Whatever You Do, Take Care Of Your Shoes

Railroad Earth brought it all back home Saturday night, as they descended upon the Montclair’s Wellmont Theatre for a tenth anniversary blowout.  Jackie Greene supported, and kicked the night off with a great opening set spanning his career (side note, check out his set closing “New Speedway Boogie,” complete with a “The Other One” jam and “Bird Song” teases — link below).

The men of the hour hit the stage for one long set, focusing largely on their older material, with newer gems woven in.  The show opening “Long Way To Go” was fitting, as the band celebrated not only the past, but looking forward to what lies ahead.  Todd Scheaffer gave a shoutout to the diehards, dusting off a forgotten tune, “Wavin’ Willie” that had not been played in years (If anyone has the exact date, please let me know.  Setlist.com does not have a record).  As the set progressed, the band loosened up quite a bit, jamming out staples including “Like A Buddha,” a stellar “Warheard Boogie > Black Bear” combo, and a monster “Spring-Heeled Jack” with “Mighty River” sandwiched in between.  This is a must hear!  Jackie Greene lent his guitar playing tallent, sitting in on the traditional “Duncan & Brady” and RRE’s own “Hard Livin’.”  Check out the video below to see some great interplay between Jackie and John Skehan.  The band capped an almost three-hour set with a beautiful rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Keep Movin’ On.”  Here’s hoping they do keep movin’ on, and I look forward to celebrating a twenty year anniversary.

Saturday May 7, 2011 The Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ

Long Way To Go, Old Dangerfield, Bird In A House, Like A Buddha, Railroad Earth, Wavin’ Willie, Colorado, Warhead Boogie > Black Bear, Lone Croft Farewell, Spring-Heeled Jack > Mighty River > Spring-Heeled Jack, Duncan & Brady*, Hard Livin’*, Seven Story Mountain, Storms, Jupiter And The 119 > Fiddlee

E: Keep Movin’ On

*with Jackie Greene

setlist courtesy of Earthboard.

download both Jackie Greene’s and RRE’s sets here:

Jackie Greene

RRE

Levon Helm celebrated his 70th birthday last night, closing out the Mountain Jam festival with a little help from his friends.  The Levon Helm Band was billed as “Levon Helm & Friends,” and featured guest appearances from Warren Haynes, Donald Fagen, Sam Bush, Steve Earl, Jackie Greene, and Patterson Hood.

It was clear from the moment Levon and co. took the stage, that he still had what it takes to rock a crowd, just as he did when he played with The Band.  Levon has pulled back recently on vocals, as he is a throat cancer survivor, but delivered lead vocals on the classic “Ophelia.”  Other Band staples played that evening included “The Shape I’m In,”Long Black Veil,” and “The Weight.”

Special guests filed in and out to spice up the night.  Warren Haynes dueted on Bob Dylan’s “Blind Willie McTell.”  Donald Fagen lead the band through a stunning rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street,” and Ray LaMontagne handled lead vocals on the Basement Tapes/Music From The Big Pink classic, “Tears Of Rage.”

Regarding how he felt about the birthday celebration, he told Rolling Stone it was “the best one I ever had. I thought it was great.”

image courtesy of www.mountainjam.com.

Warren Haynes continued his long standing X-Mas Jam tradition this year.  In my opinion, this was not as strong as some other years, but Warren never fails to deliver, and he did manage to bring together some great acts to contribute to a fine night of music.  Like past years, this was a charity event, benefiting Habitat For Humanity.

This year’s X-Mas Jam acts included Ed Roland (of Collective Soul), Ani DiFranco, George Porter Jr., moe., Counting Crows, and the X-Mas Band, which consisted of Fred Eltringham, Audley Freed, Robert Kearns, and Kevn Kinney.  Highlights included an acoustic “Wild Horses” with Warren, Yonder Mountain String Band’s Jeff Austin, and Jackie Greene; Jimmy Herring sitting in with George Porter Jr.’s band (including Eric Krasno, Adam Deitch, and Nigel Hall) for “Fire On The Bayou;” and of course, a rocking Gov’t Mule set.

The Mule took the stage as the closing act, showcasing new tunes from their By A Thread release, and were joined by some special guests.  Warren and Jimmy Herring traded licks on tracks including “Devil Likes It Slow,” “Patchwork Quilt,” and the Dead’s own “Sugaree” (also with Jackie Greene).  To cap off a rocking evening, everyone joined the Mule on stage for a solid rendition of “I Shall Be Released”…a nod to the Last Waltz.

You can see the complete setlist from all participants here.

Gov’t Mule 12/12/2009 Christmas Jam, Ashville Civic Center, Ashville, NC

Broke Down On The Brazos, Steppin’ Lightly, Railroad Boy, Frozen Fear, Devil Likes It Slow (with Jimmy Herring & Ron Halloway), Patchwork Quilt (with Jimmy Herring, & Fred Eltringham), Sugaree (with Jackie Greene, Jimmy Herring, & Fred Eltringham), Don’t Let Me Down (with Jackie Greene & Fred Eltringham), Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home (with Brad Whitford, Ron Holloway, & Fred Eltringham), Train Kept A-Rollin’ (with Brad Whitford & Fred Eltringham), I Shall Be Released (with The Xmas Jam Ensamble)

Keep watching Mule Tracks for the download.

photo courtesy of Dino Perrucci and www.xmasjam.com