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…
