Gov’t Mule Opens Fall Tour 2019 & Jams On ‘Not Fade Away’ In Portland

Gov’t Mule kicked off their fall tour on Thursday night at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine. While the band put the focus on classic originals throughout the majority of the evening, they did mashup Al Green’s “I’m A Ram” with “Not Fade Away” by Buddy Holly to end the first set.

The quartet got the concert underway with a run of “Bad Little Doggie,” “Brand New Angel” and a “Broke Down On The Brazos” that led into a “Tributary Jam.” Mule then performed “Pressure Under Fire” from 2017’s Revolution Come…Revolution Go before digging into classics “Fool’s Moon,” “Sco-Mule,” “Millon Miles From Yesterday” and “Which Way Do We Run?” The biggest surprise of the evening came when the four-piece jammed “I’m A Ram” into “Not Fade Away” and back again with just the fifth “Reblow Your Horn” since 2007 in between. The medley/mashup was unplanned as per a stage setlist shared by the band.

After opening the second set with “Thorns Of Life,” Gov’t Mule played three covers in a row starting with Steppenwolf’s “Don’t Step On The Grass, Sam,” continuing with The Allman Brothers Band’s “Come & Go Blues” and ending with Jeff Beck’s “Freeway Jam.” The rest of the night was all originals including “Time To Confess,” “Larger Than Life,” “Reblow Your Mind” and “Mule” as well as the “Bring On The Music” encore.

Setlist (via Gov’t Mule FB)

Set One: Bad Little Doggie, Brand New Angel, Broke Down On The Brazos > Tributary Jam, Pressure Under Fire, Fool’s Moon, Sco-Mule, Million Miles From Yesterday, Which Way Do We Run, I’m A Ram > Not Fade Away > Reblow Your Horn > Not Fade Away > I’m A Ram

Set Two: Thorns Of Life, Don’t Step On The Grass, Sam, Freeway Jam, Larger Than Life, Time To Confess, Mule

Encore: Bring On The Music