I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: November 28, 2016] Mike Gordon

When Mike Gordon announced a short March tour and one of the stops was Union Transfer, I immediately grabbed a ticket.  I have very warm memories of the last time I saw him.  I assumed it was like six years ago so I was really surprised to discover it was actually TEN.  I was also surprised to see that he had played UT in 2018 and I wondered why I didn’t go (I had tickets to Nada Surf that night).  But it has been 8 years since Mike has been here.

The 2016 lineup was guitarist Scott Murawski, percussionist Craig Myers, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter.

This years lineup was similar but different: guitarist Bob Wagner, guitarist Xavier Lynn, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter.

Like last time, Mike and friends played for almost 3 hours (a brief intermission in the middle).  And like last time, Mike didn’t do a lot of soloing–he’s not a show offy bassist, although he does play some great stuff–he always has a great groove and I enjoy when he messes with his pedal effects to create a variety of sounds.

There was a line to get in, but it moved quickly and when I got in the merch line was really short.  My wife had bought me a poster tube since I like posters so much and I actually brought it with me this time.  But while I stood there (and I could see into the hall) nothing was happening.  Then I saw that the card reader wasn’t working and these two guys were trying to fix it.  With a few minutes before the showtime, I quit the line and went in.  I had a great spot right in front of Mike.  Although the people around me were pretty odd.

One guy had a stuffed doll with him and he kept holding it up trying to take a picture of it with the band (which I get but holy cow he did it like 30 times).  After he moved away, the spot was constantly being filled by other people who really had no regard for personal space (which might just be a Phish thing).

Also like last time, the first two songs were Mike songs (or at least Mike-sung songs).  Fling Your Head was debuted this year at a Phish show so it might be a band song.  He followed it was a song from his most recent album (2023).  And then it was on to covers.  Last time he played a bunch of covers that I knew and that was a lot of fun.  This time, I didn’t know any of the covers, and I admit to enjoying that a lot less.

Robert Walter (who I don’t know) is a Vermont guitarist who has been playing forever and just released his first solo album.  I liked his voice and thought he was a great guitarist, but this song was slow and not very exciting for me.  It was followed by the fun Pomp and Pride (a Toots and the Maytalls song).  I don’t love reggae but this song was a really fun (and happy) song.  I especially enjoyed the “doh re mi fa so la ti Dohhhh!” part.  They followed it with another of the 2023 Mike songs Tilting.

Then came Xavier Lynn’s time in the spotlight.  I didn’t know him at all either.  At first I thought he was just the rhythm guitarist because he was on the far side and Wagner played the first solos that I saw.  but DAMN can that guy play guitar.  He opened his song Convince Me with a lengthy solo intro that really showcased all of his skills.  But then he started singing and I really didn’t like his voice.  He has a Southern twang which just did not appeal to me at all.  I can’t find a current bi on his but this one from 2018 says he was originally born in London to American and British parents, Xavier made his home in San Diego, CA, Austin, TX, Geneva, Switzerland, Madison, WI, and Cleveland, OH where he currently resides.  So what’s with the Southern accent?

The lyrics also weren’t very interesting but the song was fun (and he tried to get us to sing along to words I couldn’t make out).  But it was a good set ender.

After a break (20 minutes?) they came back and played a Little Feat song that I didn’t know.  Wagner sang again and I liked his voice less this time.  But Mike brought the fun back with his really buzzy bass of the fun Guilty Pleasure.  He threw in teases of Slow Ride (but sung out of tempo for the original making it somehow funnier and slower).  All of the songs had jamming sessions, usually the guitars but occasionally Robert Walter would play a fun keyboard solo (he had a Rhodes that sounded great).

He only played one song that he also played last time, Overstep’s Peel.  It was a lot of fun and I see that it’s a pretty popular Mike song.

Then came another Xavier song and this one I liked even less.  It was called Louisiana Lady and was lyrically as bad as the title.  I think the crowd loved Xavier though, so my opinion means little.  I just hated his twangy voice.  The song itself was fine, but again, the lyrics, ugh.  And then Wagner sang another song.  This was a religiousish traditional song called Above My Head I Hear Music in the Air which immediately made me think of King’s X’s Over My Head and which I would 100% rather them played.  I don’t have a ton of patience for traditional songs especially sung by someone I don’t know whose voice I don’t love.

And I was felling a little like I should maybe leave early.  But then they rescued the whole evening by playing Phish’s Carini.  It was shorter than a typical Phish version, but it rocked hard and was a ton of fun.

They left for an encore break and I was felling pretty happy about the show now and the encore.  Last time, they played Spock’s Beard (which I had forgotten), so I thought maybe there’s be a deep Phish cut.  Instead they played The Kink’s You Really Got Me.  But they played it at a really weird pace.  It felt off but was still kind of fun.

So this show was definitely a lot less fun for me than the previous one.  I really enjoyed being so close to Mike and I still love him and his bass playing.  I just didn’t enjoy the other two guys very much–and the did a lot of the show.

It’s possible that I’m done with Phish now (of course, I’ve said that before).

δ 2026 song (possibly a Phish song)
∅ Flying Games (2023)
⊗ OGOGO (2017)
Λ Overstep (2014)
∞ Moss (2010)
‰ 2021 song
Ȳ 2016 song
æ 2015 song