1 Topic by spongeworthiest (edited by spongeworthiest 2009-02-08 20:35:40)

  • Registered: 2006-05-22
  • Posts: 109

Topic: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

Gov’t Mule came back to Houston last night after spending a couple of weeks at Willie Nelson’s recording studio outside of Austin.  This was my first visit to the new House of Blues downtown and it was quite impressive.  We were up in the balcony, which was surprisingly close to the stage although at kind of a weird angle facing directly into the upper stage lights.  The seats were very nice and comfortable, like a new movie theater, which was good because we were in for a long night.  Disco Biscuits opened and played on and on for over 2 hours.  Warren Haynes joined them after an hour or so for 1 song (Have a Cigar), which was a highlight.  That should have ended their set, but they kept going with long, cool-sounding, but very repetitive & annoying 4-piece jams.  They would be a perfect band for an all-night ecstasy-induced, strobe-light driven, rave dance party, but that’s not really what I had in mind.
Finally, Gov’t Mule came out and delivered over 2 hours of great music, with a nice variety of songs from their extensive play list:
Set List
Goin' Out West
Wandering Child
He Said, She Said->
Tomorrow Never Knows
Beautifully Broken
Don't Step On The Grass Sam
Devil Likes It Slow
I'll Be The One, Blue Sky Tease
Gameface, Third Stone From The Sun tease
Drums
Painted Silver Light
Million Miles From Yesterday
Brand New Angel
Streamline Woman
Soulshine
Encore
Sugaree
The show was a sellout and the place was packed, especially in the standing-room only floor area.  Warren Haynes’ singing was excellent and he laid down some awesome, crunching guitar work.  The band was very tight and I could hear the drums, bass, and keyboards very clearly in the room.  Matt Abts was a bad-ass on drums, and Jurgen Carlsson and Danny Louis filled out the sound nicely.  But, Warren is the MAN (maybe a man and a half) as he threw down lots of sweet, searing, smoking leads – the solo on Beautifully Broken was exceptional.  Once again, my favorite living singer/songwriter/guitar player lived up to my lofty expectations and did not disappoint….it was a pleasure to see and hear Gov’t Mule again.

  • suhl
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  • From: Springfield, IL
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 936

Re: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

cool review, setlist looks decent, beautifully broken is always a highlight.i have a few recent live recordings and have been a little underwhelmed with the new bass player.  goin out west is always a nice cover too, i like their take on it.

yeah, disco biscuits are a bad fit for touring with mule, they are really need a band that can be enjoyed by people who aren't on psychedelic drugs.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fCdNsm7gvu8

If wine and pills were hundred dollar bills
I might keep you satisfied

suhl's Website

  • From: Nürnberg-Germany
  • Registered: 2008-08-25
  • Posts: 220

Re: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

Govt Mule is for sure one of my favourite bands and i only had the chance to see them live one time. 2007 in stuttgart..............unforgettable experience and one of the best concerts i have ever been.
what impresses me with govt mule is that they never play the same setlist night for night. there are not many bands that change it so often.
the vocals of warren haynes goes deep and his guitar playing is................wwwwwwwwwoooooooooow. matt abts on drums, very very good. the whole band a burner.
the only bad thing is......................they dont come to europe very often.
Thomas

  • From: near Nürnberg Germany
  • Registered: 2008-04-19
  • Posts: 1,204

Re: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

Ophrys wrote:

the only bad thing is......................they dont come to europe very often.

You are so right, Thomas!

Rock On and Keep the Faith

Guenter's Website

  • eva
  • eva
  • BONAMETAL
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  • From: germany
  • Registered: 2007-03-15
  • Posts: 1,885

Re: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

Yeah, we still bang our heads against the wall for having missed them in Stuttgart in 2007 ... how could we have missed GOV´T MULE?! Argh .... !! wink

Good to hear you had such a great concert experience (despite the 2-hour opening act..)  - and how nice to see "Soulshine" in the setlists, that´s one of my all-time favourites. In my eyes Warren has the same quality in his playing like Joe - he can rock hard and be so soulful at the same time ... not many players have both.

Eva

  • From: Nürnberg-Germany
  • Registered: 2008-08-25
  • Posts: 220

Re: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

well.................lets say joe has the same quality of playing like warren..............but its a bit hard to compare these two. warren haynes is an excellent slide guitar player and his vocals beat a lot of other singers.
Thomas

  • suhl
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  • From: Springfield, IL
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
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Re: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

eva wrote:

Yeah, we still bang our heads against the wall for having missed them in Stuttgart in 2007 ... how could we have missed GOV´T MULE?! Argh .... !! wink

Good to hear you had such a great concert experience (despite the 2-hour opening act..)  - and how nice to see "Soulshine" in the setlists, that´s one of my all-time favourites. In my eyes Warren has the same quality in his playing like Joe - he can rock hard and be so soulful at the same time ... not many players have both.

Eva

soulshine is great.  it is probably their most played song live.  they opened with the reggae version when i saw em.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fCdNsm7gvu8

If wine and pills were hundred dollar bills
I might keep you satisfied

suhl's Website

  • Registered: 2006-05-22
  • Posts: 109

Re: Gov't Mule - Feb 7

at this show, Soulshine was performed straight-ahead (non-reggae) - the crowd ate it up and there was a lot of dancing - a really happy tune to end the show with