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Words by Andy Tennille :: Images by Josh Miller
Gov't Mule & moe. :: 10.21.05 :: The Warfield :: San Francisco, CA
People love throwing horns at Warren Haynes.
Warren Haynes :: 10.21 :: SF |
In the midst of Gov't Mule's set opening for moe. at San Francisco's Warfield, Haynes stepped out from behind his microphone, leaned his head back, and erupted into an avalanche of notes during "About To Rage" off the band's newest album, Deja Voodoo.
As Haynes's fingers raced up and down the fret board of his firebird Gibson and drummer Matt Abts showed no mercy to his Slingerland kit, the guy standing next to me on the floor threw up the first Horns of the night, punctuated with a slow, methodical head bang and a huge friggin' grin.
Haynes and company are certainly horns-worthy, if not for their musical prowess alone then certainly for their respect for rock history and its elders.
Take for instance their set at The Warfield. Opening with a Haynes-penned homage to Jerry Garcia ("Patchwork Quilt") at a venue many still call "The House That Jerry Built," the Mule gave a gentlemanly nod to the ghosts of the former Vaudeville theater and navigated the audience through two hours of exploratory music featuring tasteful covers of Tom Waits ("Goin' Out West"), the Allmans ("Mountain Jam"), Paul McCartney ("Maybe I'm Amazed"), Bob Marley ("Lively Up Yourself"), and Steppenwolf ("Don't Step on the Grass, Sam") that would have made any rock historian proud.
Lesh with moe. :: 10.21 :: SF |
Topping it all off, Haynes invited Dead bassist Phil Lesh onstage for a set-closing "Loser" with a huge instrumental "Terrapin Station" jammed in the middle that was worth the price of admission alone. Why Lesh decided to break up his Quintet (Haynes, Jimmy Herring, John Molo, and Rob Barraco), a band that many believed (including this writer) was the only post-Garcia incarnation of the Dead's music that captured the essence of the band's improvisational spirit, is beyond me.
Besides the Mule's obvious reverence for those who came before them, the band just plain kicks ass. The new Mule, with the additions of bass player Andy Hess and keysman Danny Louis, is more versatile and has a much broader sonic palette from which to work compared with the Mule of the late, great Allen Woody. The result is a sound that is richer, moodier, and more spacious, which is interesting considering the move from the trio to the quartet. A tune like "Silent Scream" is a perfect example of a song for which the old three-piece Mule wasn't suited.
Lesh & Derhak:: 10.21 :: SF |
This isn't to say that the resurrected Mule is better than Woody's Mule, just different. Allen Woody's Mule brought the thunder the way a power trio should. The New Mule is more melodic and expansive, no doubt a result of the loss of Woody and the addition of Hess, but also (I reckon) the influence of bands like Radiohead and David Gray that might be shuffling through Haynes's iPod right now.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the second half of the bill. Sure, moe. certainly has a grasp of their rock 'n roll forefathers – the band regularly introduces covers into their setlists and even featured Lesh on The Band's "The Weight" and "Lovelight" at The Warfield.
moe. with Lesh & Haynes :: 10.21 :: SF |
But it's the improvisation and full-on musical assault that Haynes and the Mule deliver on a consistent basis where moe. just falls short. Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey, Rob Derhak, Vinne Amico, and Jim Loughlin are all talented musicians, but collectively, the band's live sound wanders and strays without much direction at times. The jams and segues between songs seemingly disintegrate into the endless noodlefests common among many groups in the jamband scene who are following in the wake of Phish.
Much like the glut of pseudo-Gonzo journalist hacks spawned by the success of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the legacy of the Fab Four from Burlington seems to be the birth of a whole generation of musicians obsessively focused on "the jam," but these bands have somehow forgotten the importance of intent. Improvisation is not just a drummer laying down a groove while a guitarist sprays solos for 30 minutes; true improvisation is a musical conversation onstage, where each individual plays an equal and distinct part in the development of the discussion.
Otherwise, it's just Phish Lite.
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