Gov’t Mule kept their Mule Year’s New Year’s run of shows rolling on Saturday with a performance at Waterbury, CT’s Palace Theater. The band’s two-set performance treated the night’s attendees to second set sit-ins from a mix of special guests including Danny Draher and Paul III.
Coming off an explosive, guest-filled performance at The Met Philly in Philadelphia, PA on Friday that featured sit-ins from Ron Holloway, Duane Betts, and more, Gov’t Mule wasted no time and dove headfirst into “Hammer & Nails” and “Mule” to start Sunday’s show.
Related: Gov’t Mule Teases ‘Abbey Road’ New Year’s Eve Theme
A jam-packed “Game Face” > “Mountain Jam” > “Game Face” sandwich followed, where guitarist Warren Haynes put his six-string prowess on full display during “Mountain Jam”. Drummer Matt Abts and bassist Jorgen Carlsson maintained a tight rhythm section while Haynes and keyboardist Danny Louis traded leads over the Donovan-inspired Allman Brothers track.
An instrumental, “Trane” was played next, and segued into “St. Stephen Jam” before “Beautifully Broken” and “Time To Confess” capped a jammy first set.
Set two opened with yet another cover of The Allman Brothers, as Haynes led the band into the Gregg Allman-penned “Dreams”. A lengthy “I’m A Ram” > “Reblow Your Horn” > “I’m A Ram” segment followed, and the segues continued with “No Need To Suffer” > “Kind Of Bird”. Guitarist Danny Draher, the first guest of the night, joined the band to finish the second set with the performance of Ann Peebles’ 1971 soul tune, “Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home”. Draher provided blues leads and rhythm during the classic cover as he and Haynes traded licks during an improv section and had the crowd buzzing.
Mule returned to the stage for a one-song encore of “Gonna Send You Back To Georgia” sans Carlsson, as Paul III took a crack at filling out the low end on bass in his place. Draher also returned to the stage to help close out Mule Year’s night two.
Scroll down for a selection of fan-shot videos from Gov’t Mule’s Palace Theater performance on Saturday.
Below, check out a gallery of photos from Gov’t Mule’s performance at Waterbury, CT’s Palace Theater courtesy of photographer David Gray.
Gov’t Mule will continue their 2019 New Year’s run on Monday with the first of two shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Visit the band’s website for ticket information.
Setlist: Gov’t Mule | Palace Theater | Waterbury, CT | 12/28/2019
Set One: Hammer & Nails (The Staple Singers cover), Mule, Game Face > Mountain Jam > Game Face, Trane > St. Stephen Jam, Beautifully Broken, Time To Confess
Set Two: Dreams (The Allman Brothers Band cover), I’m A Ram (Al Green cover) > Reblow Your Horn > I’m A Ram, No Need To Suffer > Kind Of Bird (The Allman Brothers Band cover), Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home* (Ann Peebles cover)
Encore: Gonna Send You Back To Georgia*^ (Timmy Shaw cover)
Notes:
*w/ Danny Draher
^w/ Paul III and w/o Jorgen Carlsson
