Gov’t Mule Offers Up 3 Live Debuts & Welcomes Hook Herrera In Baltimore

On Saturday night Gov’t Mule continued their recently launched Spring Tour with a gig at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. The Southern jam-titans once again welcomed harmonica player Hook Herrera to join them throughout the two-set show that featured a trio of cover debuts and a sit-in from trumpeter Doug Woolverton during their encore.

Warren Haynes & Co. got their night in Charm City going with a pair of songs from their 2006 release High & Mighty delivering the album’s lead track “Mr. High & Mighty” and “Brand New Angel” back-to-back. The band then looked to 2009’s By A Thread for its next two tunes offering up “Inside Outside Woman Blues” and “Steppin’ Lightly.” Towards the back end of their opening frame, Mule welcomed out Herrera, who has collaborated with the band now at three consecutive shows, to help them close out the set. The augmented ensemble first looked to the Randy Newman songbook as they served up their debut take on “Guilty” from the singer-songwriter’s 1974 album Good Old Boys. Herrara then lent a hand on the band’s second debut of the night as they tackled the Allman Brothers Band classic “Keep Me Wonderin'” a tune Haynes is familiar with from his days with the iconic Southern Rock outfit.

Gov’t Mule leaned heavy on their most recent record Revolution Come…Revolution Go during their second set of the night. Three of the band’s first four songs of the set came from the release with “Stone Cold Rage” and “Drawn That Way” opening things up. The band then took a detour with “Stratus” from jazz-fusion drummer Billy Cobham’s 1973 release Spectrum before returning back to their 11th studio album for “Easy Times.” The four-piece act then reached back to their early days for “Painted Silver Light” and “Mule.” Herrera returned to the stage next as they sandwiched in a take on Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” before returning back to the tune from their self-titled debut album. The quartet finished off the night with “Thorazine Shuffle” that featured a jam on “Hottentot” from John Scofield’s 1997 collaborative release with Medeski, Martin and Wood: “A Go Go.”

Mule returned to the stage for a two-song encore as they once again teamed up with Herrara on their final debut of the night this time offering up Elmore James’ “Mean Mistreatin’.” Haynes recently recorded a version of the song with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons for the James tribute Strange Angels: In Flight With Elmore James, which was released earlier this year. Trumpeter Doug Wolverton emerged next as the now six-piece band brought their night in Baltimore to close with a take on Tom Waits’ “Going Out West.”

Setlist

Set I: Mr. High & Mighty, Brand New Angel, Inside Outside Woman Blues, Steppin’ Lightly, Devil Likes It Slow, Revolution Come Revolution Go, Fool’s Moon, Guilty*^, Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’*^

Set II: Stone Cold Rage, Drawn That Way, Stratus > Easy Times, Painted Silver Light, Mule > Who Do You Love^ > Mule^, Thorazine Shuffle

Encore: Mean Mistreatin’ Mama*^, Going Out West^^

* live debut, ^ with Hook Herrera, ^^ with Hook Herrera & Doug Woolverton