Goose returned to the idyllic KettleHouse Amphitheater in Bonner, MT last night for the second of two nights in the Treasure State. With a continued emphasis on well-played songs and setlist flow over deep improv, the band had the packed venue in the palm of their hand, delivering a rocking show with no let-up from beginning to end.
“My Mind Has Been Consumed By Media” appeared in the opening slot for the first time, getting things going with the pulsating 80s dance party vibe. Peter Anspach opened things up with an extended OB-6 synth solo before drummer Cotter Ellis took the lead on vocals.
Wasting no time, guitarist Rick Mitarotonda led the band through The Wood Brothers’ “One More Day,” a massive bustout last played on December 14, 2019 – a gap of 307 shows! I wasn’t too familiar with this song but I absolutely loved it, especially the emphatic vocal performance from Mitarotonda.
“Dr. Darkness” continued the first set nicely ahead of a soaring rendition of the 80s synth “Indian River.” Hitting into the “Welcome to Delta” jam as expected, Anspach took off into a great piano solo, eventually handing the baton to Mitarotonda to do the same. It seemed as though the keyboardist was quickly pushing for some exploration rather than the long Type I versions we get sometimes, but Mitarotonda was determined to get things ripping and went for some fierce runs through several hot peaks.
Just when it seemed like they were going around for some of their usual tension-building, the entire jam collapsed in on itself and Goose proceeded to play one of my favourite segments of music I’ve heard out of this whole tour. Mitarotonda and Anspach became dissonant counterpoints to each other, chasing up and down scales as Weekz became more active with off-kilter drawn-out phrases.
Ellis kept going more subtly as guitar and keys locked in on a repeated descending pattern, losing almost all semblance of of the propulsive groove they had been in before as they made a full transition into evil Goose mode.
Anspach stuck to high register as Mitarotonda and Ellis locked in on an increasingly-aggressive mode, thumping hard through some dizzyingly fast and jazzy sections – working nicely into the intro to “Big Modern!.”
The last few minutes of “Indian River” is a continuing example of Goose’s ability to tap into these incredible sections of improv but an odd unwillingness to explore further than brief forays.
What has very quickly become one of my favourite songs by the band, “Big Modern!” absolutely crushed last night, getting an insane reaction from the crowd as the band jumped into the heavy breakdown section and then back into the chorus.
It was well-jammed too, and was my highlight of the show – they quickly found a two-chord progression as they got going, Ellis’ steady pocket picking up some speed from the initial pickup-truck choogle.
Anspach turned to sparse marimba work as things continued to expand, getting spacey along with Weekz’ drawn-out notes. Finding a new major-key progression thanks to Mitarotonda, the band built upon the two-chord section from earlier, returning to the stop/start bliss/tension style that has popped up a number of times over the past few weeks.
Waves of synth courtesy of the Moog Muse began to enter on the major-key moments as Anspach continued to deliver driving piano work, Mitarotonda’s soloing getting more insistent as they got closer to a peak. Breaking from the build they had been chasing, Mitarotonda led the band in a darker direction as Anspach went wild on Nord synth, unleashing waves upon waves of wild sounds on the crowd. Lighting designer Andrew Goedde doused the band in fog and switched on the back lights, preparing to put on a dazzling show for what was inevitably going to be a long, dark jam and the big piece of improv we’ve been missing the past few shows.
Unfortunately, just as Goose really started to click here, Mitarotonda pulled them back home into the composed ending of “Big Modern!.” While I don’t believe that every jam needs to be 20 minutes or more, it’s felt more and more disappointing to hear the dreaded ripcord come in when the band gets into incredible jams.
Anspach took a moment alone on piano to set up a well-placed “Seekers on the Ridge,” giving a nice cool-down and opportunity for some to hit the bathroom.
Some chatter among the band on their talkback mics led to a raging “Hot Tea” to close out the first set, complete with a Trevor Bass solo.
Returning for the second set, the band dove right into an absolute dance party with “Yeti,” Anspach showing off his new Fender Custom guitar for the first time. Dual-guitar funk ensued with Mitarotonda leading the band through the descending progression they’ve been using in “Yeti” as of late, reminding some of Daft Punk, Parcels, or the LP Giobbi version of “All I Need.”
If there’s one thing that was far from lacking last night, it was energy and vibe – which this set-opening jam was perfect for. All-out dance party was the name of the game here as the second consecutive version of “Yeti” to open the second set worked in the slot very well.
A surprise call of “Milestone 2 (Skux Life)” came next, and worked well to keep the energy of the set up – a welcome addition to the regular rotation of the Goose cover repertoire.
With the opening chords of “Tumble,” it seemed that the massive jam missing thus far was imminent, especially with the vigor that the band applied to the initial funk section. Just as the usual major modulation happened to cue the beginning of extended improv, the band quieted and segued nicely into the first “Mad World” since November 7, 2020, another huge bustout of 259 shows.
This being an incredible cover and treat aside, I do want to address Goose’s recent use of a cover sandwiched within a big jam vehicle in a second set. Much like “Green River” within the Waukee “Empress,” I felt as though the placement tends to kneecap the momentum built in the first part of the song, and while they generally do a pretty good job of recapturing the energy at re-entry, it can mean a loss of whatever improvisational space they were heading in.
For example, last night’s re-entry featured ten minutes of high-octane Goose, an absolutely blazing peak section highly reminiscent of “Pancakes” that had the crowd going wild – a thoroughly enjoyable jam, though lacking in the exploration and high-quality bliss of the monster “Tumble” versions played in the spring and summer.
Again – I appreciate the sentiment of wanting to surprise us with covers placed within big second set vehicles, but I think something like “Mad World” would have hit even harder as the landing pad after a huge jam.
“This Old Sea” was tapped as the set closer, and its new vocal stylings and outro debuted in Charlottesville hit even better live, a welcome change to this song as Mitarotonda built to a gorgeous peak atop Jeff Arevalo’s excellent chordal work on guitar. He’s really been coming into his own on the instrument the last few shows and has been more and more audible both in attendance and on the soundboard – I more than welcome his sonic additions to the music.
With a flamethrower of a “So Ready” in the encore slot, complete with a healthy helping of digital sauce from Mitarotonda, the Montana crowd went off into the night with high vibes and smiling faces, ready to head home or to the next stop on tour.
The first proper west coast date is tonight just outside of Seattle as Goose moves into the Pacific time zone for the last week of September. My only hope for the next batch of shows is a re-emergence of the incredible jamming we saw at SPAC and Salt Shed, because the band is doing literally everything else right – as I’ve mentioned in my last couple of write-ups, this has been their most consistent tour ever.
A livestream of tonight’s Remlinger Farms show is available exclusively to nugs subscribers.