Gov’t Mule Performs Allman Brothers Band’s ‘At Fillmore East’ In Atlanta

Gov’t Mule covered The Allman Brothers Band’s iconic 1971 live album, At Fillmore East, in its entirety as the second set of Saturday’s Mule-o-Ween concert at Atlanta’s The Tabernacle. The performance saw the quartet joined by special guests Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke on guitar and original Marshall Tucker Band drummer Paul Riddle with Cowboy frontman Tommy Talton added to the mix for the evening’s “Mountain Jam” encore.

At Fillmore East was recorded at the historic New York City venue on March 12 and 13, 1971 featuring the original The Allman Brothers Band lineup. The seven-song set was released on July 6, 1971 and is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time. Gov’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes was a member of The Allman Brothers Band from 1989 through March 1997. Haynes rejoined towards the end of 2000 and was part of the lineup until their final show on October 28, 2014.

Haynes, bassist Jorgen Carlsson, drummer Matt Abts and multi-instrumentalist Danny Louis — who performed their forthcoming blues-oriented Heavy Load Blues album in its entirety on Friday at The Tabernacle — kicked off the action last night with a career-spanning first set. “Traveling Tune” from 2017’s Revolution Come…Revolution Go opened. Gov’t Mule then played their interpretation of the traditional Celtic folk song “Railroad Boy” before tearing into “Rocking Horse.”

Mule took it down a notch with the slow and heavy “Which Way Do We Run?” and then fit a “Third Stone From The Sun” tease within “Game Face.” Staples “Beautifully Broken” and “The Man I Want To Be” followed. The quartet then looked to their self-titled debut studio album from 1995 for “Painted Silver Light” and “Mule” to end the frame.

The stage plot was expanded with a second drum set and Starr’s rig for the At Fillmore East set. Chris Samardizch provided liquid lights and projections to augment Mule LD John Colligan’s lights throughout the pre-announced full-album performance. Gov’t Mule, Charlie Starr and Paul Riddle began the set with a Haynes-sung “Statesboro Blues.” Starr then handled lead vocals on “Done Somebody Wrong.” The band their guests continued to roll through all seven At Fillmore East tracks in the order they appear on the original live album.

 Photo by Ian Rawn

“Stormy Monday” saw Warren and Charlie exchange blues-laden solos while the double drummer attack of Matt and Paul provided a sturdy base for “You Don’t Love Me.” Haynes and Starr then nailed the guitar harmonies on the instrumental “Hot ‘Lanta.” Another highlight came next with an “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” that spanned over 18 minutes. Haynes took the first solo before Louis delivered an intense organ solo. Starr let the fretboard fireworks fly towards the end of “Liz Reed.”

Carlsson lit into the rumbling bassline that marked the start of “Whipping Post.” The set-closer featured Haynes on lead vocals and contained outstanding interplay between Warren and Charlie Starr. When Gov’t Mule, Charlie Starr and Paul Riddle returned for the encore they were joined by Dalton on guitar. The concert concluded with a wild +20-minute “Mountain Jam.” Mule and their guests let it fly as a bass and drums duet came between guitar solos and romps on the main themes to the delight of fans in Hot ‘Lanta.

Check out photos by Ian Rawn and pro-shot video of “Traveling Tune” below:

Setlist (via Gov’t Mule Facebook)

Set One: Traveling Tune, Railroad Boy, Rocking Horse, Which Way Do We Run?, Game Face, Beautifully Broken, The Man I Want To Be, Painted Silver Light, Mule

Set Two: Statesboro Blues*, Done Somebody Wrong*, Stormy Monday*, You Don’t Love Me*, Hot ‘Lanta*, In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed*, Whipping Post*

Encore: Mountain Jam**

• * – w/ Charlie Starr & Paul Riddle
• ** – w/ Charlie Starr, Paul Riddle, & Tommy Talton