Here I Go Again - Fool For The Touring

In the first of a two-part tour diary blues rock legend Bernie gives us an AAA pass to his run with Gov’t Mule

The date is Friday 27 October and I’m about to embark on some European tour dates with Gov’t Mule: Cardiff, London, Paris and Amsterdam. Mrs Marsden kindly offers to drive me to Cardiff to meet up with Warren Haynes and the Gov’t Mule touring party. We anticipate a two-and-a-half-hour drive to get to Cardiff, but it actually ends up taking four thanks to diversions and Friday traffic. We arrive at The Tramshed in Cardiff at 4pm – the Mule tour bus is parked up. I hear a tap on the window and see Warren waving at me to go inside, where I’m greeted by him and bass player Jorgen.

The crew unload my gear, including my old Whitesnake Marshalls that Warren will be using (more of that soon). Inside the gig, soundman Graham is ready for soundcheck. Mrs Marsden and I watch from the mixer and it’s plain to see that Gov’t Mule have been out on the road most of this summer – they go tight, have a great sound and the vibe on stage is indescribable. 

Warren texted me a few days ago, saying “Bernie, brush up on Blue Sky and Whipping Post.” They’re both absolute Allman Brothers classics. I felt like a teenager again rehearsing note for note! Warren’s guitar tech, Eric, has already plugged in my guitar and we go straight into rehearsing Blue Sky with the so-intricate guitar parts. Mrs Marsden stays at the mixer and later tells me how she still finds it amazing how musicians can say hello after months, if not longer, of not seeing one another and then play something like Blue Sky as if they have never been apart. This comment impresses me, as I can’t remember her making such a comment in years – such is the quality of Gov’t Mule.