Mike Gordon - Barrymore Theater (9/26/09)

After many years of seeing concerts throughout Wisconsin, this was actually my first trip to the Barrymore Theater. It was, of course, junior-high-school-auditorium-ish in size--with bathrooms that seemed to be designed for little seventh grade boys--but had that quasi-dingy feel that made it seem like a good place for hippies, stoners, and other assorted beings from Madison to gather and watch Mike Gordon. The Barrymore also provided very reasonably priced beer that was served in environmentally-conscious plastic cups. I realize that I am spoiled because I have the Pabst and Riverside Theaters in my backyard, so I look to fringe benefits like cheap beer and high-quality drinking vessels to tip the scales of favor-ability when it comes to seeing shows in dank and feral venues (however, my friend complained that the inner ring of the cup's lip was too sharp, sharp enough to instantly induce adult cleft lip if one were not careful when sipping the Sierra Nevada, so you can't please everyone).

As for the concert itself, those in attendance received a solid performance of all things Green Sparrow, as well as a few choice cuts from Gordon's first solo album, Inside In ("Beltless Buckler" and "Couch Lady"). I would have liked to see Gordon highlighted a bit more within some of the more stretched-out and improvised sections--you know, the whole "get bassed" part of the tour--but the band seemed content to just drive-out his strange, composed narratives with the straight-forward gusto of musicians enjoying themselves and having fun. Sometimes I think that Gordon likes to rest his improvisational chops while outside of Phish, preferring to instead relax and focus on the quality of song during his solo outings.

And to be honest, maybe that was preferable for the audience as well. This was the kind of show that you could just hang out at. You didn't have to be completely fixated on the music at all times, and could easily wander between the seats and standing area in front of the stage to enjoy the people-watching and other extra-musical activities. At one point, while attempting to snap a picture of Gordon's silver Nike Shoxx, I spilled half my beer on the kid in front of me, and proceeded to convince the paranoid stoner that I had thrown up on the back of his leg (he kept checking the back of his leg again and again, claiming that "he wasn't seeing any chunks," but you could tell he was still fairly alarmed). Yes, those are the antics that make non-spectacular concerts into good memories.