As bassist in the love 'em or hate 'em rock band Phish, Mike Gordon plays the part as if he's sent straight out of Central Casting. Gordon's role in the quartet is the quintessential subdued, foundation of rhythm; on stage he rarely smiles or moves from his spot between muumuu-clad drummer Jon Fishman and gleeful guitar fiend Trey Anastasio. That's not to say that Gordon's bass work isn't outstanding, because it is, but there's never any doubt that Phish is Anastasio's band. So after over two decades playing Derek Smalls to Anastasio's Nigel Tufnel, it's interesting to watch the bassist take charge of his own crew, which he did with confident zeal at Brooklyn Bowl over the course of two nights earlier this week.
"We're gonna sync the music to the balls," Gordon announced at the top of the first night's first set, as 13 lanes of bowlers continued their games to his left. We didn't actually watch to see if Gordon made good on his promise, but the quintet was certainly synced up with each other as they tore into a set comprised of Gordon's quirky originals and eclectic covers. A blistering, uptempo rendition of Talking Heads' "Cities" almost seemed like a rebuke to Anastatio's insistence on performing downbeat, reggaefied versions of the number with Phish. Beck’s “Black Tambourine” popped up out of nowhere, and in set two, audience members were summoned onstage for a simultaneously hilarious and cringe-inducing dance contest to "The Void," which is played in 7/4 time. If you've ever watched Phish fans dance in 4/4 time, you can only imagine what took place here.
Gordon has been playing with these guys for several years now, and the quintet has clearly gelled into a cohesive whole; Scott Murawski is a nimble guitar pro, Tom Cleary an often inspired keyboard player, and the rhythm section of Craig Myers (percussion) and Todd Isler (drums) is completely in the pocket. If at times some of the extended instrumental sections verged on aimless self-indulgence, well, that's the gamble that comes with improvisation. Gordon's fans, accustomed to long jaunts, didn't seem to mind. And by the time they rolled through Brooklyn, the quintet was so tight that even the most long-winded excursions maintained a certain cohesiveness. By the time Gordon broke out his funky Phish opus "Meat" for the encore, everyone in the room had their groove synced to the balls.
