Last month I wrote about The Baker’s Dozen, an historic run of 13 concerts at Madison Square Garden in which the long-running jam band Phish played more than 200 songs without any repeats. It was a blast to watch unfold. Here’s what I wrote about the experience:
One of my favorite annual traditions is following our nation’s preeminent jam band, Phish, on its annual summer and fall tours without leaving the comfort of home. (Though I like to head out and see shows in person when I can, too.) Thanks to the band’s Live Phish app can stream a pristine recording of every concert within minutes of the final encore. Phish also offers live-streamed video of many gigs, including every night of the band’s fantastic “Baker’s Dozen” run of 13 concerts that extends through Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York City
So far, Phish’s MSG run has rewarded faithful listeners with setlists that have yet to repeat a single song, along with numerous unexpected covers, theme nights, in-jokes, and the band’s most adventurous improvisations in years. No two shows have been remotely similar. It’s a whole new level of fan experience that most bands can’t even approach.
When I was recently offered an interview with Mike Gordon — Phish’s bassist and the cover model for my favorite Phish album, Billy Breathes — I jumped at the chance. Last week, Gordon released a new solo LP, OGOGO, that was produced by Shawn Everett, who also worked on recent albums by The War On Drugs and Grizzly Bear. We also talked a lot about The Baker’s Dozen and the “metaphysical” experience of playing music.
[protected-iframe id=”9e6588f5e50134d97aab23439ba43aba-60970621-76566046″ info=”//embeds.audioboom.com/posts/6310119-season-2-episode-25-mike-gordon-of-phish-is-a-nice-guy/embed/v4?eid=AQAAABnMv1nnSGAA” width=”100%” height=”300″ frameborder=”0″ style=”background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; max-width: 700px;” scrolling=”no”]
If you like what you hear, please subscribe to Celebration Rock on iTunes, Audioboom, or Stitcher.
