Curtain Call: Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon March 5, 2003 - GIG Magazine By Jimmy Leslie The Fillmore, San Francisco, California November 17, 2002 Legendary folk picker Leo Kottke and Phish bassist Mike Gordon turned the Fillmore into a large, smoky living room with their laid-back, virtuoso vibe. Kottke's one-man show has been captivating club audiences for 30 years-and he's never afraid to stop mid-song and address the audience as if he was sitting at home. Gordon has performed in front of more open ears and dilated eyes than most other musicians over the past decade. Small wonder the show act drew massive interest and a packed-tight house. The odd thing was that very few of those attending were familiar with the duo's material-mostly culled from Kottke and Gordon's new Clone CD-as most of them were diehard Phish-heads curious to see what Gordon was up to. In fact, I'm certain many of them had no idea who Leo Kottke was at all. Gordon stepped out of his usual role as a back-up man, but Kottke led the charge. There was a risk of the show going over poorly with the Phish faithful, but the two pulled off a successful evening by complementing each other's strengths, displaying dazzling technique, and using humor to connect the dots. Kottke doesn't really require any accompaniment. He plays a 12-string tuned down to a low rumble, and has an unrivaled picking technique that gives the illusion he's playing three instruments simultaneously. He also has a sense of humor that rivals Steven Wright in its bone-dry delivery. Kottke's solo show can be half music and half jokes, which is why the pairing with Gordon was so interesting, since his band is also as well known for its humor (Phish's a cappella "Free Bird" is the stuff of myth) as its level of musical prowess. The pair played up to their reputations. Gordon managed to play with impressive dexterity while managing to deftly avoid getting in the way of Kottke's rollicking, finger-picked rhythms. Their two voices complemented each other, as well. Both players have an every man's delivery, with Kottke's in the deep baritone range and Gordon's fitting nicely above it. Here are a couple of other observations: - Unexpected moments are good. At the beginning of "The Collins Missile," Gordon played a goofy little melody on a recorder-type instrument and the crowd went nuts. - Jam-band audiences love any sort of county-pickin' tune with a root/five bass part. There were many happy faces after the duo played "I Am a Lonesome Fugitive." - Good storytelling is essential-especially if you have no history and no drummer. Both Gordon and Kottke kept the crowd interested with their comic rapport. The introduction to "Clone" was a perfect example. Gordon started by saying, "This song is about the other one of me that I discovered out there. I hired him to go on the road with me and be me for a while so that I would have less to do myself. Then Kottke replied, "I was introduced to my double in Florida a long time ago, and it was a revolting experience for both of us." I was also fortunate enough to run into a taper named Matt who sent me a recoding of this show. You can download a free mp3 from his site (www.momadance.com) and experience some of the live Kottke/Gordon magic for yourself. Copyright © 2003 United Entertainment Media