Show Review

Sharing the stage for the second of two nights at San Francisco’s historic Warfield Theater, moe. and Gov’t Mule proved with their combined history of over two decades of relentless touring, that they both might now be at the top of their respective games. Following up a night that saw Phil Lesh join in on the festivities for takes on the Grateful Dead classics “Loser” and “Terrapin Station,” it was moe.’s turn to play first, as the co-headlining tour has featured the two bands alternating time slots each night.

moe.’s ability to combine well-crafted, catchy and quirky songs with exciting jams have allowed them to garner a decent sized fan-base that exists throughout the county. Taking the stage just minutes after 8:00pm, the opening bassline of “Buster” lured any late-arriving stragglers from the lobby’s beer lines into the main theater.

An electrifying guitar solo by Chuck Garvey quickly energized the near-packed venue, setting the pace for a solid four hours of great music. moe.’s intuitive, although occasionally predictable, segues from song to song has become a staple of their live shows, and this night’s set did not disappoint in that area. A dark jam that developed out of “Buster” melted into the pop-flavored “Not Coming Down,” followed by “Wormwood” and “Can’t Seem to Find.” After ripping through a tight version of “Moth,” fueled by Al Schnier’s fiery guitar solo, the country-tinged “Shoot First” reared its head with Garvey’s western-inspired vocals. moe. then took a page out of its history book with one of their early originals in “Don’t Fuck with Flo.” The song’s jazzy verses instantly give way to cranked heavy metal power-chords, as the chorus’s raunchy lyrics surely turned a few older heads in the crowd. A ferocious guitar solo from Schnier eventually launched back into “Moth Reprise” as the jam came to a climax. The segue-filled set continued into an absolutely smoking version of “Brent Black, featuring Garvey shredding and finger-tapping his way several peaks to close out the hour and fifty minute long set. To the crowd’s satisfaction, moe. returned to the stage to cap things off with an encore of “She.”

After about a half hour intermission, it was now time for ‘The Mule’ to hit the stage. Often described as “the hardest working man in music,” Warren Haynes continues to amaze on a nightly basis as the driving force behind Gov’t Mule. It’s hard to believe that it’s already been over 10 years since the creation of Gov’t Mule, and with the lineup rounding out over the last couple years with the additions of Andy Hess on bass and Danny Louise on keyboards, the new school of the Gov’t Mule is at the top of it’s game, in a way that would make Allen Woody proud.

Donning his usual attire selected out of a closet that has a seemingly endless supply of black t-shirts shirts, Haynes and The Mule took the stage in front of the cheering and anxious crowd and immediately busted into classic Mule rocker, “Blind Man in the Dark.” As if “Blind Man” wasn’t a good enough way to start the show, they immediately followed up with another Mule favorite - “Thorazine Shuffle.” One of the most exciting things about seeing Gov’t Mule these days is that they are pulling from an increasingly large pool of both original and cover songs, and with their varying setlists, they’re able to make each show exciting and unpredictable, creating the desire for fans to attend multiple shows in a row. The Mule plowed through a setlist spanning across pretty much all their albums, from “Temporary Saint,” off of their first album, to their newer material such as “Little Toy Brain,” “Slackjaw Jezebel” and "Lola Leave Your Light On” from their 2004 effort Deja Voodoo. A fast-paced version of “Sco-Mule,” aptly named after collaborating with John Scofield, saw Haynes tearing through a jaw-dropping guitar solo, leaving the crowd in awe. Haynes touched on his more blues-based roots throughout the set with songs like “I’ll Be the One.” Even armed with a solid arsenal of original songs, it’s often their masterful takes on cover songs that make Gov’t Mule so enjoyable to listen to. Haynes always go out on tour with a new batch of covers that he is able to call his own, complete to the point that you often forget that he did not write them.

This night saw Haynes and the Mule tackling an abundance of great covers including Creedence Clearwater’s “Long as I can See the Light,” a downright funky version of “That’s What Love Will Make You Do" (a song written by Milton Campbell, but popularized by the Jerry Garcia Band), and Temple of the Dog’s 1992 hit “Hunger Strike.” The great selection of covers continued with Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and a rocking version of Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick,” which featured an extended and dynamic drum solo from Matt Abts. Other Mule originals “Bad Little Doggie” and “Effigy” rounded out the set, captivating the audience for the entire show.

Haynes and his band-mates returned to the stage for an initial encore with a moving version of “Soulshine.” After some of the crowd started to dwindle out after the first encore, Gov’t Mule surprisingly returned to the stage, this time with the addition of moe.’s Chuck Garvey for a second encore, and played an inspiring version of Neil Young’s “Don’t Let it Bring You Down.” Haynes and The Mule play their hearts out on a nightly basis, making every show feel like you got more than your money’s worth. If Gov't Mule does in fact have “off nights,” it’s certainly not something I’ve ever witnessed.