Mike Gordon Keeps The Debuts Coming In Charlotte & Raleigh

Mike Gordon‘s fall tour is in full swing. The Phish bassist along with guitarist Scott Murawski, percussionist Craig Myers, drummer John Kimock and keyboardist Robert Walter brought the run to the Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte on Saturday and the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh on Sunday. Both shows featured debuts.

Gordon and his band bookended Saturday’s concert with “Victim 3D,” the closing track off Mike’s recently released OGOGO LP. After opening with “Victim 3D,” the five-piece dusted off “Long Black Line” and played Walter’s “Don’t Chin The Dog.” The biggest surprise of the night came next, when Mike and his ensemble unveiled a cover of Tame Impala’s “Mind Mischief” off 2012’s Lonerism. “Surface” followed along with a double dose of OGOGO: “Steps” and “Crazy Sometimes.”

Saturday’s second set began with the tour’s first “Say Something” and continued with the live debut of “Pendulum” off OGOGO. Later in the set “So Far Gone” would become the final song from the LP to receive the live treatment. Mike inserted “So Far Gone” within “Peel.” The frame wound up closing with “Marissa” and a “Victim” > “Victim 3D” sequence. Gordon and his group said farewell to Charlotte fans by encoring with “Let’s Go.”

Mike Gordon’s visit to Raleigh on Sunday also featured plenty of material from OGOGO. The evening’s first set opened with the LP’s “Whirlwind” and concluded with “Go Away.” Also played in the frame were “Cruel World” from Murawski’s long-running Max Creek band, “Ether” off 2014’s Overstep, OGOGO tracks “Equilibrium” and “Stealing Jamaica” as well as covers of Talking Heads’ “Cities” and Here We Go Magic’s “How Do I Know.”

Murawski and Gordon utilized a pair of acoustic guitars for a segment that started Sunday’s second set. Mike and Scott played portions of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard,” Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” and Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.” The acoustic duet led into the tour debut of “Different World” ahead of another “Victim” > “Victim 3D” sequence. Mike and his band then performed Walter’s “Treat Dust” for the first time and played the recently debuted non-album track “Trapezoidal Sunshine.” Towards the end of the set Gordon & Co. debuted their rendition of the Aerosmith classic “Sweet Emotion.” While Mike’s five-piece hadn’t performed the song in the past, Gordon both teased and played “Sweet Emotion” with Phish and recorded a cover of the tune with Leo Kottke for their 2005 release Sixty-Six Steps. The quintet ended the show with a “Funky Bitch” encore.

Watch Mike & Co. debut a Tame Impala cover as captured by John Manning:

Here’s fan-shot footage of “Crazy Sometimes” from Saturday thanks to livemusic41:

Check out a clip of “Sweet Emotion” from Sunday night:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZc7LjqnWa_

Enjoy the acoustic start to “Different World” with The Who, Led Zeppelin and Taylor Swift teases captured by J. Patel and shared by @PhishAtMSG:

https://twitter.com/PhishatMSG/status/912142018889093120

Setlists (via Phish.net)

September 23

Set One: Victim 3D, Long Black Line, Don’t Chin The Dog, Mind Mischief[1], Surface, Steps, Crazy Sometimes

Set Two: Say Something, Pendulum [2], Peel > So Far Gone[2] > Peel, Up And Down, Tiny Little World, Marissa, Victim > Victim 3D

Encore: Let’s Go

• [1] Mike Gordon debut.
• [2] Debut.

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September 24

Set One: Whirlwind, Cruel World, Ether, Equilibrium, Stealing Jamaica > Cities > How Do I Know, Go Away

Set Two: Acoustic Guitar Duet Intro > Different World, Victim > Victim 3D, Treat Dust[1], Trapezoidal Sunshine, Face, Sweet Emotion, Normal Phoebe, Pendulum

Encore: Funky Bitch

[1] Mike Gordon debut.