Live Review:Gov't Mule/Chris Robinson Brotherhood Summerstage, NYC 5/11/17

Gov't Mule

Chris Robinson Band

Summerstage, NYC 5/11/17

http://pancakesandwhiskey.com/2017/05/22/govt-mule-summerstage/

On a night that felt more like summer than spring, the jamband double bill was well attended with an overflow crowd parking themselves on the Central Park lawns. Opening the show and promoting their upcoming release were the Chris Robinson Brotherhood.

With their last record The Black Crowes really showed off their Band and Grateful Dead influences and now with Robinson's solo project it is clear that he was a driving force behind that. Each song during their opening set was fluid and shuffling, just like some of the best Dead songs in their catalog. While not able to jam them out for long, you get the feeling the tracks were prepared with just that in mind.

"Tomorrow's Blues" was a fine example over this style, never in a hurry to go much of anywhere, waltzing around gracefully in the summer sun. A newer song, "Blue Star Woman" continued the lazy pace with a piano intro and mid song break down before segueing excellently and jamming out for version of "California Hymn" that found Neal Casal's guitar leading the way; possessing clear flashes of "Shakedown Street". The band closed their short set with "Narcissus Soaking Wet" that allowed Robinson to get into story mode before segueing into "Shore Power", a perfect soundtrack to a New York City summer night.

Gov't Mule was actually celebrating it's 2000th show in their adopted hometown and would invite some guests out later in the night, but first the band warmed up with some of their hard rocking blues. The group's new record, titled Revolution Come...Revolution Go was featured throughout, but the group started of with heavy combo of "World Boss" off of Shout! from 2013 and "Brand New Angel" from High & Mighty,

Scaling it back for "About To Rage" Mule lost the head of steam they built up by incorporating more wandering solos and less powerful singing from front-man Warren Haynes. The old school groove lead by Matt Abts powerful drumming took the lead on "Rocking Horse" while the instrumental "Birth of The Mule" also worked. The band really pushed it up when the sun went down though with the powerful "Game Face" and extremely effecting "Banks Of The Deep End".  

The highlight of the night came when the band brought out Casal on guitar along with surprise harmonica player Bruce Willis to burn through a solid take of the blues classic "Key To The Highway". With Warren revving up his slide guitar and wonderful organ work from Danny Louis the group was locked in and the guests augmented things perfectly  Finishing their set with their burning theme song "Mule" and encoring with "Dreams & Songs" grateful fans filled out into the New York Night.
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Support both bands and peep some live video from the show below: