Mike Gordon Delivers Expansive Show, Big “Cities” Set Closer in Portland (SHOW REVIEW/PHOTOS)

Mike Gordon and his band came to Portland, Oregon’s Wonder Ballroom on Saturday, February 10th and played an expansive, flowing show for the jam-packed crowd. Gordon’s band includes Scott Murawski on guitar, Robert Walter on keyboards, John Kimock on drums, and Craig Myers on percussion.

The Portland show pulled five songs from OGOGOwhich was released last September — including the “Stealing Jamaica” opener. They followed that with a Max Creek cover, “Cruel World.” A newer tune, “Trapezoidal Sunshine” came next and then “Face” from Overstep. Tower of Power’s “You Strike My Main Nerve” was followed with OGOGO’s “Victim” and “Victim 3D” to end the first set.

“Pendulum” opened the second set, followed by “Angatta” and then another Overstep track, “Surface.” Phish’s “Meat” brought a roar from the crowd, and was followed by “Normal Phoebe.” Murawski sang on a rocking version of Talking Heads’ “Cities” to close the set. The final OGOGO song of the night, “Whirlwind” was played for the encore, along with “How Many People Are You.”

Gordon was grinning and bouncing around during the show, and the band was having a good time, toeing that magic line where they’re tight as hell but loose at the same time. Gordon and Murawski had the crowd rehearse some vocals so they could sing along during a section toward the end of “Surface,” adding that the audience was making history as it was the first time they’d asked for this particular kind of crowd participation. An interactive instrument, called the REEL, surfed over the crowd during “Cities,” with people able to push lit-up keys on the circular box, playing along with the music.

The show had a lot of dark, spacey and psychedelic jams, along with lots of funk vibes and rock ’n roll moments. Lighting guru Justin Casey utilized a unique lighting setup, with lights at the front of the stage that added an interesting dynamic, and projections of geometric patterns on the walls and ceiling that brought the whole experience up a notch.

Mike Gordon, Wonder Ballroom, Portland, Oregon, 2.10.18

Set 1: Stealing Jamaica, Cruel World (Max Creek cover), Trapezoidal Sunshine, Face,

You Strike My Main Nerve (Tower of Power cover), Victim, Victim 3D

Set 2: Pendulum, Angatta, Surface, Meat, Normal Phoebe, Cities (Talking Heads cover)

Encore: Whirlwind, How Many People Are You

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