Harriet the Spy

Monday, November 06, 2006

Gov't Mule is like...

...Soul Food. Not the prettiest gourmet dish you'll ever see, but damn tasty all the same.

Chad and I went to see Gov't Mule last night at Tampa Theatre and they did not disappoint. It has been literally years since I've seen them--the last time was with original bassist Allen Woody, and he must have died at least four or five years ago. They still put on one of the best live shows in rock 'n roll in my opinion. Not only is Warren Haynes incredibly talented, but he also has the gift of awesome tone. He has a very distinct, recognizable sound-- case in point, Chad put in a Flying Frog Brigade (Les Claypool's side project) album a couple years back on a trip from Tampa to Miami, and part way into one of the songs, I had to find the liner notes, because I was convinced that Warren was playing. Sure enough, he was a special guest on that song.

The band just sounds good, too. I usually wear earplugs to concerts, regardless of who is playing. Last night, I didn't for most of the evening, because it was just so nice to hear a mix where all of the instruments were complementary and no one overpowered any other. I also like the "2 set" formula that a lot of the "jam bands" have adopted. Play for an hour, take a 30 minute break so that everyone can hit the bathroom and refill their drink, and then play for another hour or so. Luckily no one was sitting in the row in front of us so we could stretch out a bit and enjoy everything (Tampa Theatre is old and cramped that way...). Even Chad gave the show a thumbs up, and I'm convinced that he'd rather spend an evening at home knitting than see any band that is even remotely considered a jam band. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this post, but I just wanted to make the point that Gov't Mule is still awesome after 10 years, and you should go and see them when they're in you're town. As a matter of fact, I think they're playing in Gainesville tomorrow night....

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