Charlie Starr Joins Gov’t Mule For Double ‘Jesus’ Encore In Iowa

Wednesday night the Smokin’ Mule Tour featuring headliners Gov’t Mule and supporting act Blackberry Smoke made a stop in Des Moines, Iowa. Originally scheduled for the Simon Estes Amphitheater, inclement weather forced a move under the canopy at the nearby Brenton Skating Plaza. In what’s become a standard practice this tour, Gov’t Mule and Blackberry Smoke joined forces during Mule’s encore, which last night had a strong “Jesus” theme.

The headliner’s set began with guitarist Warren Haynes leading the quartet through an arrangement of the traditional “John The Revelator” followed by their original “Banks Of The Deep End.” The set also featured a pairing of “Little Toy Brain” with “Birth Of The Mule” and a version of “No Need To Suffer” that transitioned to “Doin’ It To Death.” Mule’s main set came to a close with “Mr. Man” featuring teases of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Les Brers In A Minor.”

Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr came back out to help out Gov’t Mule on their two-song encore. Kicking off with a cover of “Jesus Gonna Be Here” by Tom Waits, followed by another Jesus-centric selection in the form of ZZ Top’s classic “Jesus Just Left Chicago” that was supplemented with “Thunderbird” lyrics.