It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years since the Benevento-Russo Duo and Mike Gordon collaborated on a wonderful 54-minute version of Foam that got the Phish community talking about just how good this pairing was. The 54-minute Foam, in which the trio explored many different jam spaces and worked in teases of Lengthwise, served as the entire first set for Mike and The Duo.

Considering what a depressing time the Spring of ’05 was for Phish fans who were only eight months removed from Coventry, this version of Foam gave us hope. Gordon was clearly on top of his game and collaborating with two ridiculously talented musicians who pushed him to glory. This morning an exceptional video of the entire game-changing Foam has surfaced on YouTube. Enjoy!

You can buy an MP3 or FLAC of this Foam via LivePhish.com.

On December 11, 2011 Phish bassist Mike Gordon brought his amazing five-piece solo band to The Egg in Albany, New York for a show audience members raved about in strong terms. Gordon has just offered an audio recording of the show up for release as a free MP3 download, pay FLAC and ALAC files and a limited-edition 3-CD set in deluxe packaging. You can purchase the 3-CD set through Dry Goods, while the downloads are available through LivePhish.com.

The CD sets are expected to ship on or around April 30th with deluxe packaging that includes a custom round tin with three discs tucked away inside a custom Egg cotton stash bag. In addition to every note Mike and his band played at The Egg, including a Dude of Life sit in on Suzy Greenberg, there’s a filler featuring three tracks from the group’s March 26th, 2011 show at Higher Ground.

Here’s the track listing and more details for Mike Gordon – The Egg…

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Earlier tonight Phish bassist Mike Gordon tweeted about how excited he was to see Amy Helm and her band perform at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont. Not only did he wind up attending the show at the venue’s Showcase Lounge, but he also sat in with Helm and her band.

Cactus guested on guitar for covers of Peter Rowan’s The Walls of Time, a song he plays with his solo band, and Little Feat’s Roll Um Easy. Later, Gordon strapped on a bass for a cover of (Ain’t That) Good News the title track of Sam Cooke’s Ain’t That Good News LP from 1964. Before tonight, Mike last performed with Amy at the Love For Levon benefit where they were both on stage for Rag Mama Rag. The bassist also attended four past Midnight Rambles at Levon Helm Studios and performed at one. Helm’s tour moves on to Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield, Maine tomorrow.

Watch Mike Gordon and Amy Helm perform Walls of Time…

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You may have noticed that Phish bassist Mike Gordon has been responding to tweets from fans on Twitter with his typical dry humor over the last few months. Mike’s short and witty answers are reminiscent of his responses in the “Letters” section of Phish’s Doniac Schvice newsletters.

[Photo by Julia Mordaunt]

We’ve highlighted a few of Mike’s responses…

When asked about his favorite Phish song:

@novocaineskin Well… I used to say Waves. And Bug. And Undermind. I like Kill Devil. And Light. Half Way To The Moon. K… Ok?

Saturday, November 3, 2012 11:14 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@mike_gordon

Mike Gordon

Responding to fan who appreciated his solo band’s version of Mound:

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Fresh off their appearance at Jungle Jam in warm and sunny Costa Rica, Max Creek returned to Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont for the first time in nearly seven years last night. The group welcomed two of guitarist Scott Murawski’s band mates from Mike Gordon’s solo band to sit in at various points including the Phish bassist himself and keyboardist Tom Cleary during the frigid night in Vermont.

[Photos by Sam Berenson]

Gordon, who sat in with Max Creek at their last Higher Ground show which was a “trial gig” for Murawski’s new-at-the-time Languedoc guitar, emerged to lend a hand on the original Wild Side and a cover of Stay With Me by The Faces complete with Sugar Shack teases. Cactus has long been a fan of Max Creek. Phish covered the band’s Back Porch Boogie in their early days and teamed up with Max Creek for a concert at UVM’s Patrick Gym in 1989. According to Phish.net, Gordon has sat in with Max Creek over a dozen times. Cleary opened the second set with Connecticut-based rock band on Cruel World and stuck around for You’re The Only One.

UPDATE: Reader Sam Berenson was on hand at Higher Ground last night and has shared a batch of photos he snapped off when Mike was on stage…

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A preview of acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke’s upcoming gig in Cambridge in the Boston Globe contains word that should excite fans of his two albums and multiple tours with Phish bassist Mike Gordon in the ’00s. Both Cactus and Kottke “confirmed plans for a get-together.” And get this, the pair will welcome a drummer none other than Jon Fishman himself into the collaboration.

Kottke released his last solo album, “Try and Stop Me,” in 2004, and his “Sixty Six Steps” collaboration with Gordon came out the following year. The recording dormancy may end as Kottke and Gordon both confirmed plans for a get-together that will include Phish drummer Jon Fishman. And while it seems natural to mix all of these veteran improvisers, both Kottke and Gordon spoke of the difficulties that occurred when the guitarist and bassist first met to jam.

“Leo is so complete by himself that the challenge for me was figuring out how to fit in,” Gordon says, which led him to seeing the music as freely as Kottke sees it. “Playing a standard bass line anchors a song, but in this case was not what was called for and was tethering the song. I had to be somewhat more free myself.”

[via Boston Globe]

What’s interesting is that Mike and Leo paired up with percussionist Neil Symonette for the recording of Sixty Six Steps and some gigs that followed but reverted to the duo format for their last extensive tour in 2005. That year Gordon told Jambands that the pair found it “more intimate” to perform as a duo.

Mike Gordon Responding To Question About Symonette Leaving The Mix: Well, Leo’s ears are very sensitive [due to a freak childhood firecracker accident and a stint in the Naval reserves]. Its not really the volume of the drums because he had earplugs in and we limited Neil to using percussion. It was more of the idea that it made it into a busier, bigger thing to contend with. We had some great gigs as a trio, but at this point, we’re finding that its more intimate to play just the two of us. There is something really special about a duo, though Neil was really great on the album.

[via Jambands.com]

After not hearing anything from the Kottke/Gordon collaboration since the aforementioned Sixty Six Steps and lengthy tour in 2005, we hope this “get-together” leads to an “album” and a “tour.”

[Hat Tip @GSlumbers]

As had been previously reported, the Austin City Limits Music Festival will expand to two weekends in 2013 following in the footsteps of Coachella. ACL Fest organizers have just announced the dates of the two weekends in 2013 the event will be held: October 4 – 6 and October 11 – 13.

In other news, Dave Grohl has posted a letter to his fans about the Foo Fighters’ plans (or lack of plans). He makes it clear the band isn’t breaking up, but that they are about to take a lengthy break:

Hey everyone…

Dave here. Just wanted to write and thank you all again from the bottom of my heart for another incredible year. (Our 18th, to be exact!) We truly never could have done any of this without you…

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Foo Fighters would make it this far. I never thought we COULD make it this far, to be honest. There were times when I didn’t think the band would survive. There were times when I wanted to give up. But… I can’t give up this band. And I never will. Because it’s not just a band to me. It’s my life. It’s my family. It’s my world.

Yes… I was serious. I’m not sure when the Foo Fighters are going to play again. It feels strange to say that, but it’s a good thing for all of us to go away for a while. It’s one of the reasons we’re still here. Make sense? I never want to NOT be in this band. So, sometimes it’s good to just… put it back in the garage for a while…

But, no gold watches or vacations just yet… I’ll be focusing all of my energy on finishing up my Sound City documentary film and album for worldwide release in the very near future. A year in the making, it could be the biggest, most important project I’ve ever worked on. Get ready… it’s coming.

Me, Taylor, Nate, Pat, Chris, and Rami… I’m sure we’ll all see you out there… somewhere…

Thank you, thank you, thank you…

Dave

Finally, Phish bassist Mike Gordon has updated his famed hotline (212-330-9092) and among stories of cooking mishaps, discusses the fact that his solo band won’t be touring this fall. Gordon said in the message that though the group was hitting its stride at their last gigs, they are taking time to re-invent the project by working on new material, a new stage design and more “new” elements.

When Levon Helm passed away in April one of the first musicians to weigh in on his influence was Phish bassist Mike Gordon. Gordon posted a heartfelt note that explained the huge role Levon played in his musical career. Well Cactus will get a chance to pay his respects to the late Band drummer once again tomorrow night as he has been added to the Love For Levon benefit (click here for spoilers) that will take place at Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The other addition listed on the latest press release is Jakob Dylan, a man whose father performed with Helm many times in the ’60s and in 1974. Tickets for Love For Levon are still available.

The Current Lineup:

Roger Waters, John Mayer, My Morning Jacket, Eric Church, Ray LaMontagne, Dierks Bentley, Joe Walsh, Gregg Allman, Grace Potter, Garth Hudson of The Band, Marc Cohn, Jakob Dylan, Mike Gordon, Warren Haynes, John Hiatt, Bruce Hornsby, Jorma Kaukonen, The Levon Helm Band, John Prine, Robert Randolph, Mavis Staples and Lucinda Williams

Here’s what Mike Gordon wrote about Levon Helm back in April…

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Album Week continued last night at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads venue in San Rafael, Calif. where the Grateful Dead / Furthur bassist and a bunch of his musical comrades spent the first set covering Gram Parsons’ Grievous Angel and the second set jamming on tunes from the Grateful Dead repertoire. During the second set, Lesh welcomed out Phish bassist Mike Gordon as a second bassist. Gordon had the night off from Phish tour which continues tonight at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

[Photo by Benjy Eisen]

After covering Bob Dylan’s Blood On The Tracks on Wednesday night, Lesh and his band – which included sons Grahame and Brian as well as guitarist Mark Karan, multi-instrumentalist Ross James, keyboardist Conor O’Sullivan, drummer Scott Paden and vocalist Elliott Peck – went a more obscure route last night by tackling the Flying Burrito Brothers member’s second solo album from 1973.

Gordon emerged at the start of the second set and stuck around for the whole closing stanza. The set began with a bass duet between Lesh and Cactus and continued with The Wheel. Uncle John’s Band, Death Don’t Have No Mercy, I Know You Rider, Loser and Franklin’s Tower made up the rest of the set. Take a listen to Franklin’s Tower via this recording from Z-Man…

And here’s audio of the bass duel that started the second set…

Bob Weir assembled a formidable roster of musicians to honor Jerry Garcia for a webcast dubbed Move Me Brightly that originated from the Grateful Dead / Furthur guitarist’s TRI Studios. The broadcast started at 6:30 PM local time with a fantastic 30-minute documentary put together by Justin Kreutzmann. Kreutzmann’s piece, hosted by actor Luke Wilson, included Garcia remembrances from Bill Kreutzmann, Santana, Dave Schools, Keller Williams, Stephen Perkins, Perry Farrell, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Mike Campbell, Mickey Hart and David Hidalgo as well as a cameo from Sammy Hagar.

[All Screengrabs From tristudios.com Webcast]

The music started with a surprise appearance from Phil Lesh, who later played a gig with Yonder Mountain String Band at his Terrapin Crossroads venue. Lesh teamed up with Grateful Dead band mates Weir and Donna Jean Godchaux as well as Cardinals’ Neal Casal and Jon Graboff, Jason Roberts (Norah Jones, The Candles), Furthur drummer Joe Russo and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti for a beautiful The Wheel and raucous Cumberland Blues. From there musicians shuffled in and out throughout the set, with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale, Black Crowes keyboardist Adam McDougall, Harper (Son of Paul) Simon, Yellowbirds’ Josh Kaufman and Sam Cohen, psych-folkie Jonathan Wilson, Bay Area singer-songwriter Cass McCombs, Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson and Hold Steady members Craig Finn and Tad Kubler among those participating in the lengthy set.

Weir sang lead vocals on many of the songs, with standouts from the other singers coming from Mike Gordon on Tennessee Jed, Neal Casal on Ship of Fools, Cass McCombs on Dupree’s Diamond Blues and Jonathan Wilson on Mission In The Rain. Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench didn’t perform “due to unforeseen circumstances” leaving Chimenti plenty of stage time. The rhythm section of Mike Gordon and Joe Russo also handled their respective duties for the majority of the webcast. Four hours after the music started the show came to a peak with a Franklin’s Tower, U.S. Blues and Goin’ Down The Road segment that featured many of the evening’s musicians. A tender Ripple brought Move Me Brightly to a close at the five-hour mark.

Here’s the setlist as well as which musicians performed on each tune…

The Wheel > Cumberland Blues (Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Donna Jean Godchaux, Neal Casal, Jon Graboff, Jason Roberts, Joe Russo, Jeff Chimenti), Loser (Casal, Russo, Weir, Mike Gordon, Chimenti, Godchaux, Jim Lauderdale, Roberts, Graboff, Adam McDougall), Mississippi Half Step (Weir, Gordon, Jim Lauderdale, Godchaux, Graboff, Casal, Chimenti, Russo), Dire Wolf (Weir, Harper Simon, Gordon, Russo, Godchaux, Graboff, Chimenti, Josh Kaufman, Sam Cohen), Dupree’s Diamond Blues (Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Gordon, Cass McCombs, Sam Cohen, Josh Kaufman), Tennessee Jed (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, Weir, Roberts, Graboff), Ship Of Fools (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, Weir, Graboff),  They Love Each Other (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Jonathan Wilson, Graboff), Bird Song (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Graboff), New Speedway Boogie (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Roberts, Graboff), Loose Lucy (Weir Solo Acoustic), Friend of the Devil (Lauderdale, Simon, McCombs), Mission In The Rain (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, Wilson), Ramble On Rose (Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Wilson), Catfish John (McDougall, Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Godchaux, Gordon, Weir, Wilson, Graboff), Shakedown Street (McDougall, Chimenti, Simon, Godchaux, Chris Tomson, Godchaux, Gordon, Weir, Kaufman, Cohen), Terrapin Station (Chimenti, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, McCombs, Weir, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff), He’s Gone (Chimenti, Russo, Godchaux, Weir, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff), Eyes Of The World (McDougall, Chimenti, Simon, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Lauderdale, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff), Scarlet Begonias (Chimenti, Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Russo, Godchaux, Weir, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff), Don’t Let Go (Chimenti, Finn, Godchaux, Graboff, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Wilson, Simon), Days Between (Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Kaufman, Wilson, Cohen) > Franklin’s Tower (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Russo, Simon, Weir, Wilson, Godchaux, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff, Tomson, Lauderdale), U.S. Blues (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Russo, Simon, Weir, Wilson, Godchaux, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff, Lauderdale, Finn), Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Russo, Simon, Weir, Wilson, Godchaux, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff, McCombs, Lauderdale, Finn), Ripple (Chimenti, McDougall, Godchaux, Simon, Wilson, Tomson, Casal, Roberts, Kaufman, Weir, Gordon, Russo, Wilson, Lauderdale, Graboff)

You can view the webcast on-demand at Yahoo! Music starting on Saturday.

We’ve compiled a number of screenshots from this once-in-a-lifetime event…

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Thursday was a big day for Mike Gordon as he started it with a lakeside writing session alongside guitarist Scott Murawski and ended it by sitting in with the Mickey Hart Band at Higher Ground.

[Photo by Jennifer Giordano]

Gordon revealed via Twitter that he is working on some new material, mostly likely for his solo band, with Murawski. It’s been nearly two years since the release of Mike’s last solo album, Moss.

Later in the evening, the bassist made his way to South Burlington to catch a performance by the Mickey Hart Band at Higher Ground. Cactus was a member of the Grateful Dead drummer’s Rhythm Devils ensemble in 2006. Mike replaced current Mickey Hart Band bassist Dave Schools for a version of Franklin’s Tower. It’s good that Gordon is getting comfortable with the Dead’s material as he will participate in Move Me Brightly, a tribute to Jerry Garcia that will be broadcast from TRI Studios on August 3. Hart and his band now head to Gathering of the Vibes for a 5PM set tomorrow.

Here’s audio of Mike performing Franklin’s with Mickey…

[Note: The video quality isn't great, but the audio is fantastic]

Phish bassist Mike Gordon has just released a compilation of collaborations with fellow musicians called Steamroller Wheelies – A Restoration Convoy to raise funds for Vermont Flood recovery. On this compilation, which is available for download at LivePhish.com or on CD through Dry Goods, Cactus presents tracks from various projects he’s either developed or participated in over the years, beginning in 1999.

The list of musicians who participated in at least one track is lengthy and varied. It includes Mike’s Phish band mates Page McConnell and Jon Fishman, Marco Benevento, Joe Russo, Chris Thile, Little Feat, Danny Barnes, Russell Batiste, Fonzworth Bentley, Scott Murawski and Oteil Burbridge.

“The repairing of Vermont is about bringing different kinds of people together, so I wanted to do that musically with this group tracks that were recorded over the years with interesting and unique musicians, but not widely released to the public,” says Gordon.

Here’s a full track listing, including the artists involved…

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[via kellerwilliams]

We were surprised Mike Gordon and Keller Williams didn’t spend any time together on stage earlier this month at Jam In The Dam. The two made up for it last night at Higher Ground in Burlington, where Keller welcomed the Phish bassist Mike Gordon for a pair of covers and an interesting jam that linked the two tunes at the end of the first set. Cactus emerged on guitar at first while Williams handled bass duties for a take on I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. Take a look…

Keller Williams and Mike Gordon – I’m Yours

Following the Mraz cover, Gordon took a solo on one of the guitars Keller had set up on a stand that was tied into a horn-like effect as Williams scatted and beat boxed along. Finally, Mike and Keller teamed up for a cover of Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild in which they played bass and guitar respectively.

Keller Williams and Mike Gordon – Jam > Born To Be Wild

Next up for Keller Williams is a performance at Fools Fest in Clemson on March 31.

[Videos by Myconid]

Phish bassist Mike Gordon was just in Europe on tour with his band. The group of musicians performed three shows as part of the sixth Jam In The Dam hosted at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, March 14, 15 and 16. Gordon and company then headed to London for a concert at The Borderline on March 18. Gordon’s Twitter account (@mike_gordon) was updating along the way with pictures from the brief run of gigs, which you can check out below.

About to fly. See you in Amsterdam. If u are dressed as a secret agent and find me on a cobble stone street then use password “it is of if”

Saturday, March 10, 2012 12:35 pm via txtReplyRetweetFavorite

@mike_gordon

Mike Gordon

Setup at Melkweg: http://t.co/YQRbxRN9

Monday, March 12, 2012 7:12 am via Photos on iOSReplyRetweetFavorite

@mike_gordon

Mike Gordon

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On Friday evening at Amsterdam’s Melkweg, Phish bassist Mike Gordon and his five-piece band debuted their version of the Greyboy Allstars’ classic Toys R Us as part of the group’s final set at Jam In The Dam 2012. It’s an interesting interpretation that features keyboardist Tom Cleary and a scorching solo from Scott Murawski. Thanks to YouTuber turnerd84 we can check it out…

Mike Gordon – Toys R Us

Last night in London, Mike’s band played their only non-JITD show in Europe at The Borderline. Here’s a great video featuring the Meat, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim (Jim Croce) encore…

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