Photo by Gerald Bivens

Gov’t Mule, moe. & Blackberry Smoke
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Morrison, Colo.
August 25

This glorious night of music at Red Rocks played out like a mini-festival, with three formidable bands on tap.

Although it was surprisingly chilly for August, Blackberry Smoke got things cooking fairly quickly. Their brand of loosey-goosey Southern rock was thunderous and crunchy.

The band once known as “Five Guys Named Moe” then took the stage with a tight rendition of “Rebubula” as though they had already warmed up with a first set. After a reggae-tinted “Lazarus,” guitarist Al Schnier hollered, “It’s always good to be back in Colorado.” When Rob Derhak rolled into “Captain America,” sure enough, there was someone wearing a Captain America mask and boogying his ass off. The memorable chorus of “She knows nothing at all about life/ She knows everything about living” from “Moth” gave way to lengthy solos from both Chuck Garvey and Schnier, while Jim Loughlin threw in some tasty vibes as well. Toward the end of their set, Garvey led them through a rare Gov’t Mule cover, “Thorazine Shuffle.” Warren Haynes did not emerge from the wings, nor did he need to.

Closing out the trifecta, Gov’t Mule opened with a fierce “Railroad Boy.” Keyboard player Danny Louis delivered an especially good solo during “Mule,” taking things to an even higher elevation. “Soulshine,” which Haynes often saves for the end of his shows, came out early and set the tone for a crowd-pleasing show. “Larger Than Life,” with its transcendental riff circa 1998, segued into Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9,” and the crowd erupted in approval. This rare breakout has only appeared on a handful of setlists in the past few years, and Haynes absolutely nailed it. Speaking of covers, this summer, the group added “And Your Bird Can Sing” to the Beatles’ Revolver songs in their repertoire. In response to the “Thorazine” from earlier, Haynes also took us on a long, strange trip with moe.’s “Opium,” which melted into a Pink Floyd twofer: “One of These Days” and “Fearless.” The latter absolutely soared.

For the encore, members of all three bands came out and took turns on The Band’s classic “I Shall Be Released” to underscore the special festival vibe of this superb complementary bill.