Whether on covers or his own songs, Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes hit all the right notes at Red Rocks on Sunday. Photos and text by Candace Horgan.
I worship guitarists in general, and have ever since I fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll after hearing Led Zeppelin when I was 10. However, there are guitarists and there is Warren Haynes, one of the hardest working artists in rock. The night after Haynes played with , he was back at Red Rocks to play with his band .
Haynes is a master of tone, and I could listen to to him play scales all night. However, Sunday’s show at proved an unwitting lesson in the importance of tone as it relates to a band’s ability to connect with the audience.
, a.k.a Phish Lite, opened the show, and they fared poorly compared to Haynes. Throughout their 90-minute set, every song seemed structured the same, starting with some reggae-style riffs, moving into heavy rock, then opening into a long jam that had no purpose other than to show that they could jam.
Whereas a good jam band like Gov’t Mule or the Grateful Dead jams to explore something interesting they’ve written, Umphrey’s McGee’s meandering, noodling jams seemed to exist just to show the crowd they were a jam band, rather than the fact that they were excited about what they were playing — and wanted to explore it more. Besides, they lacked tone. Most of their rhythms and leads were choppy, lacking sustain or any semblance of emotion.
Occasionally, Umphrey’s did capture something, as during the dual solos between guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger during “The Bottom Half.” However, for the most part, the band had trouble connecting with the crowd.
From the moment Haynes and Mule launched into “Soulshine,” everything that had been missing during Umphrey’s set was out in force. Mule started “Soulshine” off slow, with some exploratory riffing and a gospel-style vocal take on the first verse, before Haynes ripped into the opening solo of the song.
Mule sounded tight from the start: The rhythm section of drummer Matt Abts and bassist Andy Hess provided a solid platform for Haynes’s many solos, while keyboard player Danny Louis weaved in and out of the spaces Haynes left for him to play in. The first set mixed originals, like a searing version of “Rocking Horse,” complete with a frenetic solo by Haynes, with a variety of covers.
Haynes is a fine writer, but his biggest strength may be as an interpreter of others’ songs. Much like Emmylou Harris, Haynes is able to make those songs his own, whether it was a hard-edged version of Steppenwolf’s “Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam,” or a soulful “Dear Prudence.” During the latter, Bayliss joined Haynes on guitar, but his solo couldn’t compete with Haynes’ playing. In fact, I found myself wondering why Bayliss didn’t just play rhythm and let Haynes rip all the solos.
Looking at the setlist, itap tempting to wonder whether Haynes was making a political comment. Besides the Steppenwolf cover, Mule also played excellent versions of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What Itap Worth,” the Doors’ “When the Music’s Over,” and “Morning Dew,” a post-apocalyptic song done by many acts over the years, including the Grateful Dead and Jeff Beck. On “For What Itap Worth,” Haynes let the high harmonics ring clear from his Les Paul, then got the audience to sing the chorus.
Haynes’ gritty vocals were strong all night, and during “When the Music’s Over,” he even sounded a little like Jim Morrison. Louis ably played Ray Manzarek’s trippy organ part during the long poetry-inspired middle section, while Haynes’ pounded out solos that rocked the amphitheater.
Perhaps inspired by being in Morrison, Mule also ripped through Van Morrison’s “He Ain’t Give You None” after the Doors cover. Mule ended their two-set show with a long “Brand New Angel,” then came back for a two song encore of “Had to Cry Today” and “Morning Dew,” the latter featuring several excellent solos from Haynes.
Candace Horgan is a Denver writer-photographer and regular Reverb contributor.
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