Gov’t Mule rolled into New York City on Monday night to kick off one of two concerts at the Beacon Theatre, continuing their guest-filled New Year’s run. Joining the band this time around were Jimmy Vivino, Oz Noy, Connor Kennedy, Carmine Appice, Aaron Heick and The Better Half Singers.
Gov’t Mule also celebrated their 39th show at The Beacon on Monday with their 40th taking place on New Year’s Eve. The venue honored the band with a plaque. See them receiving the award with Corey Humpage of VP concerts New York, MSG Live in a shot captured by Scott Levy of MSG Photos below.
Mule got things going with “Railroad Boy,” a song that appeared on their 2019 live album Bring On The Music: Live At The Capitol Theatre. Next up, Warren Haynes and company offered up “Larger Than Life” from their 2015 excursion Dub Side Of The Mule and the opening salvo to 2001’s The Deep End Vol. 1, “Fool’s Moon.” The band returned to Dub Side material with “Painted Silver Light” before getting into an “Effigy” sandwich that contained a “Folsom Prison Jam.”
“Which Way Do We Run” followed ahead of a Beatles cover section that featured a trio of songs from the Fab Four’s groundbreaking 1966 album Revolver in “She Said, She Said,” which led into the psychedelic romp “Tomorrow Never Knows” followed by “And Your Bird Can Sing.” The latter saw The Halfway Singers fittingly joining in. Mule closed out the Beatles section with a debut of “Revolution.” The band welcomed Steely Dan touring guitarist Connor Kennedy for the Beatles classic before tieing on an appropriate “Revolution Come, Revolution Go,” the titular track from the band’s 2017 album, to close out the first set.
The second half got underway with the Blind Willie Johnson blues number “Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground” followed by “So Weak, So Strong” from the band’s 2006 album High & Mighty and “Doing It To Death” featured on the 2015 collaborative LP with guitarist John Scofield, aptly titled Sco-Mule. “Fallen Down” then led into a Grateful Dead inspired “The Other One Jam” on which Mule welcomed saxophonist Aaron Heick. The sax man stayed on and was joined by The Halfway Singers for the Rolling Stones classic “Play With Fire,” reggae style. A “Mule” suite would close out the second set with “Birth Of A Mule,” which featured guitarist Oz Noy, and “Mule.”
Gov’t Mule retook the stage and delivered a debut encore of Humble Pie’s “Live With Me,” which saw influential rock drummer Carmine Appice and guitarist Jimmy Vivino of Conan fame joining the band. Check out video of that song and more captured by Sean Roche below:
Live With Me
Fool’s Moon
Which Way Do We Run
And Your Bird Can Sing
Revolution
So Weak, So Strong
The Other One Jam
Play With Fire
Setlist via Mule.org:
Set One: Railroad Boy, Larger Than Life, Fool’s Moon, Painted Silver Light, Effigy > Folsom Prison Blues Jam > Effigy, Which Way Do We Run, She Said, She Said > Tomorrow Never Knows, And Your Bird Can Sing [1], Revolution[2], Revolution Come, Revolution Go
Set Two: Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground, So Weak, So Strong, Doing It To Death, Fallen Down > The Other One Jam[3], Play With Fire, Birth Of The Mule, Mule
Encore: Live With Me
Notes:
- [1] w/The Better Half Singers
- [2] w/Connor Kennedy
- [3] w/Aaron Heick
- [4] w/Aaron Heick and The Better Half Singers
- [5] w/ Ox Noy
- [6] w/ Jimmy Vivino and Carmine Appice
