Watch Mike Gordon Premiere Vampire Weekend Cover In Chicago

Phish bassist Mike Gordon and his five-piece solo band continued their first tour since 2020 on Saturday and Sunday at Chicago’s Thalia Hall. The quintet featuring Gordon joined by guitarist Scott Murawski, drummer , percussionist Craig Myers and keyboardist Rachel Eckroth debuted both a cover of Vampire Weekend’s “Rich Man” and original “Moonlight” in The Windy City on Sunday.

Penned by frontman Ezra Koenig and collaborator S.E. Rogie, “Rich Man” was originally released on the 2019 Vampire Weekend album Father Of The Bride. Mike Gordon is a longtime friend of both Koening and VW drummer Chris Tomson. The latter jammed with Gordon on a trio of Dead tunes (“Shakedown Street,” “Franklin’s Tower” and “Ripple”) at Move Me Brightly in 2012 before attending Phish’s “lemon”-themed Baker's Dozen show at Madison Square Garden in 2017. Additionally, the three musicians hung at a 2019 Phish show in St. Louis.

“We feel so comfortable here that we’re trying a bunch of stuff we’ve never played before,” Gordon advised the crowd at Thalia Hall on Sunday after opening with Flying Games cuts “Undone” and “Back In The Bubble.” Murawski was riffing on “Rich Man” as Mike spoke. The rest of the band then launched into the song. Mike handled lead vocals backed by Eckroth.

Rachel took a memorable organ solo within “Rich Man” which featured a percussion breakdown and a racuous scream from Mike. The band extended the song for a few moments before ending the cover debut.

See Mike Gordon’s version of “Rich Man” below:

Mike Gordon is currently touring in support of his new album, Flying Games. The bassist and his band had already played 12 of the LP’s 13 songs live leading up to Sunday’s show. “Moonlight” was finally unveiled in concert after a take on Talking Heads’ “Cities” that followed “Rich Man” at Thalia Hall.

Other Flying Games tracks performed on Sunday included the aforementioned “Undone” and “Back In The Bubble” as well as “Sughn Never Sets,” “Connected” and “Guilty Pleasures.” Eckroth was showcased on “Get U Ready,” while Murawski helmed “Cities” and the Max Creek classic “Jones.” Gordon and company ended the night and visit to Chicago with an encore featuring Trey Anastasio’s “A Wave Of Hope” and Aerosmith cover “Sweet Emotion.”

Mike Gordon and his band take the stage again tonight at The Vogue Theatre in Indianapolis. Scroll below for a full list of dates.

Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set One: Undone, Back in the Bubble, Rich Man [1], Cities, Moonlight [2], Say Something, Meat, Sughn Never Sets

Set Two: Connected, Get U Ready, Carini, Marissa, Peel, Jones, Guilty Pleasures

Encore: A Wave of Hope > Sweet Emotion

• [1] Mike Gordon debut.
• [2] Debut.

This show featured the debut of Moonlight and Mike Gordon debut of Rich Man. This setlist is unconfirmed.

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