Kevin Scott Brings the Low End Heat on Gov’t Mule’s “Shakedown Street”
Some shows stick with you, and this was one of them.
I was at Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago when Gov’t Mule tore into the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street,” and there were epic moments happening all over the stage. Kevin Scott is holding down the low end here with a vintage Fender Precision Bass running through a big Ampeg SVT rig. Thick, warm and absolutely huge.
The gear history happening next to him was just as wild. Warren Haynes was playing Doug Irwin #024, known as “Ruby Nipples.” Irwin’s records date the guitar to the late 1970s and describe a seriously beautiful build featuring cocobolo, flame maple, neck through construction, a bound cocobolo top and back, and the hand carved ebony figure that gave the instrument its nickname. I actually photographed Haynes with this guitar at the show, along with Jerry Garcia’s Travis Bean #11, two incredible pieces of guitar history that were brought out for the night.
All of that would be cool enough on its own, but then you get Kevin sitting deep in that “Shakedown Street” pocket. I remember standing there watching it happen and knowing we were getting one of those nights. This video captures a pretty great piece of it.
No Treble CEO Jody Miller is a Chicago-based bassist, guitarist, engineer, and producer best known for his bass gear demo videos and as the co-host of The Bass Nerds podcast.
