The Mule is Plugged In! Got Mule?

I found it quite ironic that my initial post involves the thought of whether I should plugg or unplugg the recent Gov't Mule show at D.A.R. Consitution Hall in Washington, D.C. In fact, Warren Haynes was unplugged for one complete acoustic guitar set (a rarity that hadn't happended since Feb '05 in Colorado) and plugged in for a hard driving second set.

The Mule gets a most heartfelt "Plugg in" from me on both the acoustic and electric side of the show. The contrast of Warren starting out alone with The Real Thing, Matt Abts joining in for the second song In My Life, and Andy Hess and Danny Louis coming on for the rest of a Haynes acoustic Wild Horses, Wine and Blood, One, Into the Mystic and Soulshine set what was seemingly a soulful tone to the evening. It only made the blistering second set opener Bad Little Doggie and then Bad Man Walking feel that much more bone jarring. The Mule kicked hard, Ron Holloway played a blistering sax solo during Sco-Mule and the closing Blind Man in the Dark while Erfrem Towns trumpeted in, cutting up the Devil Likes it Slow and the encore Dreams to Remember. I found myself Plugged in to the entire show and judging from the rush down the aisles at the start of the second set, other Mule fans did too.
I am left to ask you: "Got Mule?"

To plugg or unplugg, that is the question!

It's about the passion. The passion a musician brings to a live audience, the diligence that they exercise making an impressive recording, their love of the artform. In the end, we want to know whether or not to plugg or unplugg into their world. I will be evaluating some acts, big and small, national and local, to see if they merit the attention (or lack thereof) their music is getting. To plugg or unplugg, that is the question...

Unplugg/Plugg

Soon I shall vote...