After a late announcement on the variety playhouse website, we finally knew it was true. Mike would be there. He came out sometime towards the end of the first set, with everybody you could imagine, and played banjo on the first song. With the shell-shocked crowd still buzzing from his arrival, he picked up his bass and thumped out some funk, with the approval of everyone. After that song, he left the stage to a standing ovation. 

Me and my friend were standing there by the stage, and when we look over, there is Mike, right next to us. I lost all knowledge of the English language right there, and froze. I stammered a hello, along with my friend Mike. He then, still in shock, says, "Hey man, we have the same name!" Mike looked at him with a rather amused look on his face, a gentle smirk. My friend, apparently not pleased with the response, goes. "You know, Mike." Like Gordon had forgotten his first name. I laughed for 10 minutes, and Gordon got a chuckle out of it. This was a fantastic ending to a great night.

- Graham