Mike Gordon Welcomes Jon Cleary and Karina Rykman for Covers of Little Feat, J.J. Cale and More at New Orleans Solo Show
Photo credit: Stevo Rood
Last night, Mike Gordon took the Crescent City by storm with his long-awaited one-night-only performance at the Joy Theater. Gordon’s special show, which landed in the second weekend of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, was his only solo headline date of the year announced so far, and the iconic Phish bassist matched the caliber of the occasion with a new backing band, two sit-ins and a fistful of live debuts.
Gordon stepped into the spotlight on Friday night with a propulsive “Say Something,” his cherished solo original from 2014’s Overstep. The bassist, vocalist and bandleader followed this electrifying opener with his recent Flying Games standout “Connected,” then offered up his first-ever treatment of J.J. Cale’s “Call Me the Breeze,” a locomotive jam engine that carried him through “Meat” to his first live debut of The Magnetic Fields’ “I Don’t Believe You.”
After tearing up the setlist staple “Sughn Never Sets,” Gordon welcomed the storied New Orleans pianist Jon Cleary to join the band for yet another debut, this time turning their talents to the standard “Up Above My Head.” Cleary fit in perfectly among Gordon’s reworked backing quartet, featuring longtime members drummer John Morgan Kimock and Greyboy Allstars keyboardist Robert Walter, as well as guitarist and vocalist Xavier Lynn and the Burlington, Vt. jam scene favorite guitarist and longtime collaborator Bob Wagner.
Cleary stepped aside for “Peel,” then took up his place behind the keys again for his own original “Got to Be More Careful,” which has regularly figured into Gordon’s live programs since a February 2018 debut. Gordon added one last curveball to his tracklist with a cover of Little Feat’s classic “Spanish Moon,” busted out for the first time since his solo debut in August 2008. Following a high-spirited and funky set closer of “Guilty Pleasures,” Gordon closed out the show with an explosive encore of “Carini,” featuring opener and ace bassist Karina Rykman.
Gordon will return to the stage on June 20 to set off Phish’s Summer Tour with a staging at Manchester, N.H.’s SNHU Arena, then wind through 22 further dates across the country before an August 9 performance with his daughter Tessa at Stowe, Vt.’s Strawberry Jam . For tickets and more information on Gordon’s 2025 live itinerary, visit mike-gordon.com.
Read on for the full setlist from Friday night.
Karina had a Lumpy Head
byu/wheelitzo inphish
Mike Gordon
Joy Theater – New Orleans
5/2/25
Set: Say Something, Connected, Call Me the Breeze*, Meat, I Don’t Believe You*, Sughn Never Sets, Up Above My Head+, Peel, Got To Be More Careful^, Spanish Moon, Guilty Pleasures
Encore: Carini~
Notes:
* Mike Gordon debut.
+ Mike Gordon debut; w/ Jon Cleary on keys.
^ w/ Jon Cleary on keys.
~ w/ Karina Rykman on bass.
Setlist via phish.net.
