Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by David Sullenger
For any musician with southern roots, playing the Ryman Auditorium is a sacred and storied experience. So it was no surprise when singer and guitarist Warren Haynes, a North Carolina native who was once a full-fledged member of the Allman Brothers Band (southern royalty to many), would be over the moon about playing the famed Mother Church with his band, Gov’t Mule, for the first time in eight years. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be back here,” he said at the end of the three-hour-plus performance.
It had also been a long time since I’d seen Gov’t Mule live. Over 10 years, I’m embarrassed to say. Most of the shows I attended were in the 1990s when the Mule was a side project for Haynes and ABB bandmate bassist Allen Woody. Together with drummer Matt Abts, they went out as a hard rockin’ power trio any time there was a break in their touring commitments with the Allmans. Having seen them in a couple different clubs in San Diego, the first time with roughly 50 others, I knew they had a fire in their belly, just waiting to bust out beyond the early originals and smorgasbord of covers.
Woody and Haynes left the Allmans in 1997 to put their focus on the Mule. Three years later, Woody died and Haynes went back to the Allman Brothers Band. From then on, Haynes managed to stay with the Allmans through 2014, as well as create a new lineup with the Mule. My last run-in was in New York, when bassist Jorgen Carlsson and keyboardist Danny Louis were already fully embedded with Haynes and Abts. The opportunity to see them again wouldn’t arrive until they came to Nashville. The fire I had seen in the 1990s was coming into full bloom.
Tonight, they trotted out a couple from their previous studio release of originals, 2017’s Revolution Come…Revolution Go. Two versions of the reflective country-laced angler, “Traveling Tune,” bookended the night, while a sobering and stretched-out “Revolution Come…Revolution Go” popped up in the second set.
Three numbers from the Mule’s upcoming studio release, Peace…Like A River, also made the cut. “Same As It Ever Was” and “Dreaming Out Loud” have already made the rounds on YouTube and at various shows since the tour kicked off May 5 in New Orleans. At the Ryman, the second set began with the live debut of “Made My Peace.” Largely unknown to the audience, it’s Beatlesque melody and solo weren’t the only nods the Fab Four would receive in Nashville tonight. Haynes is wisely keeping a tight lid on other new songs, holding back on bringing them to the live arena. Rich in detail with extra thought put into the songwriting, loose-yet-tight arrangements, and some very special guests, the album has all the makings of a game-changer for Gov’t Mule. So, the restraint is palpable. In a month’s time, Peace…Like A River and all its magical deliciousness should hopefully be on everyone’s playlist.
Speaking of very special guests, Gov’t Mule often invites other players to sit in at their shows, and on the world-famous Ryman stage in a city filled with world-class musicians, they weren’t about to let that opportunity get away. First up and totally unexpected was longtime Nashville resident Peter Frampton. Having largely retired from the concert circuit in 2019 due to contracting inclusion body myositis (IBM), a progressive muscle disorder, Frampton still records and makes one-off appearances. To see him with the Mule was nothing less than extraordinary.
Because of his condition, Frampton was confined to an office chair, while Haynes sat opposite on a drum throne. The two looked each other in the eye and smiled as they traded licks and shared verses on a mesmerizing take of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” This was followed by a spirited “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” the Ashford-Simpson R&B romp that Humble Pie, Frampton’s former band, turned into a live epic. Though Frampton’s ability to walk and stand has been affected, his fingers can still scorch the fretboard with the best of them. To see him and Haynes playing together was one of those moments anyone in the building won’t soon forget.
Both Frampton and Haynes happen to appear on Dolly Parton’s upcoming Rockstar album, so it wasn’t unreasonable, if for only a second, to think that perhaps the Tennessee country legend herself would show up at the fabled Nashville venue to join in the fun. No such luck. Who knows how that would have gone over.
Most of the Muleheads in the know were only too happy to welcome Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Jamey Johnson, accompanied by guitarist Audley Freed and bassist Robert Kearns, who joined the Mule (without Carlsson) to plow through stirring versions of the Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek” and Drivin’ n’ Cryin’s “Straight To Hell.” Freed returned later with guitarist Tom Bukovac for a potent blast through Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer.”
The rest of the night was all about the Mule. Seeing them all these years later, they’ve only become mightier and bolder with a range that defies easy categorization. Tonight’s runs through “Thorazine Shuffle,” “Mule,” “No Need To Suffer,” and “Rocking Horse” certainly brought back fond memories of that “Old-School Mule” I witnessed in the 90s. The jams and interludes, especially between Haynes and Louis (who also doubled on guitar), are more dynamic and adventurous than I can recall. Carlsson clearly has mad bass skills, and solid-as-a-rock-able-bodied Matt Abts is probably one of the most underrated drummers in rock and roll.
At a little after 11, you couldn’t help but feel that the encore of John Lennon’s “Working-Class Hero” is somehow connected to Gov’t Mule and their approach to the music. Even though the lightshow and colorful backdrop are typical of groups that share the Mule’s pedigree, there’s little show-biz pretentiousness and bourgeois folly to be seen. Dressed in jeans and sneakers, the foursome couldn’t be less discreet as they gather and deliver their collective punch to the gut.
It’s no wonder Gov’t Mule are so beloved by fans and level-headed peers, alike. If you have a set of clear ears, a love to jam, an appreciation for top-shelf musicianship and songwriting, and a curiosity for the unpredictable, then you and everyone you know needs to get on board the Gov’t Mule train before it leaves the station. Believe me, after being away for so long, I don’t want to be left behind again.
