Warren wears it out!

Two words: Warren Haynes. Tonight was the second of the Mule's two night run here in rainy San Francisco. The rumor on the street was that the first night would be straight Mule, and the second night would be a star-studded performance. Couldn't have been further from the truth. If any night was straight Gov't Mule, it was tonight. I walked out of that show feeling like I'd just been whipped for talking during nap-time. Warren & co. came out on stage with a mission, opening up with Thorazine Shuffle, and following it up with a surprising Soulshine (when's the last time you heard that in the first set when it wasn't a closer?). He followed it up with other greats such as Banks of the Deep End, Bad Little Doggie > Blind Man in the Dark, and Painted Silver Light. New songs? Only two, I think, and one of them was Lola Leave Your Light On. But, as for the always present cover tunes, Warren only pulled out one...but it was Hendrix's Little Wing. ('scuse me!) Right before the second set, everybody was crowding up front, anticipating a Phil Lesh appearance, or really any card that Warren hides up his sleeve. But, we got none. Instead, we got one of the most intense sets I've seen in a good while. Warren stuck with a lot of slower songs, including a peaking Effigy. To be honest, I couldn't tell you the names of most of the songs, but watching him go off was unreal. At one point, he was killing it to such a degree that he had to change guitars in the middle of the song. I told Brock that I thought he'd plain worn the guitar out and needed a new one that could handle him! All and all, it was one of the more inspiring performances I've seen from Mr. Haynes...more inspiring than I've ever seen when he is adding his chops to other bands. At first, I was a little disappointed not to see any guest appearances. But as Brock and I talked over the show on the MUNI ride home, we decided that this was probably Warren letting everyone know that the 'sit-in' party was over, and it was time for the real deal. You come to a Mule show, this is what you get, plain and simple. Of course, if he's able to spill it on stage like that every night, then I pity any guest who attempts to match him!