Words and Images: Tim Hara
The crowd buzzed with anticipation as they waited for Mike Gordon to take the stage at the packed Park West in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago this past Friday night. Rumors swirled that Gordon’s Phish band mate, Trey Anastasio, would be making a guest appearance since he was in town the day before to do an interview for a local radio station. Unfortunately for Phish fans, Trey would never show. However, the crowd didn’t mind as Mike Gordon and company treated fans to a night of great music accompanied by guitarist Scott Murawski, Craig Myers on percussion, Tom Cleary on keyboards, and drummer Todd Isler.
Throughout the two sets, Gordon and his band played a wide array of songs from old and new originals to covers. In the first set, the night kicked off with Another Door from Gordon’s most recent album, The Green Sparrow. Later in the set, the band played solid versions of Mike’s new original Can’t Stand Still and Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator). Things really got going when Gordon and friends delighted fans with a rocking version of Soulfood Man from from 2003’s Inside In. The set closed with Dig Further Down, another Sparrow tune.
While it seemed as though Gordon and his band needed the first set to get comfortable and loosen up, the real magic came in the set that followed. They opened with the new, short and sweet Phish song, Sugar Shack, which was penned by Mike. Next came an inspired guest sit-in by Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville. The crowd roared and frantically snapped photos as keyboardist Tom Cleary and Neville sat side-by-side dueling during Hey Now Baby. After Neville left, the band surprised the audience again with a cover of Radiohead’s 15 Step. The highlight of the show came with a huge set-closing jam out of Traveled Too Far, another Sparrow song. The night ended with another sing along when the band encored with The Beatles’ She Said, She Said. READ ON for more of Tim’s thoughts and photos…
