Whatever You Do, Take Care Of Your Shoes

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.

There’s an old saying that the blues takes a minute to learn and lifetime to master.  When you listen to Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Elmore James, and countless others, it’s coming out of them.  You don’t play the blues, you live the blues.  This rings true for contemporary artists as well, including folks like Robert Randolph, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, and yes, even Trey.

The fact is the blues have had just a profound influence on Trey and Phish, as jazz, prog-rock, and classical.  Possum is a perfect example.  If you break it down, “Possum” is nothing but a standard 12-bar blues progression.  The same can be said of the Son Seals’ cover, “Funky Bitch.”  Another example is “Dog Log,” which has that bluesy feel to is as well (albeit not in standard 12-bar form).  But, there’s something to say about the energy from these songs.  Every time these songs are played, there’s such a powerful vibe that the audience soaks in.

One of the greatest Phish experiences I ever had was seeing them jam with BB King at the Meadowlands on February 24, 2003.  To complete surprise of the audience, BB King sat in for most of the first set for the blues classics Every Day I Have The Blues, Thrill Is Gone, and Rock Me Baby.  Many fans groaned that this sit-in completely sucked the life out of the crowd, but I wholeheartedly disagree.  Was it a “rager”? No, but it was a unique and rare chance to see the boys play this incredible music with a legend.  Hearing Trey and BB trade licks and stretch these jams out was a dream come true for a guitar player like myself.

I’ve included a great video below of Trey and Warren Haynes jamming out on “Funky Bitch.”  Enjoy…

I couldn’t make it down to Miami for the Phish NYE run, but I managed to catch the Mule last night at the Beacon Theatre.  Holy shit these guys rock.  Warren and company jammed for almost 5 hours, not leaving the stage until well after 2:00AM.  This year’s NYE theme was dubbed “2 Nights of Peace and Mule,” an throwback to the 40 year anniversary of Woodstock.

Set one was all Mule material, allowing the band to showcase some of their newer tunes from their latest By A Thread release.  Highlights included the opener, “Bad Little Doggie,” “Frozen Fear,” and “No Need To Suffer.”  The set was capped off with an electrifying “Mule,” complete with teases of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”

Set two begun just as the original Woodstock begun.  Warren took the stage with Marc Quinonnes for an acoustic “Freedom,” made famous by Richie Havens.  From there, the Mule played several mini-sets of songs from Woodstock artists including Janis, Joe Cocker, Sly & The Family Stone,  and Santana.  Special guest Dana Fuchs delivered powerful vocals on songs including “Ball And Chain,” “Piece Of My Heart,” and “I Wanna Take You Higher.”  Quinonnes and Abts brought a thunder of percussion on Santana classics like “Jingo.”

Set three was another Woodstock set, opening with Matt Abts solo on the guitar (funny in itself) singing the Fish Cheer.  From there Warren lead the Mule through their first ever “Dark Star,” a definite highpoint in the show.  Fuchs rejoined for Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody To Love.”  Other highs were “Don’t Do It,” “I Put A Spell On You,” and “Listening To You.”  For the encore, Warren played an upside down guitar, Hendrix-style and conquered the “Star Spangled Banner” and “Purple Haze.”

I’ve seen the Mule a few times, and have to say this was one of the strongest performances I’ve ever seen of them.  I’ve seen Warren with the Dead and Allman’s, but he really shines when he’s the leader.  Can’t wait for next time.

Thursday 12/31/2009 Beacon Theatre, New York, NY

Set I: Bad Little Doggie, Inside Outside Woman Blues, Larger Than Life > Frozen Fear, Forevermore, Painter Silver Light, No Need To Suffer, Mule > Whole Lotta Love > Mule

Set II: Freedom, Coming Into Los Angeles, Good Morning Little School Girl, Going Home, Ball & Chain, Piece Of My Heart, Savior > Jingo, Soul Sacrifice, Delta Lady, Let’s Go Get Stoned, With A Little Help From My Friends (NYE countdown), Dance To The Music, Music Lover, I Wanna Take You Higher

Set III: Fish Cheer, Dark Star > Somebody To Love, I Put A Spell On You, Don’t Do It, Mean Mistreater, Helplessly Hoping, “Don’t Eat The Brown Acid,” Helplessly Hoping Reprise, I’m Free > Listening To You

E: Star Spangled Banner > Purple Haze

guests included Dana Fuchs, Marc Quinonnes, and horns

setlist courtesy of www.mule.net

keep watching Mule Tracks for the download.

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