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To sum up Mule-o-Ween, let’s just say that Mule rocked the Tower harder than its been rocked in some time, and probably harder than it will be for a long time to come. Warren Haynes knows how to deliver for the holidays and he was on fire all night long, like a man possessed. The band decided to switch things up this year from the previous Halloweens – this time taking on the Rolling Stones musical cover for the 1st set and bringing it home with straight un-cut Mule for Set 2.

Over the course of the evening, we got an inspired and picture-perfect Stones musical costume, a nice showcase of new songs from the recently released By a Thread, and a truly epic Brighter Days>Blind Man in The Dark and Goin’ Out West>Bang a Gong>Goin’ Out West old school close-out to the show. Many have said that Warren Haynes is the hardest working man in the jam scene, well let me just say he leads by example and I’m consistently amazed with Mule’s ability to bring it, night after night, like a ram that just won’t stop. I highly recommend giving this one a listen, you won’t regret it.

Set 1 w/ Jackie

Gov’t Mule
10/31/09
The Tower Theater
Upper Darby, PA

Set 1
Under My Thumb*
Monkey Man*
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo*$
Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’*$
Angie*
Ventilator Blues*$
Shattered*$ with Matt on Lead Vocal, Danny on Bass & Jorgen on Drums
Wild Horses
Slave*$
Gimmie Shelter*$
Play With Fire
Paint It Black*
Bitch*$
Brown Sugar*$

Set 2
Steppin’ Lightly
Broke Down On The Brazos
Railroad Boy >
Monday Mourning Meltdown >
Forevermore
Frozen Fear >
Brighter Days >
Blind Man In The Dark$

Encore
Goin’ Out West$ >
Bang A Gong$ >
Goin’ Out West$

* 1st Time Played
$ with Steve Elson
Jackie Greene guests for all of set 1 and encore

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Also, be sure to check out this comical highlight from the evening, Drummer Matt Abts taking vocals on Shattered, while Jorma moves from bass to drums, and Danny Louis moves from keys to Bass:

Mule kicked off their fall Tour last weekend with a pair of shows – one in Indianapolis and one in Chicago. The Chicago show on Saturday night had the band really settling in and hitting the groove, mixing up new material from the recently released By A Thread with old Mule classics and, of course, some tasty covers. Jackie Greene is opening up this tour and has been joining the band for rockin’ encores including covers of  Neil Young’s ‘Southern Man’, The Beatles ‘Don’t Let Me Down’, and the Mule/Greene Dead staple ‘Sugaree’ – and that’s just in the first 2 nights of the tour. The tour will culminate this Saturday in what promises to be an epic Halloween at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA – featuring a set 2 Rolling Stones musical costume set plus what promises to be a fat set of Mule rockers to start things off. Look for a full review, dl, etc. after the show.

Gov’t Mule
10/24/09
The Riviera Theater
Chicago, IL

Set 1
Brighter days >
Like Flies
Blind Man In The Dark
Brand New Angel
Endless Parade
Any Open Window >
Steppin’ Lightly*
Inside Outside Woman Blues
Broke Down On The Brazos

Set 2
Frozen Fear >
Kind Of Bird
Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home**
Sco-Mule** >
Drums >
No Need To Suffer
I’m A Ram

Encore
Don’t Let Me Down*** >
After Midnight***

*- First Time Played
**- With Joe Bonamassa
***- With Jackie Greene

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A few weeks ago, Gov’t Mule closed out their summer tour with a Saturday night show at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. Warren and co. really brought the house down with a lot of oldies, all the needed Mule staples, and everyone playing their heart out. Mule kicked things off with ‘Blind Man’ – no suprise here but it really set the tone for the show. From there on out, the whole show smokes, but some first set highlights include a rocking ‘Gameface’ with a nice little mountain jam tease and the always fun ‘Thirty Days in the Hole’.

The second set really takes off with the Mule > Drums segment that is a true display of the power this band has. Warren just dosen’t stop on the build up jam and  pushes the band further and further. Then, workhorse ‘machine gun’ Matt Abts goes to work in a monstrous drum solo. To finish things off, Warren lays it all on the line – shredding, working feedback, pulling out all the stops – on a sick run through ‘Lola Leave Your Light On’ off of Deja Vodoo. The band sent us out into the casinos and onto the boardwalk with a big thank you and a fitting ‘Soulshine’ – all in all, a great night for the Mule.

Gov’t Mule
8/08/09
House of Blues – Atlantic City, NJ

Mule - 8/08/09

Set 1
Blind Man In The Dark
Perfect Shelter
Gameface
Towering Fool
Fool’s Moon
Life Before Insanity
Thirty Days In The Hole
Thorazine Shuffle

Warren - 8/08/09

Set 2
Stay With Me
No Need To Suffer
Trying Not To Fall
Mule
Drums
Left Coast Groovies
World Of Difference
Lola Leave Your Light On

Encore
Far Away
Soulshine

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Matt Abts on the drums! - 8/08/09

Watch most of the show in YouTube vids, some highlights:

Warren and co. busted out some special tricks in celebration of Jerry’s birthday last week over at Ives Concert Park in Danbury, CT. Warren gave a nod to the big man by opening the second set with a solo rendition of the quintessential Garcia ballad ‘Stella Blue’. He then welcomed the band back out for a run through the tune he penned about Jerry’s death and legacy – ‘Patchwork Quilt’. Keepin’ the Jerry love flowing, he ran through a rollicking ‘Sugaree’ and topped it all off with a ‘Morning Dew’ encore.

The Mule - 8/01/09

Gov’t Mule
8/01/09
Ives Concert Park
Danbury, CT

Set 1
Maggot Brain
Thorazine Shuffle
Don’t Step On The Grass Sam->
Mississippi Queen
Beautifully Broken
Devil Likes It Slow
Charles Ives Experiment (1st time played: Ray Charles’ ‘Georgia On My Mind’ & Burl Ives’ ‘Wayfaring Stranger’)
The Letter
Slackjaw Jezebel (w/ ‘The Letter’ Tease)

Set 2:
Stella Blue (Warren Haynes solo)
Patchwork Quilt
Sugaree
Like Flies->
Drums
The Sky Is Crying (with Junior Mack)
Bad Little Doggie
Blind Man In The Dark

Encore:
Morning Dew

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Warren - 8/01/09

Time to get dirty with some old school Mule from Texas in the fall of 1996. Back in the day, Mule was a power trio not to be messed with, Warren leading the band and raging like he had something to prove. This hit-packed show includes early renditions of Mule favorites like ‘Blindman in the Dark’, ‘Mule’, ‘Rocking Horse’, and ‘Gameface’. Solid show from cover to cover, try it on for size and see what you think.

Old School Mule

Gov’t Mule ~ 9/22/96 ~ Caravan of Dreams ~ Fort Worth, TX

Grinnin’ In Your Face > Mule > Rocking Horse > Temporary Saint, Don’t Step On The Grass Sam, Birth Of The Mule, Thelonius Beck > Game Face, She Said, She Said, Gambler’s Roll, Kind Of Bird, Pygmy Twylyte > Blind Man In The Dark > Drums > Blind Man In The Dark, Presence Of The Lord, Just Got Paid > Who Do You Love? > Just Got Paid

Encore: Goin’ Out West > Gonna Send You Back To Georgia

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