I have not been seeing much live music, of late. Too poor. And it’s not always that much fun in the smoke-filled rooms of Chicago. I know…I’m getting old. Be that as it may, with guests in town even older than I, we all headed to The Riv for a Friday night blow out by The Mule. DK had not seen the Mule before and I knew he’d love them, given his history as a Black Sabbath and then Grateful Dead fan. The Mule is a strange synthesis of these sounds, in many ways–hard driving rock, often dark, balanced by the soulful, sometimes beautiful renderings of Warren Haynes on guitar and vocals. Highlights for me, the “She Said” in the first set and a kickin’ “Mule” to open the second.