Gov’t Mule Welcomes Danny Draher & Paul Ill In Connecticut

Gov’t Mule continued their New Year’s run on Saturday night, this time around at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. Warren Haynes and company welcomed longtime friends Danny Draher and Paul III to close out the concert.

Mule kicked things off with “Hammer & Nails” followed by the band’s titular tune which saw bassist Jorgen Carlsson throwing down some heavy bass to get the song underway. Gov’t Mule then got into some jams beginning with “Game Face” and headed into the opening guitar strains of “Mountain Jam,” a beloved arrangement, a live version of which appeared on The Allman Brothers Band’s Eat A Peach, inspired by the Donovan song “There Is A Mountain.” The band kept going with “Trane” into “Now Need To Suffer” which delicately trickled into a “St. Stephen Jam” in a nod to the Grateful Dead classic. The poignant “Beautifully Broken” came next ahead of the set closer, “Time To Confess.”

The Allman covers kept rolling to kick off the second set with a well-jammed “Dreams” ahead of another continuous section beginning with “I’m A Ram” and heading into “Reblow Your Horn” before returning to “I’m A Ram” and continuing with “No Need To Suffer” and “Kind Of Bird.” The second set came to a close with the blues staple “Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home,” which saw guitarist Danny Draher joining the band. Haynes and Draher would trade off solos with Danny lending his cool fingerpicking style to Hanyes’ own.

Draher and bassist Paul III of Uncle Duane’s Band — who gave Mule bass player Jorgen Carlsson a rest — came back out with the band for an encore. The longtime Mule friends picked up right where they left off after joining the band during Mule’s New Year’s run last year at the Beacon Theatre. The group then got into some blues classics with Robert Johnson’s “Come On Into My Kitchen” and a rollicking version of the Timmy Shaw rocker “Gonna Send You Back To Georgia.” Check out video from the show below captured by Sean Roche.

Mule

Mountain Jam

St. Stephen Jam

Dreams

Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home

Gonna Send You Back To Georgia

Setlist via Mule.net:

Set One: Hammer & Nails, Mule, Game Face > Mountain Jam > Game Face, Trane > St. Stephen Jam, Beautifully Broken, Time To Confess

Set Two: Dreams, I’m A Ram > Reblow Your Horn > I’m A Ram, No Need To Suffer > Kind Of Bird, Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home[1]

Encore: Come On Into My Kitchen > Gonna Send You Back To Georgia[2]

Notes:

[1] w/Danny Draher

[2] w/Danny Draher and Paul III