100 Moments in 100 Goose Shows

Celebrating a Personal Milestone

3/2/22, Photo by Jake Silco

Over the last almost five years, I have been fortunate enough to watch Goose grow from their virtual Bingo Tour to the arena-level act they are now. While I was unable to see them until 2022 due to pandemic restrictions, I followed along with every note I could, engaging with the then-burgeoning online community as much as I could before finally getting to attend my first show at the rescheduled Mohegan Sun Goosemas in February 2022.

I walked out of that show overflowing with joy and the certain knowledge that this was a band that I wanted to see for decades to come. While I hadn’t started seriously writing about every concert I attended yet, I penned 1k words the next day to try to accurately capture my feelings about the night.

Little did I know that six months later I’d be dropping out of university to pursue a career in music journalism with Goose largely at the center - and that I’d travel across the USA and Europe to see them 100 times in just under three years.

I am immensely grateful to every person who’s been a part of this journey - my parents for encouraging me to take this leap, every single person who’s read my show reviews or listened to Always Almost There episodes (shoutout to my incredible co-hosts), lifelong friends made along the way, and especially the band for cultivating such a unique community around this amazing music.

100 concerts by the same band is a little bit insane - but I could not be happier about the experiences I’ve had along the way and look forward to many more in the future. In commemoration, I put together a list featuring one track from each Goose show I’ve attended along with a little blurb about each. Listen via this nugs playlist if that’s your kind of thing - and I’ve also hyperlinked every single concert review I’ve written about Goose, which totals something in the neighbourhood of 95,000 words across all of them.

Here’s to 100 more!

2/26/22 Arcadia: The encore from my very special first show and also the first version of the song to feature the full slow ending into the regular peak, something I had been dreaming about since the slow wind-down was debuted on 6/18/21.

3/1/22 Wysteria Lane: As if going from arena to club wasn’t enough for shows 1 and 2, this monstrous jam has stood the test of time as one of my favourite pieces of music I have ever seen - and those who know me know that I will NEVER shut up about it.

3/2/22 Jeff Engborg: This first set was pure energy and party, capped by 30 minutes of S.O.S. > Jeff Engborg. CLAV!

3/3/22 Slow Ready: Obviously, this needs the → Hot Tea to be properly enjoyed, but this first foray into arpeggiator-based jamming was a massive treat.

3/9/22 Rosewood Heart: The longest jam ever (at the time) may not be the most improvisationally dense, but it was special to be in attendance for a 38-minute behemoth of a Rosewood.

3/10/22 Rockdale: An all-time pantheon jam for me. From pure and gorgeous bliss to a frenzied and WEIRD build in the second half, this was THE Rockdale for over two years. This whole show was an incredible thing to witness, however - all-timer stuff from beginning to end.

6/8/22 Madhuvan: Overshadowed by Raleigh a week later, this excellent early 2022 two-guitar jam always surprises me with its strength when I go back to it.

10/8/22 So Fresh, So Clean: Big Boi sitting in was just ridiculous and I loved it - especially seeing how happy the band was to share the stage with a music legend.

10/9/22 Bloodbuzz Ohio & 10/16/22 Shama Lama Ding Dong: Two cover choices from the short ACL sets! Nothing to revisit but they were a lot of fun.

11/9/22 All I Need: Seeing Trey with Goose legitimately changed my life, especially when the first thing I saw them play together was this jam. Watching the two guitarists lock in from note one and move through a huge Type II masterpiece was unbelievable.

11/11/22 Drive: Drenched in synths, I love the territory this jam reaches thanks to Peter’s Prophet work, plus a PERFECT → to Echo of a Rose.

11/12/22 Fish in the Sea: Augmented by the TAB horns (something this song had been BEGGING for), Goose had Mohegan Sun losing their minds. Special attention to the James Casey/Rick trading toward the end.

11/13/22 Madhuvan: My first time seeing Goose on my birthday and alongside the debut of Thatch, we got this unique and angular jam. Flying under the 2022 radar, it definitely was underrated in the JOTY bracket.

12/16/22 Wysteria Lane: Trevor suggests a lick, the band locks in, and for several minutes it’s just full-band grooving. Unique stuff, especially at the time, and the Group Hug jam just put the cherry on top - until my first Moby emerged. A moment I’ll never forget.

12/17/22 Time to Flee: A multifaceted jam that flows from section to section in a very un-Goose-like way. Amazing stuff.

12/18/22 Crosseyed and Painless: An exceptionally rare cover that came as part of the special Fox Theatre benefit in Boulder - seeing Goose in a 600-capacity room was not something I expected to experience again.

3/8/23 All I Need: One of my most-listened to Goose jams ever, it was ahead of its time with the full-band improv and smooth transitions between musical ideas.

3/9/23 Not Alone: The debut of what quickly became one of my favourite and most sought-after Goose songs - please bring this into more regular rotation!

3/10/23 Arise: While this show definitely wasn’t my favourite musically, it’s highlighted by this beautiful performance of a rare Orebolo tune.

3/11/23 SOS: Couldn’t not include one version of this on my list - a song that works in literally any opener or closer slot in the show. Can’t not get hyped when you hear the opening!

3/12/23 Butter Rum: The best version of the song played to date, the band dives into a hypnotic synth-drenched disco jam that’s a really cool listen.

3/24/23 Echo of a Rose: While I don’t agree with its victory in the 2023 JOTY tournament, this is a tour de force in evil tension building, sticking to one linear theme for all of its nearly 28 minutes and exploding into a nuclear peak toward the end.

3/25/23 Borne: Significant to me more for what it meant going forward vs its own improvisational strength, the band sits in a quiet and patient space for the majority of the 29-minute jam and resists their typical urge to ramp things up to a peak. Signalled a new era of jamming - especially in Borne - that would come to a head a month later.

3/26/23 All I Need: Opening a show with a 26-minute jam that’s one of the greatest bliss excursions we’ve ever heard from this band? Sign me up!

4/18/23 Rosewood Heart: First half is pretty standard, but the shift into a perfect late-night liquid Trevor dance jam is absolutely phenomenal. Peter getting on guitar for the last few minutes is just the cherry on top.

4/19/23 Everything Must Go: Spring 2023 was a wild time for Trevor, and this jam is one of his most aggressive moments - pushing forward through the blazing-hot minor-key jam, he just goes for it.

4/21/23 Wysteria Lane: The band goes plaid with a long, drawn-out space excursion before building into a great major key peak, then klezmer for a bit before segueing out. One of the most underrated jams of 2023.

4/22/23 Echo of a Rose: The longest jam to date and a multi-section behemoth, this is exactly the kind of improv I’m a huge sucker for. From cathartic bliss to thick funk to more peaks and a final evil build, this goes all over the map in the best way across its 45 minutes.

4/23/23 Achy Breaky Heart: Billy Ray Cyrus, everybody.

4/25/23 Borne: THE EUGENE BORNE. Psychedelic, spacey, and beautiful. If you don’t know - listen to it.

4/27/23 Red Bird: Spring 2023 is going to age really well I think - jams like this Bird have a really unique sound to them in terms of the way the band is interacting. Cool motif reached with Rick on heavy octave-up chirp work.

4/28/23 Thatch: The first version of the song to hit 20 minutes and the culmination of its journey through the spring. Straight funk.

5/26/23 Thatch: Funny that it was immediately eclipsed a month later, but this festival version is just RAW POWER and aggression. Biggest snub for JOTY 2023? Maybe.

6/29/23 Drive: First jammed Drive since the Cap had me freaking, though it was a quick one. Thankfully no-jam Drives were a short-lived trend!

7/7/23 The Empress of Organos: I’m here, Jeff! Surprise second-set opener call gets dark and thrashy. Properly-jammed Empresses are few and far between, so this one gets the nod from the very special night at SPAC.

9/15/23 Rosewood Heart: aka the Broswood, featuring Taylor and Griffin of Dawes. Long exploration and the guests kind of fade into the background in the latter half as they coast atop some great textural clav to a sustained peak.

10/5/23 The Labyrinth: For the meme. One of the worst fourth quarters I’ve been in attendance for but man was it a blast.

10/6/23 What’s Up: Can’t not highlight the only time I can clearly hear myself on the soundboards, absolutely losing my MIND as I realize what song is being played. Still the #1 Goose show I’ve ever been in attendance for.

10/7/23 Wysteria Lane: Problems with Rick’s mic cause them to bail on the song after the first verse and just jam things out. Nice Magic School Bus from Peter for good measure before a Fall ‘23 Rick-evil-shred zone. Underrated.

11/3/23 All I Need: Multifaceted 20-minute version to get Europe underway. In hindsight, it was not a good indication of how the tour would go in terms of volume of jams but this rules.

11/4/23 Mas Que Nada: Evil shrieking? Show in a shoebox-sized German bar? Ridiculous.

11/7/23 Thatch: Really confident leadership from Rick in this one where he doesn’t totally leave the rest of the band behind, incredible peak results.

11/9/23 Dripfield: Seeing the arena-anthem in a tiny underground Danish club was a wild experience and I thought the band might have been close to bringing the roof down on our heads.

11/11/23 Elizabeth: Energy, vibes, fun! Middle of Europe stretch :)

11/13/23 Animal: The most improvisational version to date, has an extended intro and hits some great contemplative major-key spaces on the back half.

11/15/23 Jive Lee: Longest Lee to date was a surprise excursion into some Peter-led synth spaces. Foreshadows the huge 2024 for the song.

11/16/23 Thatch: Follows a similar pattern to the Amsterdam version, but Peter’s synth pads as it floats into Type II space are just perfect.

11/18/23 Wysteria Lane: I think this is the only two-guitar Goose jam in the latter half of 2023, and Peter reminds us why we love this combo so much with an upbeat earworm hook on a boat.

11/19/23 Arcadia: Packs a lot of ideas into 15 minutes and blew the roof off the London venue.

11/20/23 Madhuvan: The doctor will see you now. Peter’s blend of organ and synth here is absolutely gorgeous as the band embarked on the huge Madhuvan we had been waiting for pretty much all tour.

12/8/23 Mirrors: Why not debut a Justin Timberlake cover and have it be the best jam in two months? Amazing Eugene Borne-like spaces on the front before a blistering peak.

12/9/23 The Way It Is: Absolutely out-of-nowhere sit-in by Hornsby himself! What a moment.

4/7/24 Drive: Cotter just comes out of the gate at his first show with what is in contention for Jam of the Year. Absolutely ridiculous level of playing on display from the first notes to the last of this 31-minute monster.

4/8/24 Into the Myst: Show #2. Let’s take a song that’s never gone Type II before and just go for 27 minutes of pure joy-bliss hose.

4/9/24 Give it Time: While the Red Bird from this show is the jam highlight, the debut of Give it Time hit incredibly hard and immediately became one of my favourite Goose songs.

4/10/24 Atlas Dogs: RETURN OF THE A DOGS JAM!!! Huge moment for nerds like myself ;)

6/7/24 Jive Lee: Psychedelic, layered space - Trevor, sauce, Peter on Vintage Vibe. This is one of the most hypnotic and mesmerizing jams the band has ever played.

6/8/24 Madhuvan: THE Jam of the Year. One of those jams that cooks from the first notes to the last, the band in perfect lockstep through multiple ideas and sections with each getting explored to its fullest extent. A serious workout.

6/14/24 Earthling or Alien?: A concert moment I will remember forever, the power of the sunset during Goose’s first set at Northlands was absolutely SPECTACULAR and we had a perfect view of it.

6/18/24 Pancakes: Some great funk in the first half gives way to the “When The Saints Go Marching In”-like motif Rick has loved lately as the band builds and builds for seemingly forever.

6/20/24 Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo: Talk about a show-saving jam! Two guitar blitz for the majority shifts into major-key modes for the final few minutes and a great peak. Similar trajectory to the 4/7/24 Drive, but plays out very differently.

6/21/24 Drive: Unique and mellow piano jam in the latter half. Love it when Goose shows patience.

6/22/24 Arrow: Straight up alien abduction in a theatre. OB-6 SUPREMACY!!!

6/23/24 Echo of a Rose: Really cool multi-section jam - I especially love the style where Rick shreds over a bed of Peter’s synth.

6/25/24 Drive: Even with the return of two-guitar Goose in 2024, this is still a rare dual-action jam where Peter supports Rick the whole time, plus the segue into Hollywood Nights is pretty much perfect.

6/26/24 Loose Ends: At this point in my show-going career, Loose Ends was the only regularly-played Goose original I had yet to see, so this raging version mid-White Lights was an absolute treat.

6/28/24 Tumble: Just pure euphoria and joy in a jam. One of my favourite attended moments of the year (though I don’t have it ranked as high as many people)

6/29/24 Hot Love & The Lazy Poet: Couldn’t not include one of these, and the special occasion of Goose’s largest headlining show to date is a great commemoration!

6/30/24 Rockdale: Stands as the most wildly experimental jam the band has played to date and was NUTS to witness in person.

9/2/24 A Western Sun: First jammed-out version in over two years! Very exciting and allowed Peter to show off his new Moog Muse synth tones.

9/3/24 Interlude II: First Interlude performance outside of the Moon Cabin show and an indication that it would be making its way into semi-regular rotation - a very welcome occurrence!

9/4/24 Wysteria Lane: Beautiful and cathartic peak to signal that the relatively jamless Boston run would finally get a dose of improv in the third night.

9/6/24 Arrow: This one is the Rick and Cotter show. The two musicians lock in early and delve deep into some incredible dark and aggressive with Peter mostly hanging back on minimalist OB-6 work. Phenomenal return to the light crests like a beautiful wave concludes this huge version.

9/7/24 Drive: The sheer emotion in the peak of this jam cannot be accurately stated in words (though I did write about it), and the whole band just fed off of the SPAC energy to craft an incredible jam from guitar funk to blissed-out psychedelia.

9/11/24 Wysteria Lane: Straight-up freight-train funk jam. Cotter putting on a CLINIC.

9/12/24 A Western Sun: Julian Lage, man. Watching him riff with Rick up close was an unforgettable experience - and seeing the grins on all the musicians’ faces was even better.

9/13/24 Dripfield: After a long string of short set-closers, this huge jammed-out Drip was a breath of fresh air, and the band’s use of dynamics that was so prevalent in September ‘24 is on full display.

9/17/24 SALT: or Zalt, as it was known at the time. The momentum behind this jam is nuts as the band plunges through some dark Crazy Train themes into an all-out hose peak that will have you running through a wall instantly.

9/19/24 One In, One Out: Perfect clav-funk. This one had some serious legs to it before the fade-out into California Magic.

9/20/24 One More Day: A huge cover bustout and one that I was unfamiliar with - really hoping this makes it into regular rotation in 2025!

9/21/24 Red Bird: After two shows in Montana largely missing extended jamming, this Red Bird seemed to unlock the band again as they raced through a frenzied dark build for the final few minutes. Amazing stuff.

9/22/24 Arrow: A new take on the evil Fox-style jam but this time with Peter taking a more grounded approach, Cotter once again shines with his ultra-smooth tempo shifts. What a year for Arrow!

9/24/24 Pancakes: 35 minutes of excellent improv - moving from clav funk to layered bliss, the band then rips into an extended passage of jazzy organ rock before hitting some heavy peaks and a final bliss section. Listen for Peter’s Loose Ends attempt just after the 31-minute mark!

9/26/24 Madhuvan: Some patient bliss starts this one off before a Mais Que Nada-infused second half! Beloved by some, enjoyed by all.

9/27/24 Dripfield: Arguably the pinnacle of September 2024, this gorgeous and patient major-key space commits to quieter dynamics in a way that few jams in Goose history have. An absolute must-hear piece of improv.

10/29/24 Borne: Along with the debut of the new stage plot, this show also marked the return of the slow Borne jam for the first time since June 2023 - and boy, was it a treat! I’m all for hazy synth psychedelia.

10/30/24 All I Need: Ignoring the particularly egregious ripcord into White Lights, the final few minutes of this AIN are some of my favourite improv of 2024, continuing to develop that layered patience they had worked on all year.

10/31/24 Running Up That Hill: An excellent cover debut from Stranger Things, Rick sounds perfect on the Kate Bush tune and the jam evokes feelings of a particularly intense Dripfield.

11/1/24 Red Bird: The show of 110 decibels, this Bird also shows us the beginnings of the incredible mind-read jamming that would become prevalent in November. Peter, Rick, and Trevor essentially spend 15 minutes passing a three-note phrase between one another and building on it. Incredible stuff.

11/2/24 Draconian Meter Maid: THE. LAST. THREE. MINUTES. WOW. Spellbinding melodic work from the whole band as they circle each other’s riffs.

11/7/24 Not Alone: The long-awaited (at least for me) return of one of my favourite Goose ballads!

11/8/24 Thatch: Easily my most listened to jam since it happened. Rick’s patience, Peter’s riffs, and Trevor’s leadership all combine over the drummers to create one of the coolest long-form builds Goose has ever played.

11/9/24 Into the Myst: Slowing things WAY down, Rick pours so much emotion into his leads on this jam almost like it’s out of This Old Sea rather than a disco song.

11/10/24 Red Bird: Huge jam in the latter half of the set with some serious standout playing from Peter on reverb-clav and Vintage Vibe. Sneaky underrated version!

11/12/24 You Spin Me Round (Like A Record): Probably my favourite of the Halloween debuts, I was excited to see this one come back as part of DC N1’s dance party second set.

11/13/24 Big Modern!: I just can’t get enough of this song and this version is the best of the bunch so far. Amazing collective interplay in the early part with Jeff pouring guitar over the rest of the band before Rick flips on the burners and sears through an extended peak.

11/24/24 Hungersite: DEREK TRUCKS! Nothing else to say except he needs to come back when they have 25 minutes to play together.

12/13/24 Hungersite: Peter playing the same few notes for minutes straight might sound boring, but it’s anything but. Cotter’s flow and increase in intensity here is the star as the band builds a breathtaking major-key space to an explosive finish. The balls delivered on this one.

12/14/24 Rockdale: Closing out a flawless segment that began with One In, One Out, this Rockdale is one of Goose’s finest jams in the 15-minute range. Covers so much ground and displays exactly why the end of 2024 saw such an insane level-up in jamming - and how that will no doubt just be a preview for 2025!