Mike Gordon started his spring solo tour with a bang at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY, on Friday, bringing out keyboardist Marco Benevento and adding eight songs to his live repertoire.
The debuts started almost immediately, as Gordon took a disorienting, show-opening “Tilting” jam into The Kinks‘ “You Really Got Me”, transposed from a garage rock classic to a slowed-down groove. Nearly half of Friday’s debuts were taken from iconic songbooks, including reggae greats Toots and the Maytals‘ “Pomp and Pride” in set two. Gordon and his band also paid tribute to perhaps Woodstock’s greatest export, The Band, with their debut of “The Shape I’m In” to close the show.
Aside from adding Phish‘s “Fling Your Head” to the rotation, the bassist used the tour opener to highlight his band members’ original compositions. During last year’s Jazz Fest in New Orleans, Gordon debuted a new-ish band lineup, adding guitarists/vocalists Xavier Lynn and Bob Wagner alongside mainstays Robert Walter and John Morgan Kimock. Gordo made the new guys feel welcome at only their second show in his band, as Wagner—a staple of the Burlington, VT music scene—introduced his songs “Sad and Lonesome” and “Universe is Calling”, and Ghost-Note guitarist Xavier Lynn added “Convince Me”. This courtesy didn’t just extend to the new guys, as Mike’s longtime keyboardist Robert Walter also debuted “Happy Friends” from his band The Greyboy Allstars.
The lineup changes will continue this tour, as Gordon will incorporate Dopapod’s Eli Winderman into the fold. Though Gordon hasn’t outlined the roster by date, Winderman will come on board for a few shows mid-tour, followed by some dual-keyboardist concerts. Although Winderman wasn’t there on Friday, audiences still got a dual-keyboard show as Joe Russo’s Almost Dead pianoman and Woodstock local Marco Benevento jumped in toward the end of the first set.
After Gordon recounted how a jam session at Benevento’s Woodstock studio birthed the groove for “Tilting” and teased that Marco might be in the audience, the band crept into “Peel”. It wasn’t until the band was deep into a textural “Peel” jam that Benevento appeared at the B3 organ alongside Walter. With Benevento on board, the song pushed to nearly 15 minutes of probing space-funk. Returning to Earth, Mike Gordon played just his third “Spanish Moon” in 18 years—busting out the Little Feat classic in New Orleans last year after it sat on the shelf since 2008 (per Phish.net).
While Gordon’s name may be on the marquee, he still knows how to cede the spotlight. Rather than leading “Spanish Moon” with his own nasally whine, the bassist passed vocals to Bob Wagner, whose surly baritone embodied the seediness of the song’s soul. Benevento and Walter then punctuated the space between verses by going back and forth on B3 and Fender Rhodes, respectively, before a quick, quirky “Mull” closed the set.
Watch the full Mike Gordon tour opener from Woodstock, featuring a sit-in from Marco Benevento and eight debuts. Gordon’s tour continues this week with shows in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. Find tickets and tour dates here.
Mike Gordon — Bearsville Theater — Woodstock, NY — 3/13/26 — Full Video
[Video: Larry Rulz 5]
Setlist [via Phish.net]: Mike Gordon | Bearsville Theater | Woodstock, NY | 3/13/26
Set One: Tilting > You Really Got Me (The Kinks) [1], Sad and Lonesome [1], Connected, Peel [2], Spanish Moon (Little Feat) [2], Mull [2]
Set Two: Fling Your Head [1], Convince Me [1], Meat, Happy Friends [1], Universe is Calling [1] > Pomp and Pride (Toots and the Maytals) [1], Guilty Pleasures, Carini
Encore: The Shape I’m In (The Band) [1]
[1] Mike Gordon debut.
[2] Marco Benevento on keys.
This show featured the Mike Gordon debuts of You Really Got Me, Sad and Lonesome, Fling Your Head, Convince Me, Happy Friends, Universe is Calling, Pomp and Pride, and The Shape I’m In. Peel through Spanish Moon featured Marco Benevento on keys. Mike and Bob teased Dueling Banjos in Peel.
