Gov't Mule at the Beacon Theatre

Warren Haynes

After singing and playing guitar in David Allan Coe's touring band and in the Nighthawks, vocalist/guitarist Warren Haynes joined the Dickey Betts Band for two years. Betts then recruited Haynes to join the reunited Allman Brothers Band in 1989. On a break from touring in the Allman Brothers Band in 1994, Haynes formed Gov't Mule (pronounced Government Mule) as a side project. By 1997, with the Allman Brothers Band largely inactive again, Haynes opted to devote his full attention to Gov't Mule. Haynes returned full-time to the Allman Brothers Band in 2001 and also played in Phil Lesh and Friends and other remnant Grateful Dead bands, all the while regularly performing and releasing albums with Gov't Mule. Gov’t Mule's 10th and most recent studio album, Revolution Come... Revolution Go, was released in 2017; the band also has issued numerous live recordings, the most recent being Bring on the Music: Live from the Capitol Theatre, released on June 20, 2019. Since 2008, the Gov't Mule has consisted of Haynes, keyboardist Danny Louis, bassist Jorgen Carlsson, and drummer Matt Abts.

Gov’t Mule annually performs a two-night New Year's Eve-encompassing engagement at the Beacon Theatre. Afew hours before this year's engagement, the Madison Square Garden Company, which owns the Beacon, presented the band with a commemorative plaque. The plaque, on display backstage, marks the band's 40 performances at the Beacon Theatre.

On the first of the two nights at the Beacon Theatre, Gov't Mule featured guests throughout the evening. The Better Half Singers (Machan Taylor and Mini Carlsson), guitarists Connor Kennedy, Oz Noy, and Jimmy Vivino, saxophonist Aaron Heick, and drummer Carmine Appice all joined at various points in the set. These contributions helped lead the primarily southern rocking blues band into pop, jazz and even progressive inclinations. Prior to the concert, Gov't Mule's social media teased rumors of Beatles covers with images of mules crossing Abbey Road and playing on the rooftop of the Apple headquarters; indeed Gov't Mule performed a mini-set of three Beatles' songs plus references to Beatles riffs including "Daytripper." The Beatles' "Revolution" and the encore of Humble Pie's "Live with Me" were concert debuts. In the end, however, Haynes' bluesy vocals and his wailing guitar jams were the highlights of the concert. The songs ranged from hard-riffing rockers to sweeter, softer  tunes, but they all were showcases for Haynes' gliding guitar work, expertly supported by the fine backup of his musicians. It mattered little what songs the band performed, because the thrill was in where Haynes' guitar work would take the composition.

Setlist:

Set One

1. Railroad Boy (traditional cover)
2. Larger Than Life
3. Fool's Moon
4. Painted Silver Light
5. Effigy (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) > Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash cover) > Jam > Effigy (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
6. Which Way Do We Run
7. She Said, She Said (The Beatles cover) > Tomorrow Never Knows (The Beatles cover)
8. And Your Bird Can Sing (The Beatles cover, with The Better Half Singers)
9. Revolution (The Beatles cover, with Connor Kennedy)
10. Revolution Come, Revolution Go

Set Two

1. Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground (Blind Willie Johnson cover)
2. So Weak, So Strong
3. Doing It to Death (The J.B.’s cover)
4. Fallen Down > The Other One (Grateful Dead cover, with Aaron Heick)
5. Play with Fire (The Rolling Stones cover, with Aaron Heick and the Better Half Singers)
6. Birth of the Mule (with Oz Noy)
7. Mule

Encore

1. Live with Me (Humble Pie cover, with Carmine Appice and Jimmy Vivino)