Goose played their biggest headlining show to date last night…again.
For the second night in a row, the band packed a huge venue to the brim, this time taking over the 13,000-seat Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY for another memorable entry on what has probably been their best tour ever.
Boasting a fully general admission bowl and floor, the tennis stadium is perfectly suited for concerts with nary a bad sight line in the place, whether you’re on the rail or up at the top of the stands. The band’s glee was evident as they took the stage soon after the sun dipped below the rim of the venue, Peter Anspach bounding over to his rig with his trademark bouncy energy – but with an added excitement.
Going into this tour, only one of the 20 shows had sold out, and many people across the music scene speculated on whether Goose had aimed too high with the venues they played, especially with the massive 18,000-seat Fiddler’s Green in Colorado having nearly free tickets in the days leading up to their shows there. As tour has progressed, sales have skyrocketed likely due to skeptics waiting to see how the band would sound with Cotter Ellis behind the kit.
Just yesterday afternoon, Forest Hills posted a notice on social media that Goose had officially sold out the stadium, meaning with absolute certainty that they had surpassed their attendance record broken at The Mann on Friday night. Much like their SPAC debut last summer, it was special to walk into the show knowing that we were seeing their biggest show to date – a record that might only last a couple of months.
Kicking off the show with the first ever “Hot Tea” to open a two-set show, the band set the tone with a 19-minute party jam, showcasing their late-tour form and interplay throughout Anspach’s OB-6 synthesizer solo and guitarist Rick Mitarotonda’s strong leads throughout the major-key excursion. Vibes were, in fact, high.
Anspach strapped on his guitar for the ensuing “Lead Up,” always a reliable first-set rocker, before an appropriate “Turned Clouds” referenced the venue’s location right in the middle of residential Queens.
“Yeti” was the perfect call next as Goose dropped some serious dual-guitar funk – this song has had a major resurgence in 2024 with the rearranged jam and there is nary a version to be missed despite their shorter runtimes. Mitarotonda utilized his “digital sauce” synth pedal as Anspach dug in on some chunky rhythm work, also infusing the jam with an undertone of OB-6 drone to elevate the psychedelic vibe.
Percussionist Jeff Arevalo was once again in perfect lockstep with Ellis’ drumming, adding in strong timbale fills at just the right moments, otherwise sticking to tambourine and cymbal hits throughout the raging “Yeti.”
“Hot Love & The Lazy Poet” made its first appearance outside the opener slot since its debut in April next and kept the energy high ahead of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U,” a crowd-favourite cover ever since its debut at Red Rocks last fall.
Returning to a similar disco-funk zone that was heard in “Yeti,” Anspach utilized his marimba piano to dial in a percussive vibe as Mitarotonda went for some minimalist wah work. Bassist Trevor Weekz held down the pocket during this section, digging in with Ellis’ big fills as the jam stayed firmly in disco territory. A raging “So Ready” came next and closed the set with a massive blast of energy – I’m not the biggest fan of the song and had my eye on the clock after the past few shows of curfew-shortened second sets, but the experience of 13,000 people clapping together during the entry to the jam was not one I will soon forget.
After experiencing the special Autumn Crossing encore in Colorado earlier in the month, I did not expect to see it pop up again so soon, but it was an absolute treat to hear Mitarotonda begin the second set with the opening strains of “Travelers.” He and Anspach treated the solos within the meaningful song with extra care, really playing with dynamics – especially in the latter’s synth work. The real star of this segment came in the spacey interlude before the beginning of “Elmeg the Wise,” where all five members created layers of ambient texture for several minutes before dropping into the iconic Goose song.
While talking was somewhat of an issue for a good chunk of last night’s show, it seemed as though the whole venue was in rapt attention during “Elmeg,” soaking in the moment before the band embarked on an improvisational journey. Unlike at Fiddler’s where “Elmeg” didn’t have the time left before curfew to stretch out a little, but last night ventured into some solid groove territory, Mitarotonda leading the band through some peaks before spacing out.
Anspach dialed in some wild reverb on Vintage Vibe as Weekz hit some upper-register melodies, all the while being supported by the steady beat from Ellis. Synths creeped in as the cloud of dense electric piano coalesced around Mitarotonda’s guitar into a familiar chord progression that Goose proceeded to build to an amazing peak and return to “Elmeg” proper.
You could feel the “Thatch” coming from a mile away, and the stadium erupted into cheers as Mitarotonda hit the riff with purpose. This was easily the best jam of the night, covering an impressive amount of ground in 18 minutes, beginning with a minimalist funk groove.
Weekz dug into the pocket as Anspach bent down to adjust the delay pedal on the clav, mimicking his synth arpeggiator with some phaser work in there. Mitarotonda’s riffing grew in energy along with Weekz’ big bass bombs, leading into a brighter major key as a single unit.
Sticking to an overall ambient vibe, Mitarotonda began to lead the way into what has been the trend of the tour – really mind-blowing bliss jams. Anspach layered in heavy reverb again as Ellis’ beat seemed to just coast forward effortlessly, all five musicians on stage locking in together and driving forward into some epic and rocking peaks.
Wave after wave of bliss washed out over the crowd, hands being thrown in the air in joy as Goose hit each successive peak – including a hint by Mitarotonda at the “Dripfield” to come later. Tearing back into the ending riff of “Thatch” right at the joyous apex, the crowd yelled in glee at the incredible jam they had just laid down.
“726” > “Dripfield” continues to be one of Goose’s best pairings to close the second set, offering an emotional ballad and then one of their best songs – and the one that was made for massive venues. Unfortunately, due to an impending 10:00 curfew, the “Drip” jam was only a couple minutes long but saw Anspach bop around the stage with his guitar, hitting chunky chords as he stood in between Weekz and Mitarotonda for the massive moment of energy.
The happiness and gratitude from the band was evident as they returned for the encore, a perfect choice of “Give it Time.” Dubbed the song of the summer by some after its debut in April, the inspirational lyrics are quickly being picked up by more and more fans, making the singalong experience better with each performance. It was also perfectly timed – rain began to fall pretty much right as Goose played their last note of the show.
Leaving the venue as the weather moved in, the crowd was abuzz with chatter of how special and awesome the show was, show #19 of this tour of a band that has seemed to get better each night.
We wrap it up tonight in New Haven for Goose’s first headlining performance in their home state since May 2022, and what is sure to be an unforgettable closer to this unforgettable tour. One more to go!