Home Music Gov’t Mule Busts Out ‘Catfish Blues’ In Athens

Gov’t Mule Busts Out ‘Catfish Blues’ In Athens

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Gov’t Mule is currently in the midst of their Spring Tour 2019. On Wednesday night, the band led by Warren Haynes performed a two-set show at Athens’ Georgia Theatre. During the gig, the group dusted off “Catfish Blues,” marking their first performance of the classic Robert Petway number since last April.

To start the show, the group offered “Traveling Tune” off 2017’s Revolution Come… Revolution Go, which seamlessly segued into their traditional cover of “Railroad Boy.” The non-stop segment continued with Dose favorite “Game Face” featuring teases of “Birdland,” followed up by a pairing of “Sarah, Surrender” and “Fool’s Moon.” Haynes and company again returned to tease “Birdland” during “Devil Likes It Slow,” which preceded a “Monkey Hill” that ended with a take on The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” To close out the frame in full, the band drew on their older catalog for “Time To Confess.”

After set break, Gov’t Mule first offered “Mr. High & Mighty” off their similarly named 2006 release High & Mighty, followed by Déjà Voodoo‘s 2004 “Bad Man Walking.” The group’s noteworthy cover of “Catfish Blues” followed, serving as the song’s first play by the jam favorites since their 2018 show in Albany, New York. The track also marked a change into a fairly cover-heavy portion of the show, as it fell ahead of both The Allman Brothers Band’s “Come And Go Blues” and The J.B.’s “Doing It To Death.” By way of original “Beautifully Broken,” Gov’t Mule then closed out the frame with two additional covers: Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Effigy,” which sported a jam based on Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground.”

For the encore, Haynes once again dug into The Allman Brothers Band’s catalog, reflective of his tenure with the Southern rock act, by performing ABB’s “Soulshine” first. A take on Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” served as the second song in the encore, with final reprises of “Soulshine” and “Traveling Tune” closing out the show in full.

Setlist

Gov’t Mule at Georgia Theatre

Set 1
  • Traveling Tune  Railroad Boy  Game Face  
  • Sarah, Surrender
  • Fool’s Moon
  • Devil Likes It Slow  
  • Monkey Hill  
  • Time to Confess
Set 2
  • Mr. High & Mighty
  • Bad Man Walking
  • Catfish Blues  
  • Come and Go Blues  
  • Doing It to Death  
  • Beautifully Broken
  • Effigy  
  • Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground  
Encore
  • Soulshine  Tupelo Honey   Setlist info via setlist.fm.