates on this tour you almost certainly won’t get the same set, but I know you’ll have a great time. Please report back.
Phil
Ars Longa, Vita Brevis
“The guy who has helped the blues industry the most is Joe Bonamassa and I would say he is more rock than some rock stuff, so to me blues is whatever you want it to be!”
Simon McBride in my interview with him in Blues Matters! Issue #56
