Gov’t Mule seems to put on a memorable, guest-filled show every year at one of New Orleans’ venerable live music venues during the Jazz & Heritage festival. This year, the band’s special May 5, 2023 performance took place at the Orpheum Theater, just off Canal Street, near the Mississippi River. Warren Haynes led the quartet through a two-set show filled with classics, new songs, and imaginative covers, thrilling the packed house of eager fans. The band was joined by some special friends that kept the Crescent City’s Jazz Fest vibe going late into the night.
George Porter Jr. & the Runnin’ Pardners opened the show. Chris Adkins ripped guitar solos, Mike Lemmler played creative keyboard segments and Terrence Houston’s rhythmic, rapid-fire drumming accompanied the legend’s bass lines for several funky tunes. Porter’s husky voice may not be operatic, but he is always on key and his thumping melodies kept the people in the packed, general admission floor space dancing. The crowded balcony section could be seen swaying to the beats as well. The group played a few instrumentals including The Meters’ “Cissy Strut.” Porter sang his “I Get High,” Professor Longhair’s “Hey Now Baby” and a fine version of Bobby Bland’s “Turn On Your Lovelight” to end the set.
Gov’t Mule came out firing. They opened with “Traveling Tune” and “Wake Up Dead” before moving to the blues-inspired “Street Corner Talking.” Haynes was on point from the opening notes. His voice was strong and he played searing solos on a few of his iconic Gibson guitars. Jorgen Carlsson’s heavy bass line along with Matt Abts’ drum fill on “Game Face” got the crowd even more energized and it led into the band’s first-ever live take on “Same As It Ever Was off their soon-to-be-released new album Peace…Like A River.
There were more Mule enhanced covers, with occasional guitar cameos by keyboardist Danny Louis, including “Sex Machine” and “Eternity’s Breath Shuffle” before a magical “St. Stephen Jam.” The Cure’s Reeves Gabrels was the first guest of the night. He came out to lay down some blazing guitar solos on Radiohead’s “Creep” and a trippy “Apollo Honey Jam.” Gabrels stayed to trade solos with Haynes on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World” that segued into Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” before roaring back to “Rockin’ In The Free World.”
The second set featured a cavalcade of friends and more classic covers. The Levee Horns joined in for Blind Willie Johnson’s “John The Revelator” and The Band’s “Stage Fright.” George Porter Jr. and Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville joined the band for the debut of “Dreaming Out Loud,” the Mule’s brand new track that they recently recorded with Neville. Porter, Neville, and the horns stayed for Little Feat’s “Sailing Shoes” and they were joined by Smoky Greenwell for Robert Johnson’s “32-20 Blues.”
The final song of the second set included Porter on a raucous version of the Mule’s “Thorazine Shuffle.” The band came back for an encore with both Gabrels and Greenwell. They launched into a dynamic version of Tom Wait’s “Get Behind The Mule” to finally end the impressive performance.
Live photos courtesy of Andy J. Gordon ©2023.
