‘Karina Has A Lumpy Head’: Watch Mike Gordon & Karina Rykman Rage ‘Carini’ In New Orleans

Phish bassist Mike Gordon unveiled the latest iteration of his five-piece solo band on Friday (May 2) at The Joy Theater in New Orleans. The quintet’s Jazz Fest evening performance included guest appearances from opener Karina Rykman and renowned NOLA-based musician Jon Cleary.

Mike Gordon’s lineup for the one-off show saw him joined by longtime bandmates keyboardist Robert Walter and drummer John Morgan Kimock and new additions Bob Wagner and Xavier Lynn on guitar. Rykman performed with her trio to kick off the evening.

Gordon & Co. began their headlining set with “Say Something,” a song featured on Mike’s 2014 LP Overstep. The quintet then looked to Gordon’s latest solo album, 2023’s Flying Games, for “Connected.” Next up was the Mike Gordon debut of the J.J. Cale classic “Call Me The Breeze,” Phish fan-favorite “Meat” and the MG premiere of Bob Dylan’s “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Have Never Met).”

The ensemble returned to Flying Games for the “Sughn Never Sets” that followed. Jon Cleary then emerged to augment Gordon and his band on their first-ever take on the spiritual “Up Above My Head, I Hear Music In The Air.” Cleary returned after the ensuing “Peel” to lead a performance of his original song “Got To Be More Careful,” which Mike has covered regularly since 2018.

A huge surprise came next as Mike Gordon performed “Spanish Moon,” which he hadn’t played at one of his own shows in nearly 17 years. The Little Feat cover had been missing in action since August 13, 2008. A performance of Flying Games standout “Guilty Pleasures” brought the set to a close.

Karina Rykman took the stage with Mike and his band when they returned for the encore. Rykman added to a “Carini” encore that saw Gordon change the lyrics to “Karina has a lumpy head.” The two bassists shared vocal duties on the Phish staple. “I have a lumpy head!” Rykman exclaimed before a brief jam.

Watch fan-shot footage of Mike Gordon performing “Carini” with Karina Rykman in New Orleans below:

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set: Say Something, Connected, Call Me the Breeze [1], Meat, I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Have Never Met) [1], Sughn Never Sets, Up Above My Head, I Hear Music In The Air [2], Peel, Got To Be More Careful [3], Spanish Moon, Guilty Pleasures

Encore: Carini [4]

• [1] Mike Gordon debut.
• [2] Mike Gordon debut; Jon Cleary on keys.
• [3] Jon Cleary on keys.
• [4] Karina Rykman on bass and vocals. Lyrics changed to “Karina had a lumpy head.”

This show featured the Mike Gordon debuts of Call Me the Breeze, I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met), and Up Above My Head, I Hear Music in the Air, and the first Mike Gordon performance (with his own band) of Spanish Moon since August 13, 2008. Up Above My Head and Got To Be More Careful featured Jon Cleary on keys. Carini featured Karina Rykman on bass and vocals with lyrics changed to “Karina had a lumpy head.” Karina Rykman was the opening act.