Gov�t Mule
The Boiler Shop
Newcastle upon Tyne

UK

2019-05-28

I�ve long had a passing interest in Gov�t Mule, and especially Warren Haynes. The setup�s unique. Warren�s got the talent & diversity to be invited to share a stage as a member of a number of notable acts. Gov�t Mule itself doesn�t follow the usual modus operandi. It shares its time as a group in its own right and part time �tribute supergroup�. Never plays the same set twice, and serves up more live music for your buck than pretty much anyone. Tickets are modestly priced and sets go on for...weeks.

All that said, never seen them, and to my knowledge this is their first trip to Newcastle. It�s also my first visit to this venue, a former engine shed built for George Stephenson�s locomotive works.

No support act this evening. The Mule are to play two chunky sets, totalling about two and a half hours. Best get comfortable then.

Decent crowd, not sold out but a healthy quorum of like-minded musos who, collectively in this space, almost recreate the bar scene from the first Star Wars movie.

This is a no nonsense, no frills band. They don�t need any of that. Quality and integrity are their calling cards.

The music�s wide and varied, and they�re not afraid to ramble around a theme for...quite a while.

I confess I�m not overly familiar with an awful lot of the repertoire. Great to hear one of my favourite songs from my favourite band (�I�ll be creeping�) and nice to give a nod to one of Newcastle�s home grown faves (�Please don�t let me be misunderstood�).

Relatively brief ditties are in the minority, most being �explored� by the band over some time. In the main, this is a good thing, a drawn out �30 Days in the Hole� being particularly welcome. There are one or two spots, for me anyway, where they meander up a dead end that I preferred they hadn�t. Each to their own, though.

All in all the band dished up two and a half hours of blues based revelry, the 11:00pm curfew probably the primary reason that they didn�t keep going and going.

Personal quibbles aside, this is a class act, and they give a damn.

Suggest you do, too, and support them when they pass your way. Wear something comfortable, though, because you�ll be there a while.

Help with the setlist would be appreciated.

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