January 30th, 2010
Posted in I was fortunate enough on Friday to get two servings of Warren Haynes, guitarist of both Gov’t Mule and the Allman Brothers Band. Warren stopped by the studios of WNKU on the campus of Northern Kentucky University, where a few fans were treated to a couple acoustic songs and watched on as DJ Forrest Griffen gave a brief interview. This appearance was played live on the air from 4:30 to 5 pm. Warren was running behind schedule, but that’s quite alright when you end up getting to meet one of your musical heroes.
He kicked things off with the Allman Brothers “Old Friend” and ended with ”Railroad Boy”, a brand new song off their latest record By A Thread. With the combination of acoustic slide blues and the passion found in his voice, he sent chills down my spine. The interview part of the session covered his days playing in David Allan Coe’s band and Mule’s annual Christmas Jam, a concert benefit for Habitat for Humanity that has been going on for over twenty years. People from all around the world attend the concert, which over the years has featured sets from both Gov’t Mule and the Allman Brothers Band, as well as Dave Matthews, Ben Harper, and the members of both Phish and Widespread Panic, just to name a few. Warren summed it up nicely when he mentioned that there’s something special about the musicians coming together at Christmas Jam, not getting paid and being able to give back to charity, and also that he feels there are no great venues, only great audiences.
Just a few hours later, thousands would brave the chilly winds for the Mule’s show downtown at the Taft Theatre. Once again, it appeared they were running behind schedule but that was quite alright for the two set show that was soon to come. The lights went off and they kicked things off with a Mule classic, “Blind Man in the Dark.” The first set continued on, covering songs spanning the Mule catalogue, as well as the Allman’s “Rocking Horse.” But just as expected, they finished set one strong with an appearance from Cincinnati’s own Peter Frampton, on the popular blues tune, “Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home”, which was written by Timothy Lee Matthews and turned into a hit by Ann Peebles, and The Beatles “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
After a short break Mule came back onstage for set two, which featured a couple of my favorite Mule songs: “Patchwork Quilt”, a song about the death of Jerry Garcia and the strong, close-knit community of the Deadheads, and “Time to Confess”, a staple song which I believe was the first Mule song I ever heard. But once again the highlight of the evening would be the appearance of Frampton, this time covering Ray Charles “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” Things managed to get even better from there, when they took their jams for a ride, breaking into The Beatles “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” which faded into Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” The regular set ended with perhaps the most popular song written by Warren Haynes, “Soulshine”, and the one song encore of “Forevermore.”
I’ve seen a lot of Mule shows, especially here in Cincinnati, and this was by far the best performance I’ve seen of them in town. They typically come to town every year, going back and forth from the Taft Theatre and Madison Theater, but I hope that they stick with the Taft from here on out. And it’d be nice to see local boy Frampton join them every year.
Tags: Gov't Mule
