August Issue: Home | Editors | Features | Columns | Photos | Regional | New Groove Road Trip | Tour Journal | Venue | Levels | Ghosts | Homegrown | Inaudible | CDs | Charts

South Regional Report
Edited by Mike Jones - lovetoy2@geocities.com and
Chip Schramm - hms3@compuserve.com

---

Wow, it's hard to believe that summer is starting to wind down. Many of us are heading back to our respective universities and getting ready for a new semester. This also means the summer concert season, although in full swing, is in its final weeks. I thought I'd give a brief recap of events and shows that I've been to since early May up until now.

It all started for me this summer at the Beale St. Music Festival in Memphis, TN. This was my first time at this festival although I've been dying to go for years. The festival was moved back one weekend and so lucky for me, it wasn't during finals week anymore. A brief run down of performers that I saw at the festival include: Goo Goo Dolls, Everclear, Sheryl Crow, moe., Bobby "Blue" Bland, Clarence Carter, Fuel, Collective Soul, Hootie & The Blowfish, Peter Frampton, and Big Star. The very next weekend I attended Jubilee Jam in Jackson, MS which included Marvelous 3, Collective Soul, Cowboy Mouth, Hootie & The Blowfish, Elijah Blue, Patrick Harkins, and The Charlie Mars Band. Then, in late June, I went to the City Stages festival in downtown Birmingham, AL. This is one of the best organized festivals that I had been to in a good long while. This festival had quite an overall lineup as well. The band that I recall seeing and really enjoying were, Train, Vertical Horizon, Pat McGee Band, Jump Little Children and King Konga. I've also traveled to see single shows instead of festivals. I went to New Orleans to check out Jewel on her new tour featuring Steve Poltz. I had gotten a promo copy of Poltz's album and really liked it. All that I knew about him before I listened to his cd was that he helped co-write some songs with Jewel, one of which was "You Were Meant For Me". He played with a band called the Rugburns before he went solo. I enjoyed his show as much as I did Jewel's. His lyrics are very creative and witty. The highlight of the night for him was when he said he was dedicating the next song to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez from the group TLC. He proceeded to play "Waterfalls" on the acoustic guitar and actually did the song justice and making it sound a whole lot better than the original. He also did a song about Star Wars. I can't remember how all of it went but one line was something along the lines of, "Princess Leia wasn't much of a talker, she was always makin' out with her brother Luke Skywalker". He also mentioned that he had a cd out just for people that had A.D.D. The name of the cd was called Answering Machine and all the songs were 45 seconds long. I think the cd has in the neighborhood of 50+ songs.

I also went to Lilith Fair in Atlanta, the second show in Atlanta. I think I should probably just leave it at that. I'll just say that my male self was way out of place. I guess besides some of the music the highlight for me was the unisex bathrooms. Yeah you heard me, the girls took over the guys bathrooms and were peeing right along side of us. I'll just stop here with this one.

Definite highlights from the festivals were Elijah Blue, Patrick Harkins, and The Charlie Mars Band at Jubilee Jam in Jackson. Elijah Blue is based out of Tuscaloosa, AL and can be found on the web at www.elijahblue.com. If you haven't heard them before, I would say they would be the product if Dave Matthews Band and Phish were to have a baby. They have great music and very tight musicianship. Definitely check them out if you haven't done so already.

Patrick Harkins is a young lad of 17 in Jackson, MS but is on is way to bigger and better places. He was featured in last week's issue of Planet Weekly, a local music magazine found on the web at www.planetweekly.com. He plays one mean guitar, reeling out the blues like no one I've seen in a long time. He is definitely going to be bigger than just a regional talent. He has the energy to play all night long if places would let him and I think he would play anywhere with an electrical outlet for him to plug his guitar in. If you're in the crowd at one of his shows, beware, he just might end up wailing on his guitar while standing on your table...so keep an eye out!

Highlights at the City Stages festival in Birmingham included King Konga, Jump Little Children and the Pat McGee Band. King Konga is one of my favorite bands. They are from the little college town of Hattiesburg, MS. The sound is like Jimmy Buffet mixed in with Dave Matthews. The live show is phenomenal. They recently performed at Woodstock '99 so you know they are doing something right. They are also on the web, you can find them at www.kingkonga.com. Jump Little Children, from South Carolina is a very eclectic group but will blow your mind with their performance. This performance included two jugglers on stilts for the encore. Their tight musicianship earned them a record deal with Breaking Records, the label started by Darius Rucker of Hootie & The Blowfish.

Pat McGee Band was one that I had been waiting to see for a long long time. I had heard stories of their shows for a couple of years and I finally got my chance to see them live...man was I ever impressed. I'm sure others of you closer to Virginia can back me up here. This band puts on a great live show and the music is second to none. Mr. Dave Matthews better watch out, Pat McGee is following in his footsteps and will probably surpass him sometime in the near future. Well, that's it for my summer review, definitely check out these bands any time they are in your neighborhood!

---

Col. Bruce Hampton and friends, Derek Trucks Band,and Jazz is Dead
Sloss Furnace, Birmingham, Alabama

By Chip Schramm

On Friday, July 16th, Col. Bruce Hampton and friends joined the Derek Trucks Band and Jazz is Dead for a long evening of music. This gigantic jam session was a similar lineup to the one that rocked Macon, Georgia on July 5th with even more special guests. Sloss Furnace is a deceptively great venue. It wouldn't seems like a burned out iron smelting plant with the sides cut open would be an ideal environment to see a show, but the acoustics were great. There was a nice breeze passing through the building all night long to keep the grooving bodies cool, and the venue staff was helpful and friendly. The musicians themselves had a great attitude about the whole event. Not only did they crossover and jam with each other's projects all night long, they were also quite accessible between sets, walking around and talking with their fans. It would go to reason that a warm, friendly environment would produce a great show, and this night delivered the goods. By the end of the night some tapers had run out of tape before Jazz is Dead's encore was over.

Barry Richman has teamed up with Col. Bruce Hampton on his latest project along with the Count M'butu on percussion. Lots of people at the show hadn't seen Richman before, but he won them over quickly with his sharp improvisational style. He seemed to fit in well on old staples like Fixin' to Die and Elevator to the Moon. Hampton looked like he was having a ball, and played a very long set. Although some of the songs were short, they brought up Jimmy Herring, former Acquarist with the Rescue Unit, now of Jazz is Dead. He jammed back and forth with Hampton and Richman, with a big round smile on his face, as if to say "Gotcha!" Derek Trucks came out too, and they closed their set with an explosive Lovelight.

The Count would sit in on Derek's set as well, along with Herring. Considering how much Trucks looks up to Herring, we were in for a treat. Bill McKay was definitely in the groove as well. He was hitting the blues vocals like never before on songs like Ain't That Lovin' You? After Derek joined the Allman Brothers band, Yonrico Scott, worked hard to keep the original band on the road with McKay and Todd Smallie. Their refusal to part ways has helped their playing both with and without Derek. Once again Derek had shown class and wisdom by always rejoining the guys in his original band.

The break in the middle of the Allmans' tour was nice, but who needs a break when you're 20 years old in the summertime? Derek and Herring would spar throughout the set, playing off one another every chance they got. At one point Herring beat Derek to the opening riff of a song, earning a bemused smile from Trucks. One of the more interesting highlights of the set was an instrumental Rastaman jam, identical to one recorded by Bob Marley as Rastaman Chant. The Count M'butu laid down a bouncing reggae line on percussion and the rest of the players followed his lead. Smallie and Scott especially got into it, mirroring the Count's rhythm with thumping bass beats. Derek didn't hesitate to break out some of his own material as well, playing a pretty Pleasant Gardens as well as Deltaraga. The jams were intense, heightened by Herring's tight rapport with Trucks. By the end of the set, Derek Trucks did something that few in the audience had ever seen, the narrator included. He began to tune his guitar at the end of the last jam and slowly unwound each string one by one. He retuned the entire guitar without missing a beat and at one point had a string pulled around the back of the neck, creating an unbelievable tone.

By the time Jazz is Dead was up to play their set, the house was warm and already getting down. Jazz is Dead has also changed their lineup not too long ago, trading drummer Billy Cobham for Rod Morgenstein and borrowing Jeff Sipe from Leftover Salmon. Cobham is a venerable artist in jazz percussion, but the addition of the extra drummer made it easier to fully emulate the Dead's sound. No special guests joined in this set, but the combo of Alphonso Johnson, Herring, T Lavitz, and the aforementioned drummers more than did the trick. One of the neater things about Jazz is Dead is their desire to tackle the more challenging parts of the Dead's material. Songs off of "Wake of the Flood," and especially "Blues for Allah" have been prominent in their repertoire. Their skillfully treatment of King Solomon's Marbles and Help is on the Way >> Slipknot! showed that they are more concerned with musical integrity than having a sing-along chorus in the crowd. St. Stephen is a universal favorite among young and old deadheads alike, but the St. Stephen > The Eleven combo was over the top. The Eleven has such a tricky juxtaposition of beats in each measure that the Dead gave up playing it in the early 70's. Jazz is Dead displayed both the desire and ability to take the old material and breathe newfound life into it. They played a short drums solo at the end of the set with Morgenstein and Sipe wailing away viscously at their respective kits. They would encore with a lengthy, spacey Dark Star, leaving the crowd exhausted and satiated. It takes more than a little preparation beforehand to get this many talented musicians on the same bill, but it was well worth it. Although they didn't play what would be considered a fell-fledged tour, this lineup is clearly a blueprint of summer music festivals to come.

The three sets played on this night included enough youth, experience, and excited experimentation to last the whole weekend. The music community is blessed when all the diverse projects cross-crossed on this jam session can get together, even for just an evening. Jazz is Dead's new album, "Laughing Water," has many of these musicians covering Dead tunes plus a few surprises. Who knows, maybe after a few more jams like this one, these three outfits might produce a superjam album of their own.

---

Summer Session
July 31, 1999 - Masquerade Music Park, Atlanta, GA

by Rob Turner

It was one if those scorching late July Georgia afternoons when the Summer Session tour pulled into Atlanta to light up the little makeshift “venue” behind the Masquerade. This is a great bill with four bands who have complementary styles, and three brilliant singer/songwriters offering brief “tweener” sets. My night long informal survey of people in attendance revealed that this tour should help each band on the bill, as I spoke with many people, each of whom had not previously seen at least one of the Summer Session bands. Each band seemed to have won a number of new fans, particularly Galactic.

I was skeptical at first about this night, as before a note was played I noticed a few “shady” things about this “music park.” First of all, it was way too small of a show to have to wait over twenty minutes just to get into the will call section. There were no signs indicating that there were supposed to be two lines, one for ticket holders and one for those picking up or buying tickets. As a result the line that was formed by those who had inquired about what was supposed to be going on, was sort of shoved aside and ridiculously slow. This resulted in the more respectful patrons being forced to wait under the Georgia sun without the benefit of shade on this steamy Saturday. When we were finally able to collect our tickets and enter, we wandered over to the taping section and noticed just before we got there that there was a bunch of commotion. Apparently the tapers, most of whom had come in when the doors were initially opened at five so they could get their equipment set up and ready for the show, were told that they could not set up directly in front of the soundboard. This certainly would not have been a problem except for the fact that the powers that be waited until not much more than ten minutes before the six o’clock show time to alert the admission paying tapers that they had to move. Suddenly, it was a scramble for these guys to get their gear re-set up. This could be a result of the fact that this is a new tour, and there may be some lack of experience on high levels which should be ironed out with time. Let’s work out where the tapers should and should not be well before the doors are open folks, this kind of last minute change of policy is inexcuseable. Another venue weakness that should’ve been checked out by the Summer Session people ahead of time was the water situation. Security was confiscating all bottles of water upon entry, even if they were sealed or empty. This combined with the fact that there was ABSOLUTELY NO RUNNING WATER available to the general ticket purchasing public reeks of a greedy, inconsiderate venue that is begging for a lawsuit. I would suggest that if you have no running water on site you should let people at least bring in sealed bottles of water, especially when it is as hot and humid as it was on this Saturday. The Summer Session people should be aware that this tour is attracting a certain amount of people who are scraping to get into every show. These folks might not have ten or twenty dollars to spend on little bottles of water, especially after the bottles that they bought at the supermarket just got dumped in the trash. It is in the best interest of the folks in charge of this tour not to turn their backs on these folks. Summer Session should make sure there is either running water at every venue they bring their show to, or that sealed bottles of water are OK to bring into the show. People are paying enough to get into these shows, they don’t need to be milked for money to meet their basic survival needs. I couldn’t believe that less than a week after Woodstock burned, partly due to unruly fans being upset with the lack of available free water, a venue would make the same greedy attempt to improve their bottom line that the Woodstock promoters had. Fortunately nobody handed out candles at the Masquerade….and fans of improvisational rock are generally more mature in their reactions to uncomfortable situations than fans of…say, Limp Bizkit. Although this summer’s Dave Matthews Band shows in Hartford were a bit of a mess…. There wasn’t even decent food on site, as pizza was the sole food item available. We went to buy a slice of pizza and we couldn’t figure out which was nastier, the dark waxy cheese on the ‘za, or the fact that the woman serving it had a lit cigarette hanging out of her mouth. This would not have been a big deal if not for the fact that there was no re-entry allowed during this five hour event. Se, we were trapped with nothing to eat, and the little cash we had had all been spent on water by the time moe. was done. Well, anyway, let’s get to the music, which started with String Cheese Incident pretty close to six o’clock.

SCI Setlist:
Round The Wheel
Born On The Wrong Planet>
Jam
Make a Joyful Sound
Texas>
JAM!

I have a curious view of String Cheese. I have some great tapes of them throwing down hard and playing with edge, energy and with all kinds of guests. However, when I see them I tend to get their more polite performances. Now, SCI fans have said that I have caught them in some unusual settings, like the time I saw them play on rented equipment when they opened for the Flecktones at Boston’s Orpheum Theater. So, every time I see them I go into it with an open mind, as every California Dead Head I know adores this band. Maybe they are simply the opposite of the good ol’ Dead, and they play their most intense shows on the WEST coast.

Whatever the case the band’s first two songs did little to change my opinion as they opened with the jangley title track from their most recent album, “Round The Wheel.” Sound problems early in the song gave the show a rocky start, as firework like noises punctured the band’s sound. With the exception of a very strong Kyle Hollingsworth solo toward the end of the song (Hammond I believe) this was a gentle set opener. It was followed by a similarly gentle title track, this one from their “Born On The Wrong Planet” CD. The soundman seemed to be struggling to get Bill Nershi’s acoustic picking up in the mix. This segued into a bluegrass jam that sounded very familiar and may have been a composed song. This is when String Cheese is at their best. They have a fantastic approach to the bluegrass side of things, and I’m not surprised that bluegrass luminaries like Tim O’Brien, Bela Fleck, Peter Rowan, David Grisman, and Jerry Douglas have all sat in with this Colorado band. Michael Kang’s quick bursts of notes on the fiddle were the highlight of this jam. The build toward the climax of the song seemed a bit rushed, but this may be a result of the brief set length that each band was given. I was treated to my first taste of the band to band camaraderie of this tour as members of all three of the other bands on the bill were already seen side stage grooving to SCI.

The band then chose to feature their bass man, Keith Mosely, who sang “Make A Joyful Sound.” It started with something of a hip hop beat and featured some slunky bass lines. I really enjoyed this one, and found it quite soulful, although it did stagger to the finish line. I thought the guitar solo toward the end could have been shorter, as its inspiration seemed to diminish as the same chord progression plodded along behind it Thankfully, Warren Haynes joined the band for a rousing version of “Texas.” Warren instantly brought the edge that I think this band definitely needs more of. With lyrics about the sun blazing down, this song was perfect for this hot day. It also featured a jam in it that had the nicest gradual build to an explosion that I’ve ever seen SCI pull off. Warren has this knack for bringing out the best in musicians, and when Kang offered some breathtaking guitar while dueling with Warren, I knew this was no exception. Mosely and drummer Michael Travis helped by resisting the urge to rush the climax of the jam which created the type of gradually spiraling jam that I have been looking for and not getting at the previous SCI shows I have attended. As the set pounded to a close, Kang’s flurry of notes blending with Warren’s wild fanning created a powerful aural landscape, and my favorite SCI musical moment to date.

Literally seconds after SCI left the stage, Alan Woody was at the mike to introduce, “a young man from Virginia, Keller Williams.”I realized that it was gonna be hard to hear these “tweener” acts, as many of the younger folks on hand found it difficult to actually listen to Keller (and the other solo performers by the way). At one point Keller was using a delay effect and gradually setting up a rhythm, and a melodic vocal jam, over which he proceeded to solo in with his mouth, sounding EXACTLY like a trumpet. He was co-creating with someone in the sound board as he would signal with his right hand when he wanted to set up a delay loop. I found that I couldn’t take my eyes off this guy, and his wildly unique creativity. He was even sending off Mile-esque trumpet rolls at one point. Then he picked up a drum and offered some fierce drumming and addressed the crowd with, “give me your energy, let me subscribe to your vibe.”

Unfortunately, the guys next to me were more interested in pointing out the roadies that they knew than in Keller’s brilliant performance, but I moved right up to the front row and took in the tail end of the set unblinkingly. Keller has an amazing voice, and SCI has wisely decided to make him the first “outside project” for their fledgling record label. Great choice guys, as a matter of fact seeing as how one of the knocks on many of these “jambands” is on the vocals and the lack of a dynamic lead performer, Keller would be an ideal addition to many of these groups. Just a thought…

During this set break, I scouted the vendors and came across an artist named Alton who uses symbolic African Adinka (as well as other ethnic) designs. He told me of a project that the Historic District Development Board in Atlanta has been working on where they are taking an old cotton compress warehouse and turning it into housing for young artists. This includes musicians, so if you are an artist an you are willing to live in Georgia you may want to look into this unique housing opportunity targeted directly at you. I thought it was very appropriate that this tour, which features a bunch of folks that were struggling artists not so long ago, would feature vendors of a similar ilk. Another very nice touch.

It was Galactic time, and they came right out the shoot with some dazzling sax, guitar, and keyboard interplay on “Freedom Acid Jazz Dance.” Instantly it answered the question, “what would the Meters sound like if they had grown up in the seventies and formed in the nineties?” This is an absolutely outstanding band that moves the mind as much as it moves the hips. Their setlist for this night was as follows.

Galactic Set List
(Thank you to Emily for your help on this list)
Freedom Acid Jazz Dance
Charlie Dozen
Blues For Ben
This Thrill
Running Man
Check Out Your Mind
Hamps Hump
Bootlegger

The strength of this band starts with drummer Stanton Moore and bass player Robert Mercurio, who support the band with brilliance that is evidenced as much in their use of restraint as it is in their striking acumen. The band has always had chops, but they have tremendously improved their sense of pacing a set, as the first three songs set the table for a smooth transition for the trio of songs with vocalist Theryl “The Houseman” de Clouet, which started with the spirited, “This Thrill.” Theryl’s voice has greatly improved with time, and his stage presence has improved even more, he’s even letting go somewhat of the rah-rah “lemme hear you say yeah” kind of stuff that he used to do to death. His vocal on the “Running Man” was outstanding, and the way the lyrics are oddly juxtaposed to the music was reminiscent of the great Frank Zappa. The quick breaks in the song make it fun to dance to, and my experience was augmented by a guy who had very well done yellow, green, orange, purple, and red GD dancing bears tatooed around his arm,. I said to him, “nice ink dude,” and he smiled hazily back at me. Life is good.

“Check Out Your Mind” started with some quick jazz riffs, and de Clouet’s vocal was punctuated by the gritty guitarwork of Jeff Raines. Later in the song Raines offered a screaming lead guitar that helped me to do some of my hardest boogeying of the night. deClouet left the stage, and the band started into the loping rhythm’s of Hamp’s Hump. This Lou Donaldson number, considered by some to be a funk standard, is included on Galactic’s second and most recent CD, “Crazyhorse Mongoose.” The crowd was getting down to the thick groove of this number, which was punctuated by Ben Ellman’s baritone sax. He weaved in and out of the song brilliantly, with some gentle coloring notes, and some hair-raising muscular low notes. Ellman is another example of how this band doesn’t let their considerable chops get in the way of tasteful playing. Stanton Moore once told Flagpole magazine that he has a somewhat Puritanical view of his drumming, “It kind of feels like a calling. It’s what I’m here to do,” he said. Tonight, he proved this to be true with an artistic drum solo during “Hamp’s Hump” that was about style rather than bombast. Stanton may be one of the best drummers in music, and he certainly is a front runner in the improvisational rock scene. The rousing set closer ‘Bootlegger” had everyone shakin’ ass, and when the band kept playing as they left the stage, it was an entertaining window into true New Orleans style in the middle of Atlanta!

In my opinion, ex-frontman of Drivin’ and Cryin’, Kevn Kinney is at his best when he performs in a strip down setting. So I was very pleased that he was our next “tweener” act. After a sound marred first number, and a very well delivered second number, Kevn brought out Warren Haynes. As a Warren fan who adores Bob Dylan’s songs, I was tickled when they launched into one of Dylan’s finest commentaries on the emerging wealth disparity of our nation in the sixties, “Ballad of Hollis Brown” This song, is as poignant as ever today. Haynes dark playing seemed to echo the injustices that this song speaks to. Warren was seated on nothing more than a simple amp case and Kevn was standing to his right. Warren filled in with grit and elegance throughout the song, laying down some particularly dark blasts of shotgun notes as Kevn sang, “there’s seven people dead on a South Dakota farm.” This was a brilliant version of a Dylan classic which was part of Bob’s famous 1985 LiveAid mini-set.

Just as Kevn was about to say goodbye at the end of this number, someone “important looking” emerged from the shadows to tell him there was time for one more. Kevn responded by romping through a humorous tune with a grinding blues beat which may have been called the, “Chattahoochie Coochie Man.” They rocked about as hard as two guys can with just their guitars, and Kevn saluted the great Muddy Waters by belting out some cleverly placed, “Man Child”’s.

It was now time for moe., a band which alternately impresses and disappoints. The last time I saw them live at the Somerville Theater was mostly uninteresting. With the exception of their “Meat” encore and some select instrumental passages, I thought they were brutally uninspiring for most of the night. However, when I saw them from the comfort of my living room on Pay-Per-View, from Woodstock I was thrilled. They seem to be listening to each other again, and they have some promising new material. They exhibited considerable cojones by busting out three brand new songs at Woodstock in front of the largest audience they’ve ever entertained. At the Masquerade they opened with the Zappa-esque “Brent Black” a song selection that met with the great approval of the moe. fans that were near my location for this set.

moe.’s setlist
Brent Black>
Moth
The Ghost of Ralph’s Mom
Akimbo
32 Things
Seat Of My Pants

Guitarist Chuck Garvey used his effects brilliantly to build tension during his guitar solo on the aforementioned “Brent Black.”. Al Schnier also amazed with a brilliant solo that interspersed some smartly placed notes from high on the guitar neck with the flurries of notes he was playing in the lower registers. Much of the band’s current full sound may be attributed to the return of Jim Loughlin on percussion. He colored elegantly as Al offered some sweet chordal guitarwork to help bridge the band into “Moth.” I felt “Moth” benefited from having more of a back porch feel than other versions I have heard. I couldn’t find any moe. fans to agree with this however, so this opinion may be a result of my comparitively limited experience with this band (I have only seen them twenty times or so, and eleven of these were abbreviated “Furthur” sets). Al again shone on this one, with some very well-finessed mellow guitar that built to a frenzied climax during which he repeatedly slammed his guitar on his leg, seemingly trying to get as much umph as he could out of the helpless instrument. I am very much of an Al fan, and this kind of playing is why, especially when he expertly wound the solo back to the body of the song. Whaddya know, suddenly I’m back on the moe. train!

After bassist Rob Derhak and Al engaged in some humorous banter, the band started up, “The Ghost of Ralph’s Mom” which is one of the songs they debuted at the Woodstock festival. The beginning of the song is reminiscent of Seattle’s most underrated band, Mudhoney. Musically, this song is great, but the lyrics don’t do much for me, nor does Rob’s delivery of them. The guitar leads seemed less aggressive than the rhythm of the song, but I think with time this will become an explosive vehicle for full-throttle moe. jamming. The band reverted to familiar territory with a strong version of one of my favorites when they were on the Furthur tour, “Akimbo.” “32 Things” followed, which is a song I really don’t like, but Al’s wreckless guitar made it hard not to enjoy this silly number tonight. Everyone was sucked in by the set closing “Seat Of My Pants” which featured the band’s best ensemble playing of the night.

Another Virginia boy, Gibb Droll, was the final “tweener” act for the night, and he dedicated his first song (titled “Yield Not To Temptation” I believe) to Colonel Bruce who was reportedly hangin’ out backstage for much of the show. This was a very strong performance, but toward the end of the song I was distracted by a security situation. When the sun was out, security was walking through the crowd checking things out, and I was impressed that they seemed not to mind the fact that some of the kids were huffin’ the herbals. However, now that the sun was down, the very same security people were going up to some of the kids who had no problem smoking earlier, and confiscating their herb. This happened to a lot of people once night fell, and I couldn’t help but think these guys simply waited until they had the cover of night to confiscate weed that they could smoke themselves later. The back of their shirts said, “polite, but firm,” and I thought corrupt might fit in well with these shirts as well as this suspicious behavior reflects very poorly on the security organization. Whoever runs this security company may want to keep a closer eye on the people representing their name. Well, Gibb concluded his set with an excellent instrumental that gives a nod to many of the rock and roll giants of the seventies in his own classy style. It is long and extremely enjoyable, although I don’t know its title. Let’s hope Gibb records this one soon.

The stage was now set for the band that is my personal favorite on the bill, Government Mule. While the band definitely has many fans in their home city, there is a considerable amount of misinformation about them here as well. When I had been at the Brandyhouse earlier in the month speaking with some locals I was surprised that many had negative things to say about the band, some of which were downright false. One guy thought they did Allman Brothers covers, another guy said they do almost the same show every night, and a third said they needed a keyboard player. One local writer referred to them as a band that performs “straight ahead rock n roll” in Atlanta’s Creative Loafing. This same woman had written the liner notes for their live album which features many extended improvisational sections, which would seem to be somewhat removed from “straight ahead rock n roll.” So, I guess it can be understood why there are so many misperceptions about this amazingly improvisational band when a local writer that seems not to understand the uniqueness of the band is the one reporting on them. Maybe times are changing. The other Atlanta scene zine, Atlanta Weekly featured a refreshingly enlightened article on the band, written by a Jim Crowe, which ran the week of the show. “Neither a lack of musical ideas nor a refusal to be adventurous plagues the Mule.” Let’s hope the band sees the full article and considers Jim for their next album’s liner notes, rather than the overly verbose author used on the last album, who seemed to muddle through only with the help of Webster.

Government Mule setlist
Wandering Child
Thorazine Shuffle
Mule>
Who Do You Love>
Mule
Lay Your Burden Down
Bad Little Doggie
Blind Man In The Dark
Afro Blue (with Ben Ellman and Rich Vogel)
Spoonful (with Colonel Bruce Hampton, Ben Ellman, and Rich Vogel)

Alan Woody was in the spirit of the festival for sure, as he came out in a sleeveless tie dye with a moe. fishing hat on. The band charged full force into the set opening “Wandering Child” which may be on their forthcoming album. Alan had that perfect bass tone going which set the table for Warren to burn a short high intensity solo on his purple baby. The spooky shuffle of “Thorazine Shuffle” followed, and those seeing The Mule for the first time were introduced to the rhythmic muscle of Woody and drummer Matt Abts. Warren’s solo started with some grippingly concise playing, but the rhythm section goaded him toward darkest regions of this song. The band then unleashed “Mule” which is still perhaps their signature song. This is a powerful number that speaks to, as Jim Crowe says, “the deferred promise of forty acres and a mule offered to disenfranchised ex-slaves after the Civil War by a duplicitous Freedman’s Bureau.” There enlies the angst that drives this song. Warren builds his solo to some very high slide guitarwork which then slices into the old blues classic strongly associated with the James Cotton Blues Band, “Who Do You Love.” It seems only too fitting that the band regularly works “Who Do You Love,” which speaks to the angst associated with painfully unrequited love into the middle of “Mule.” (Sometimes the band works in the similarly appropriate Van Morrison classic, “I’ve Been Workin’”) Warren powerfully guided the band back into “Mule” before they tossed off the ending chords which remind me of Zappa’s “Zomby Woof.”

Warren then let us know that the next Mule album was right around the corner, and the next song, “Lay Your Burden Down,” was slated to be included on it. This hard-driving blues number will certainly be a centerpiece of the forthcoming disc, There are also some quieter parts of the song, which displayed Abts’ and Woody’s ability to play quiet introspective passages. “Bad Little Doggie,” another due to be part of the next Mule release, followed. This had a 70s feel, and Warren delivered some speedy stunt guitar. Alan offered up some huge bass on “Blind Man In The Dark,” the lead track from their “Dose” disc. The band rocked this one hard, and then invited up Ben Ellman and Rich Vogel from Galactic for a short but intense take on John Coltrane’s “Afro Blue.” Warren’s solo featured some mind-drilling piercing sounds, and Ellman’s solo was thick with yearning. Matt Abts was key on this piece, as he prodded the lead players with some creative accents. There was one spacey point that was reminiscent of Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” which gave was to a lush jam that Ellman spearheaded with some strong high riffs reminding me (and others near me) of the jazz great, Branford Marsalis. These guys have sat in with the Mule before, as Warren just had to glance up and say “here we go,” and the band eased seamlessly back to the elegant melody of this jazz classic. The Colonel finally emerged from the shadows to front the Galactic-enhanced Mule for a grinding version of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful.” It was fitting that the unspoken mayor of the Atlanta music scene would cap this memorable night. He had a gleam in his eye as he mixed his own lyrics in with the Dixon-penned lyrics. “Spoonful” also provided a vehicle for Ellman and Haynes to exchange some soulful licks. And all this with a section of Atlanta’s impressive skyline looming approvingly over the proceedings.