Mike Gordon Band @ Pearl Street – March 13, 2010

Mike Gordon’s solo project combines a good dose of funk with a lot of boundless improvisation. The band stopped at the Pearl Street nightclub in Northampton, MA on Saturday to prove how capable and willing they are to put on a fresh, exciting, and unique show. In a post-show conversation with percussionist Craig Myers, “Mike is constantly pushing new sh**. Sometimes the hits come late, but then other times we’ve just created something new.” And more often than not, they’re creating something new.

His backing band is not so much of a “backing band” when you look at how guitarist Scott Murawski and keyboardist Tom Cleary took the helm during portions of Saturday’s show. Murawski’s solos are smooth and story-like, concluding gracefully as Mike subtly brings the band back to a chorus. While Murawski is off on his own improvising, he’s clearly locking into Mike’s playing at all times. Cleary, on the other hand, usually lays low adding color when necessary to every song. However, when it’s his turn to solo, Cleary is unstoppable and wild – he often ends up halfway through his jams standing up and spinning around while playing.

The Saturday show kicked off with Can’t Stand Still, an original song that evokes ’90s era alternative pop. Mike’s voice harmonized and blended well with the voices of the other members of the band who sang backup. While everyone danced in sync to the opening song, Spiral, which followed, was a little hiccup in the setlist. The groove was a little hard to grasp for an audience that wanted to dance. Things quickly changed however when Mike invited Mark Mercier, one of his favorite musicians and Murawski’s Max Creek band mate , to take over Cleary’s position on the boards. Mercier sang lead and jammed on Columbus Stockade, and Cleary came back to do double duty on keys with Mercier on Voices, a standout track from The Green Sparrow.

READ ON for more of Balaji’s thoughts and photos of the MGB…

Mike created a lax and intimate environment (aided by the small size of the venue) by recounting stories of his 16-month-old child and her penchant for calling one of his pet cats “Iz.” He led the audience in a mantra-like “Iz” chant that returned during a few other occasions in the show. Interestingly, Mike adding to the sonic landscape of the show by improvising with a KAOSS-pad-like instrument that manipulated patches of sound with a touchscreen. The stagehands were fixing Murawksi’s monitors many times during the show, and Mike skilfully brought out his new toy to create sound in the mean time. He showed the audience the different beats he could create by tapping on the pad, then he let some members of the audience tap on it to make their own sounds.

The highlights from the second set included Cleary’s vocal lead on Crumblin’ Bones, a song that sent the audience into a frenzy, and the return of Hap Nappy, a song that saw some of its best renditions on the Mike and Trey with The Duo tour of 2006. Hap Nappy was much played much faster than usual, but that only made the dancing more raw and energetic. Though it wasn’t on the setlist, Mike threw a curve ball at his bandmates and segued straight into La La La. Needless to say, the band followed along fluidly. Murawksi’s hilariously caricatured vocals on Cities brought laughter and smiles to the audience. The band’s version more closely resembles the original Talking Heads song than Phish’s slower, groovier interpretation.

The night ended with a fast-paced Swamp Music, a Possum-like blues tune. Such a strong performance showed how the band’s preparation and rehearsals paid off. The band has been together for two years, but Saturday’s show proved that Mike is not afraid to keep taking risks. With a repertoire full of originals and covers that is constantly growing, there is a lot to expect out of Mike Gordon’s new band. Though the next time you’ll see Mike live will probably be with Phish, there’s definitely another album and at least a handful of tours expected from his new band.

Mike Gordon Band
March 13, 2010
Pearl Street
Northampton, MA

Set One: Can’t Stand Still, Spiral, Columbus Stockade*, Voices*, Radar Blip, The Beltless Buckler > I’m Deranged > Dig Further Down

Set Two: What Things Seem, Fire From A Stick, Crumblin’ Bones > Time (The Revelator) > Hap Nappy > La La La, Cities, Be Good And You’ll Be Lonely, Traveled Too Far

Encore: Swamp Music

Show Notes:

* with Mark Mercier on keyboards/vocals