Mike Gordon

Since his former band Phish went belly-up four years ago, bassist Mike Gordon has kept busy on several projects, notably including collaborations with local guitar recluse Leo Kottke. Gordon's full-fledged solo debut, The Green Sparrow (Rounder), is an amiable blend of eclectic influences that coalesce around an array of inevitable grooves ranging from lazy to simmering and incisive. As may be expected, there's plenty of room to stretch out and improvise on each tune, which Gordon and his touring quartet are likely to take advantage of live. But there's also an emphasis on song craft, with quirky lyrical images matched with intriguing melodic and rhythmic variations. Guests like Chuck Leavell, Ivan Neville, Bill Kreutzmann, and former Phish mates Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell help sculpt the sound. But Sparrow is emphatically Gordon's phlight of phancy; introspection blossoming into tasty ripples in the cosmic scheme. Opener DeLeon is a Brooklyn-based band that plays a unique mix of medieval Spanish folk, ancient Sephardic music, and indie rock, driven by horns, over-the-top choruses, and raging guitars. Led by guitarist Dan Saks, the band's thoroughly exotic eponymous debut sports at least three languages and competing elements of trance, garage, and the LaMancha plain. 18+.
Tue., Sept. 2, 8:30 p.m., 2008