Gov’t Mule Welcomes 5 Guests In North Carolina

One of the bright spots of the summer when it comes to live music was Gov’t Mule‘s Smokin’ Mule Tour with Blackberry Smoke. Each night of the tour featured a collaborative encore with takes on different classic rock staples. The bands came together for a three-night reprise of the tour that started on Thursday and continued last night at Harrah’s Cherokee Resort Event Center in Cherokee, North Carolina.

Southern rockers Blackberry Smoke kicked off the action with a set focused on fan favorites including “Ain’t Got The Blues,” “Ain’t Much Left Of Me,” “Fire In The Hole” and “Sleeping Dogs.” Warren Haynes & Co. then took the stage for a lengthy main set that had few breaks in the action. Mule focused on originals with “World Boss,” “Rocking Horse” and “Banks Of The Deep End” among those making the setlist.

After Gov’t Mule worked a bit of Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” into “Time To Confess,” they embarked on an impressive “Trane” > “Eternity’s Breath” > “St. Stephen” jam > “Forsaken Savior” sequence. Longtime Mule collaborator Craig Sorrells emerged to add trumpet to “Forsaken Savior.” Sorrells stuck around and guitarist Mike Barnes came aboard for a rare cover of Jeff Beck’s “Freeway Jam.”

Another high point of the night came when the quartet ended their set with an impressive “Mule” > “You Need Love” (Muddy Waters) > “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin) > “Mule” > “Thorazine Shuffle” sequence. While Thursday’s encore was cancelled due to weather, Friday was a different story. Gov’t Mule brought out Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr and Brandon Still for a cover of David Crosby’s “Almost Cut My Hair.” Haynes’ band had last played “Almost Cut My Hair” in January 2015 and a version from October ’12 was the previous one before that. Last night’s concert came to a close with Starr, Still and Richard Turner aiding Mule on a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Loser.” Gov’t Mule and Blackberry Smoke pair up in Charlotte tonight.

Setlists

Blackberry Smoke

Set: Six Ways, Fire In The Hole, Rock & Roll Again, Good One, Pretty Little Lie, Let It Burn, Sleeping Dogs, Ain’t Got The Blues, Lesson In A Bottle, Waiting For The Thunder, Ain’t Much Left Of Me

Gov’t Mule

Set: World Boss, Brand New Angel, Broke Down On The Brazos > Tributary Jam, Rocking Horse, Banks Of The Deep End, Time To Confess with Get Up, Stand Up tease, Trane > with Norwegian Wood tease Eternity’s Breath > St. Stephen Jam > Forsaken Savior with Craig Sorrells, Freeway Jam with Craig Sorrells & Mike Barnes, Mule > You Need Love > Whole Lotta Love > Mule, Thorazine Shuffle

Encore: Almost Cut My Hair with Charlie Starr & Brandon Still, Loser with Charlie Starr, Brandon Still & Richard Turner, without Jorgen Carlsson