Written and Photos by Joey Pye

Government Mule was at the Florida Theatre on October 9th. It was extraordinary and the fans came out in full force, packing out the place making for a wonderful event. The guys never fail to impress with their eccentric covers and amazing originals. The show started off with their first song quickly getting everybody off their feet and raging hard. They then went into one of my favorite songs “Thorazine Shuffle” which is a satirical samba about medication given to mental patients. It wasn’t too long before the crowd erupted as Kofi Burbridge came out and played “Forsaken Savior” giving the crowd a little foreshadowing of what would come. Joining the guys on stage next were Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Trucks for a cover of “The Sky is Crying” and finally Derek stayed on for an all too welcomed ABB cover of “Dreams”. For us locals, it was an amazing moment. Highlights of the second set included one of my favorites, “Patchwork Quilt” and another original “Unring the Bell”. They also had a phenomenal Radiohead cover of “Creep” that just highlighted their range. To top it off, they encored with an appropriate tribute to John Lennon (as it was his birthday), playing the Beatles cover “I’m So Tired” and Lennon original, “Working Class Hero”.