Watch Vampire Weekend Play Phish’s ‘Chalk Dust Torture’ With Mike Gordon In Seattle

Vampire Weekend once again brought out Phish bassist Mike Gordon to sit in with the band during their show last night in Seattle. Thursday’s collaboration at Climate Pledge Arena featured Gordon joining Vampire Weekend on a performance of Phish’s “Chalk Dust Torture.”

The concert in Seattle was the fifth and final time Mike Gordon and his band opened for Vampire Weekend on their current tour in support of their new album, Only God Was Above Us. Gordon first sat in with Vampire Weekend on Tuesday when he joined them on “Rich Man” in Burnaby, British Columbia. On Wednesday, Gordon came out during Vampire Weekend’s set to perform “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” with the band in Bend, Oregon.

Thursday was the first time Gordon played a Phish song during his run opening for Vampire Weekend. Just like the “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” in Bend, “Chalk Dust Torture” saw guitarist/frontman Ezra Koenig play drums while drummer Chris Tomson played guitar and also sang lead.

A portion of “Mirror In The Bathroom” by The English Beat was infused into “Chalk Dust Torture.” Phish performed a similar transition between the two songs back on November 27, 1998 at a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts, which Koenig referenced from the stage.

Watch Vampire Weekend play (and soundcheck) Phish’s “Chalk Dust Torture” with Mike Gordon below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXA6O-sJ0KE

Vampire Weekend continued the tour's trend of taking up on-the-spot cover song requests from the crowd during the encore. Last night saw attempts at “Graceland” by Paul Simon, “I’m Goin’ Down” by Bruce Springsteen, “Hold Up” by Beyoncé, “Jokerman” by Bob Dylan, “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads, “Creep” by Radiohead, “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure and “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.

Vampire Weekend’s tour continues on Saturday with the first of two shows in Montana. Gordon is set to appear at the Follow The Arrow Festival on June 29 ahead of Phish’s Summer Tour 2024.