Mike Gordon Plays Catskill Chill & Working On Solo Album

On Friday night bassist Mike Gordon performed with his band featuring keyboardist Robert Walter, drummer John Kimock, percussionist Craig Myers and guitarist Scott Murawski for the first time since February. The co-founding member of Phish headlined Friday’s action at Catskill Chill in Lakewood, Pennsylvania, where the five-piece played a 100-minute set on New Minglewood’s Main Stage.

Mike pulled from both his solo repertoire, his songs that have been played by Phish and a pair of covers. Phish debuted a new original titled “Let’s Go” on July 1 at SPAC and didn’t perform the song again over the remainder of their Summer Tour. Last night “Let’s Go” surfaced during Mike’s set for the first time since SPAC as did another song Phish recently debuted, “Waking Up Dead.”

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“Yarmouth Road” is another song Phish debuted at SPAC, though its first performance took place in 2013 and it has since been played dozens of times by both the Vermont quartet and Mike’s five-piece. Watch footage of last night’s “Yarmouth Road,” which serve as the encore, captured by pheelinphine1:

“Andelmans’ Yard” dates back to Mike’s first tour with a five-piece band in 2008 and has been a staple of the group’s repertoire since. Here’s fan-shot footage of the Catskill Chill “Andelmans’ Yard” thanks to pheelinphine1:

“Tiny Little World” was one of the improvisational highlights of Mike’s Catskill Chill set, while the group covered Here We Go Magic’s “How Do I Know” and Robert Palmer’s “Looking For Clues” during the performance. Both “How Do I Know” and “Looking For Clues” were debuted on June 5, 2015; the night Mike Gordon premiered his current lineup. Watch video of both covers including the emergence of the “REEL,” an interactive instrument sent into the crowd:

Last December Mike Gordon talked to JamBase about the ever-growing batch of new material he continues to pile up with songwriting partner Scott Murawski. At the time, Mike told us the pair had recently come together to “dabble” on album ideas “that will probably lead to something.” The bassist also added he was “just so excited” about entering the studio that “I can’t contain myself even though were not ready for it.” Ten months later Gordon appears to feel the time has come for the follow-up to 2014’s Overstep. Mike’s excitement comes through in a message he tweeted as part of an informal Q&A he’s hosting on Twitter. When asked whether there are any plans for a new solo record now that Big Boat is finished, Mike revealed “Plans have been underway since before the boat. Back into it. So excited.

Phish’s Big Boat is due out on October 7. The quartet will then hit the road for a 13-date tour in October, while Mike’s five-piece kicks off a Fall Tour at Delmar Hall in St. Louis on November 18.

Setlist

Set: Say Something, Jumping, Waking Up Dead*, Andelmans’ Yard, Horizon Line, How Do I Know > Looking For Clues, Don’t Chin The Dog, Let’s Go*, Tiny Little World

Encore: Yarmouth Road

* – First Time Played