By Josh Herwitt //
Gov’t Mule //
The Wiltern – Los Angeles
September 11th, 2018 //
It’s hard to believe that summer is already over. Just a few months ago, we were celebrating the start of the season at Arroyo Seco Weekend (read our festival review here) with modern-day guitar royalty as Jack White, Gary Clark Jr., Neil Young and more highlighted what was mainly a rock-centric lineup in Pasadena.
Thus, it was only fitting that we closed out summer the same way we started it, with another legendary guitarist soothing our souls. Warren Haynes has been prolific in every sense of the word, whether he’s playing with The Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead or his primary band Gov’t Mule, and watching him work his Gibson Les Paul onstage always feels like a rare treat as he nears the age of 60.
Touring in support of their 11th studio album Revolution Come…Revolution Go that came out last year, Gov’t Mule made their return to LA on a Tuesday night with a solid crowd showing up at The Wiltern. The Southern rock act has been at it for almost 25 years, and even though they’ve been working together for a decade now, Haynes (guitar, vocals), Matt Abts (drums, percussion, vocals), Danny Louis (keyboards, guitar, trumpet, vocals) and newest member Jorgen Carlsson (bass) have offered no signs of slowing down of late. In fact, Mule have put out a new release every year since 2013, and while they haven’t disclosed any plans to do so before the end of 2018, it’s always possible that could change once they’re off the road soon.
Unlike what they did four years ago in LA when they played the Orpheum Theatre, Haynes and company paid tribute to a smaller list of heroes this time around, most notably the late Tom Petty with a cover “Breakdown” coming during an extended version of their The Deep End, Volume 1 track “Beautifully Broken” before transitioning into covers of The J.B.’s and finally Al Green to end the second set. Ann Peebles’ “I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home” with a special guest appearance from “Conan” band leader Jimmy Vivino on guitar brought us all the way home, serving as just another reminder that every show Gov’t Mule plays these days feels like a special one.
Setlist:
Set 1
Bad Little Doggie
Broke Down on the Brazos
Rocking Horse
Pressure Under Fire
Scenes From a Troubled Mind
Revolution Come, Revolution Go
Million Miles From Yesterday
Easy Times
Time to Confess
Set 2
Slackjaw Jezebel
Mr. High & Mighty
Steppin’ Lightly
Mother Earth (Memphis Slim cover)
Beautifully Broken (>)
Breakdown (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers cover) (> “Beautifully Broken” reprise)
Doing It to Death (The J.B.’s cover) (with Doug Woolverton)
I’m a Ram (Al Green cover)
Encore:
I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home (Ann Peebles cover) (with Jimmy Vivino) (with “Will It Go Round in Circles” lyrics)
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