Page McConnell explains his rig

After Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon gave comprehensive tours of their own rigs, pedal arrays, racks and amps (originally aired during the setbreaks of the webcast from their 12/28 and 12/29/12 Madison Square Garden Holiday Run, pianist/organist and chief groupie taster Page McConnell takes us through his own keyboard rig.

 

 

On tour, McConnell plays a Yamaha C7 piano outfitted with hammers from a German Steinway. A Helpinstill pickup run through an Avalon U5 direct box, plus an Earthworks Piano Mic system, feed the P.A. Then there’s the Hammond B-3, Hohner Clavinet, Rhodes, Moog Little Phatty, and Yamaha CS-60. “Since I did my solo record, I’ve been out with the Little Phatty and I really like it,” says McConnell. “Before the Phatty, I used a Moog Source. I’ve had a few different keyboards occupy that particular spot.” His Clavinet got quite a workout at Festival 8 on songs like “Down With Disease” and “Ghost.” “People like the Clav,” he says. “It’s funky and it makes them dance.” The CS-60’s flavor comes in handy for certain moods. “I use it more for the spacious stuff and the ambient or spacey sounds. Pads and textures — I really like the texture of Yamaha’s analog synths. I’ll start with one of the presets, like the flute or brass sound, and mess with it.” However many vintage keyboards he owns, McConnell keeps his live rig tight: “I try not to have more than six keyboards with me.” - KeyboardMag

 

Mike Gordon's Bass Rig Part 1 & 2

 

Mike 'Cactus' Gordon likewise displays his third Modulus bass and describes how much of his bass rig's set up is modelled after Phil Lesh whose tone he emulates (along with Bootsy Collins and John Entwistle).  How Gordon manages to play and project bass frequencies is a huge aspect of what is ineffable about the Phish experience.  Watching him break down his new rig, and talking about his old rig 'which was really wallowing in low end' needed to be replaced.

In part 2 we get what every fan wants to know how he makes so many of those distinctive phases and effects including 'echo space of god' then another device he calls 'the super-ego thing'.  Gordon explains definitive sounds from Harry Hood and how a meatball flanger is essential to Down With Disease's trademark sound.

Love For Levon setlist



Love For Levon
IZOD Center
East Rutherford, NJ
10/03/12

1. “The Shape I’m In,” Warren Haynes with house band.
2. “Long Black Veil,” Gregg Allman and Warren Haynes
3. “Trouble in Mind,” Jorma Kaukonen. (Helm played drums on Kaukonen’s version of this on Kaukonen’s 2009 River of Time album. New Jersey’s own Barry Mitterhoff plays mandolin with Kaukonen tonight. A few other musicians also play on this but not the full band.
4. “This Wheel’s on Fire,” the Midnight Ramble Band (Larry Campbell on vocals)
5. “Little Birds,” the Midnight Ramble Band (Levon’s daughter Amy Helm on vocals)
6. “Listening to Levon,” Marc Cohn. A tribute song written by Cohn in 2007.
7. “Move Along Train,” Mavis Staples
8. “Life is a Carnival,” Allen Toussaint sings and plays keyboards. Toussaint arranged horns for the Band’s Cahoots album as well as the Rock of Ages and Last Waltz concerts.
9. When I Paint My Masterpiece,” Garth Hudson also playing accordion on this one. Hudson of course was a co-founder of The Band along with Helm. Big ovation for Hudson. Feel-good moment of night so far.
10. “Anna Lee,” Bruce Hornsby, very stripped-down acoustic version. Hornsby playing some kind of string instrument, I’m not sure what it is, with Campbell on violin and Amy Helm and Teresa Williams on backing vocals.
11. Full band back, with Rami Jaffee of The Wallflowers on keyboards. Jakob Dylan sings “Ain’t Got No Home,” the oldie from The Band’s Moondog Matinee album. Upbeat, swinging version. Very nice.
12. “Whispering Pines” w/ Lucinda Williams “God bless Levon Helm, his spirit lives on,” she says at the end.
13. “Rag Mama Rag”, John Hiatt and Mike Gordon
-Intermission-
14. “Baby Don’t You Do It,” David Bromberg and Joan Osborne
15. “I Shall Be Released,” Grace Potter, solo, backing herself on organ. “This is one of the great pleasures of my life,” she says before singing, echoing Neil Young’s line from “The Last Waltz.”
16. “Tears of Rage,” Ray LaMontagne, John Mayer
17. “Rockin’ Chair,” Dierks Bentley, Jon Randall, Jessi Alexander
18. “Chest Fever,” Dierks Bentley, Jon Randall, Jessi Alexander, Garth Hudson
Garth Hudson does wild organ improvisation for a couple of minutes as intro to song.
19. “A Train Robbery,” Eric Church
20. “Get Up Jake,” Eric Church
21. “Tennessee Jed,” Larry Campbell, John Mayer
22. “Up on Cripple Creek,” Joe Walsh on guitar and vocals, Robert Randolph on pedal steel. “Jersey boys are here,” says Walsh.
23. “Ophelia,” My Morning Jacket
24. “It Makes No Difference,” My Morning Jacket
25. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” Roger Waters w/ My Morning Jacket and G.E. Smith on guitar
Roger Waters holds up a red baseball cap. Says Levon gave him the cap after a show “and it’s been my fishing hat ever since … and this will be with me till the day I die, because it means a lot to me.”
26. “Wide River to Cross,” Roger Waters, G.E. Smith on guitar, Larry Campbell violin solo w/ *House Band
27. “The Weight,” Ensemble. Roger Waters does the “Crazy Chester followed me …”

 

Move Me Brightly setlist (Jerry Garcia 70th Birthday, TRI Studios, 08/03/2012)

(l to r: Neal Casal, Donna Jean Godchaux, Bob Weir, Mike Gordon)

"I'm into performing cause there's a certain part of my life in which that's essential. I've lived a performer's life in a certain way so a certain amount of that is there.  I love what I'm doing." - Jerry Garcia

Move Me Brightly (Jerry Garcia 70th Birthday Celebration)

Tri Studios, San Rafael, CA

08/03/2012

The Wheel >
Cumberland Blues
Loser
Mississippi Half Step
Dire Wolf
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
Tennessee Jed
Ship Of Fools
They Love Each Other
Bird Song >
New Speedway Boogie
Loose Lucy
Friend of the Devil
Mission In The Rain
Ramble On Rose
Catfish John
Shakedown Street
Terrapin Station
He’s Gone >
Eyes Of The World
Scarlet Begonias
Don’t Let Go
Days Between >
Franklin’s Tower

Encore:
U.S. Blues >
Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad
Ripple

(*all song titles below are youtube links)



The Wheel > Cumberland Blues (Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Donna Jean Godchaux, Neal Casal, Jon Graboff, Jason Roberts, Joe Russo, Jeff Chimenti)

Loser (Casal, Russo, Weir, Mike Gordon, Chimenti, Godchaux, Jim Lauderdale, Roberts, Graboff, Adam McDougall)

Mississippi Half Step (Weir, Gordon, Jim Lauderdale, Godchaux, Graboff, Casal, Chimenti, Russo)

Dire Wolf (Weir, Harper Simon, Gordon, Russo, Godchaux, Graboff, Chimenti, Josh Kaufman, Sam Cohen)

Dupree’s Diamond Blues (Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Gordon, Cass McCombs, Sam Cohen, Josh Kaufman)

Tennessee Jed (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, Weir, Roberts, Graboff)

Ship Of Fools (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, Weir, Graboff)

They Love Each Other (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Jonathan Wilson, Graboff)

Bird Song (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Graboff) > New Speedway Boogie (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Roberts, Graboff)

Loose Lucy (Weir Solo Acoustic)

Friend of the Devil (Lauderdale, Simon, McCombs)

Mission In The Rain (Chimenti, Casal, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, Wilson)

Ramble On Rose (Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Wilson)

Catfish John (McDougall, Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Godchaux, Gordon, Weir, Wilson, Graboff)

Shakedown Street (McDougall, Chimenti, Simon, Godchaux, Chris Tomson, Godchaux, Gordon, Weir, Kaufman, Cohen)

Terrapin Station (Chimenti, Godchaux, Russo, Gordon, McCombs, Weir, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff)

He’s Gone (Chimenti, Russo, Godchaux, Weir, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff) > Eyes Of The World (McDougall, Chimenti, Simon, Godchaux, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Lauderdale, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff)

Scarlet Begonias (Chimenti, Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Russo, Godchaux, Weir, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff)

Don’t Let Go (Chimenti, Finn, Godchaux, Graboff, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Wilson, Simon)

Days Between (Chimenti, Casal, Russo, Weir, Gordon, Kaufman, Wilson, Cohen) > Franklin’s Tower (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Russo, Simon, Weir, Wilson, Godchaux, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff, Tomson, Lauderdale)

U.S. Blues (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Russo, Simon, Weir, Wilson, Godchaux, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff, Lauderdale, Finn)

Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad (Chimenti, McDougall, Casal, Russo, Simon, Weir, Wilson, Godchaux, Gordon, Kaufman, Cohen, Graboff, McCombs, Lauderdale, Finn)

Ripple (Chimenti, McDougall, Godchaux, Simon, Wilson, Tomson, Casal, Roberts, Kaufman, Weir, Gordon, Russo, Wilson, Lauderdale, Graboff)