Mike Gordon Covers Rancid & Debuts Originals In Athens

On Friday night, Mike Gordon, kicked off an 18-date Fall tour in support of his latest studio album OGOGO, with a show at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia. It was the Phish bassist’s first show with his solo band since a one-off appearance at The Peach Music Festival back in mid-August. The inaugural night of the run saw Cactus & Co. offer up a number of live debuts, a new original, as well as an unexpected cover choice.

Gordon got things going with the first of four tour debuts from his latest studio effort with “Victim,” Other first-timers from OGOGO on Friday included “Stealing Jamaica,” “Equilibrium” and “Go Away.” The two set show also featured “Dig Further Down,” from 2008’s The Green Sparrow, a pair of tracks from 2014’s Overstep with “Jumping” and “Face,” as well as “Normal Phoebe” from The Last Step – an EP that features five tunes leftover from the Overstep sessions.

Gordon & Co. also debuted “Trapezoidal Sunshine,” a new original written by guitarist Scott Murawski and Gordon, that has yet to be released on a studio album. Arguably the biggest surprise of the night came with their lone cover song of the night, as they offered up a take on Rancid’s “Ruby Soho,” which appeared on the punk band’s 1995 release …And Out Come the Wolves.

Additionally, Mike also brought back the REEL which allows audience members to “jam” along with the band – check out a couple of short Instagram videos of it in action and check out the full setlist below:

Setlist:

Set One: Victim*, Dig Further Down, Jumping, Stealing Jamaica*, Angatta, Equilibrium*, Only A Dream

Set Two: Steps, Jones, Normal Phoebe, Trapezoidal Sunshine*, Go Away*, Ruby Soho*, Face

Encore: Whirlwind

* – First Time Played