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Taking a break from laundry, cleaning and packing with an interlude from these fine gentlemen back in March of '15 at @grimeys @thewarrenhaynes #johnscofield #scomule #spanishmoon (at Grimey's New & Preloved Music)

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Gov't Mule w/ special guest John Scofield live at the State Theater

2/26/2015--Minneapolis, MN at the State Theater On a cold night the cozy state theater had all the goods for the heat that 2 of the most respected guitarists (Warren Haynes/John Scofield) today could bring to it's stage. From the first notes of 'Bad Little Doggie' through the encore cover of Humble Pie's '30 Days In The Hole' from their 1972 album (the post-Frampton) Smokin', the energy was high and the musicians were really in tune with each other.

As I was waiting for the show to begin I was talking to the gentleman seated on my left, and he (being in his mid 50s I'd guess) mentioned an unusual looking crowd. Not being sure which artist had brought him into the fold that night, I asked and found he was there for Gov't Mule, and quickly suggested that John Scofield obviously was going to bring in some jazz fans as well. He said he hadn't thought about that, and that was actually the first time I thought about the fact that this was still billed as Mule w/ special guest Scofield and that we may not have Scofield out for the entire show. That turned out to be the case, opening with a charging 'Bad Little Doggie' everything was perfectly in place by the time their 3rd and 4th songs hit, an absolutely ripping version of Inside Outside Woman Blues #3, and Howlin' Wolf's 'How Many More Years' (from "Moanin' In The Moonlight") which included a tease of Stevie Wonder's 'Higher Ground.' The nod to R&B was appropriate as they welcomed Scofield to the stage on their 5th song of the night, the cover of 70's R&B band Rufus' 'Tell Me Something Good.'

With Scofield now firmly entrenched onstage, the Mule turned from a heavy blues rock juggernaut into a heavy acid jazz quintet (they had a guest organist as well) with Haynes and Scofield trading solo space through 'Johnny Bratton Jam', 'The Silent Scream, Part 2', and the opening set finisher 'Kind of Bird'. Whether they were trading off licks every 4 bars, or matching solo for solo the musical highlights were aplenty between the two during the first set.

The second set started much in the same way the first set ended. They hit the ground running with one of my least favorite (pre-1980) Steve Miller Band tracks, 'The Joker' and it was brilliant. Giving the song a bit more of a funky, jazz vibe opened up the doors for an extremely unique rendition of the song that only this band could have played. Followed by the extended grooves of Scofield's 'Jeep on 35' and 'Hottentot' (with 'Flip Wilson' in between) the musical harmony of the band soared as interesting improvisational flights came from all of the band members. John Scofield then made his way off for the night, as the band kicked into the final number of the second set, the devastatingly powerful 'Thorazine Shuffle' for one last bout of blues rock before the encore. Then, as I stated at the top, the band came on for a heavy extended version of '30 Days In the Hole'. Possibly the only disappointment of the night being that Scofield did not come out for one last appearance during the encore, although the song did not miss a beat, while Haynes pulled the standing crowd to repeat main chorus line before he led the band to the end of the song and the end of a truly wonderful night of music.

#musicallyrich #livemusic #govtmule #johnscofield #scomule

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