Members of Phil & Friends, Gov’t Mule and New Earth Mud collaborated over the weekend in Colorado. Warren Haynes was the nexus and while his efforts on Saturday night did not quite rival the triple duty he performed on 6/29/02 when he gigged with the Mule, P&F and Allman Brothers Band, he did indeed appear with three bands over the course of the evening. Early in the night, NEM keyboardist George Laks and guitarist Paul Stacey appeared during Gov’t Mule’s opening set at the Fillmore, joining the group for ’32-20 Blues’ after Haynes’ P&F bandmates Rob Barraco played on ‘Banks of the Deep End,’ and Jimmy Herring stepped in for ‘Devil Likes It Slow.’ New Earth Mud’s Chris Robinson later took the stage during the Lesh and Friends set for ‘Hard To Handle’ before heading over to Cervantes for his performance with New Earth Mud. There Hayes, Herring and Andy Hess (the Gov’t Mule bassist and a former member of the Black Crowes) arrived in time for an encore jam, as well as ‘Blues Power’ (in between, Haynes and Robinson performed as a duo on Key To The Highway.’).
While Saturday proved the apogee for cross-pollination, such efforts took place throughout Gov’t Mule and Phil & Friends three night stand at the Fillmore.