Mike Gordon
2008-09-04
Park West
Chicago, Il

Source: Schoeps MK4(cardioid, 6' high, ortf) fob/dfc>NBox+>V3>MTII @ 24/48 (cf card)
Transfer: CF card>hdd>r8brain (dither/resample to 16/44.1)>cdwav>tlh (flac level 6)>foobar2000 (Live Show Tagger)

One Set:

01. Intro/Mike on Phone
02. Andelmans' Yard >
03. Dream Jam* >
04. Dig Futher Down** >
05. Cruel World
06. Ain't Love Funny >
07. Dog Jam^ >
08. Kryermaten^ >
09. Ain't Love Funny >
10. Plate Jam$
11. Dream Jam
12. Andelmans' Yard# (acoustic, unmic'd) >
13. Morphing Again# (acoustic, unmic'd)
14. Andelmans' Yard >
15. Traveled Too Far
16. Things That Make You Go Hmm%
17. Sound
18. Andelmans' Yard+ >
19. Voices >
20. Bird Jam*** >
21. Voices>
22. Another Door&
23. Andelmans' Yard++ >
24. Alphabet Street

Notes:

Mike Gordon's Magic Hat Summer Variety Show

* with stilt dancers
** with flag dancers/spinners
^ with jugglers
$ with plate spinner
# with shadow puppet show
% with Dizzy Lizzy on Hula Hoop
+ with 4 acrobatic dancers on stage
*** with acrobatic dancers in elevated cage
++ Mike has a rose placed in mouth and it gets sliced off with a bullwhip
& with 2 aeralists above stage

This show was weird. Theres no real way to explain what was going on, so Ill do my best, and you can decide for yourself if this show is worth it. So basically, Mike is on the phone with Julie Mordaunt (??) for most of the show, and in between songs he is talking to her (they were separated on stage by a false wall). He starts telling her about dreams hes having, they weave in between songs, with different jams based on the themes, with acrobats, jugglers, plate spinners, hula hoopers, puppets, and dancers in various costumes coming and going from the stage. So the stage banter you hear is Mike and Julie (??) talking on the telephone while all this madness surges and devolves on stage. If you have ever been to the Park West, its a small venue in Chicago, with a small GA pit, then bowl seating with tables. It cant be bigger than a few hundred people. I was recording on the floor at the back of the pit. There is alot of reaction from the crowd (see the Dog Jam), but the tape is fairly clean of chatter. I did my best with the tracking, though its not really abundantly clear where the breaks are in this stream of consciousness of a show. I was asked to run about head height by staff, the sound would have been better if Id run higher, but cest la vie.

Im pretty sure I was the only taper there, though I cant be certain. Ive also never seen this recording surface anywhere else, so Im pretty sure this is new to circulation. I dont recall how many of these "variety shows" Mike did that summer, but it was only a few. This was the only one I caught. If you have questions about the tracking, feel free to voice them. If you want to be critical of my tracking, pause, look at the person to your left, and tell that guy, not me.
