Jam Breakdown - 7/23/21 This Old Sea
One of Goose’s best ballads, Rick Mitarotonda’s song writing prowess is on full display with This Old Sea, a song that has really grown since its debut during the Bingo Tour Sheep Set in June 2020. After standout performances on 9/17/20 and 10/15/20, the song returned on 5/6/21 in Charleston with a new arrangement. This version, essentially consisting of This Old Sea lyrics over the music of 726, would not return as the classic arrangement reappeared on 6/16 in Perry.
The song’s evolution into a Type II jam vehicle came on 7/3 in Eau Claire, a standout version that moved from the dreamy first jam to a rocking peak. At Fred the Festival, an awesome version featuring two members of Dawes was played and this fall, we saw another incredible version at the Mission Ballroom that reached a rocking peak before segueing into the Drive second jam.
My favourite version to date, however, comes from Goose’s incredible set from FloydFest on 7/23/21. Unleashing a monstrous 18-minute version of This Old Sea late in the set, the band shines on some gnarly improvisation and one of my favourite Peter clav jams! I hope you enjoy my breakdown of it!
All times are per Nugs/Bandcamp release.
0:00 – Rick gently strums opening chords
0:12 – Vibrato-heavy Vintage Vibe chords colour the background as song fades in
0:38 – Trevor Bass is here
0:48 – Beautiful and gentle soloing from Rick
1:07 – Spuds and Jeff are locked in on the dual drum set – the simultaneous snare hits have some serious power behind them
1:41 – Peter fills the in-between-verse vamp with some warm electric piano
3:04 – Gentle chimes from Jeff as reverb-drenched guitar coasts on a warm bed of Vintage Vibe
3:33 – Trevor is hitting all the right notes
4:40 – Vintage Vibe almost sounds like a synth the way it gently rises in the background
5:04 – Spuds and Jeff continue to be amazing
5:15 – Ok I think Peter is actually playing synth now
7:06 – Rick begins jam with melodic soloing as Peter adds touches of electric piano
7:20 – Small washes of cymbal from Spuds
7:38 – Full Ted space achieved
8:10 – Gently floating in a bubble
8:21 – Rick and Peter have a moment of interplay that expands the jam
8:32 – Call and response from Rich and Peter continues
8:50 – Intensity beginning to grow, Spuds gradually solidifying groove out of space
9:27 – Trevor playing quietly in the high register
9:40 – Peter hits on a cool repeating riff
10:17 – Peter dialing in a very Rhodes-like tone as groove coalesces and pushes forward
10:42 – Rich starts quick runs of notes
10:53 – Trevor introduces chord progression
10:58 – Peter switches to piano and jam begins to really take off
11:15 – More awesome interplay between Rick and Peter, jam is absolutely gorgeous
11:35 – Intensity quickly growing as jam heads for peak land
12:00 – Rich augments tone, soaring lead develops
12:18 – Spuds and Jeff primarily on toms and cymbals, very nice
12:38 – Full-on rocking solo
12:50 – Peter and Trevor lock in on ascending melody
12:59 – Rick catches on to ascending melody
13:20 – Jam peaks very nicely, still in major mode
13:40 – Peter hits organ and Vintage Vibe together as jam continues to be excellent
14:21 – Spuds starts into tight hi-hat funk groove
14:32 – Rick dirties tone and takes it minor
14:42 – Hello there, clav
14:53 – Rich on wah pedal as jam turns into pure filth
15:10 – Stank face
15:15 – Stop/start groove begins, incredible bass fills from Trevor
15:35 – Spuds increases speed a bit and Jeff uses tambourine eighth notes to accentuate further
16:11 – Still nasty
16:25 – Peter on long and drawn out wah sweeps with clav
16:30 – Rich introduces Loose Ends melody
16:58 – Clav and guitar sound very similar
17:04 – Rick and Peter both play Loose Ends
17:18 – Dirty hi-hat from Spuds
17:28 – Rich keeping wah at about half sweep sounds really cool
17:50 – Jam finishes after final Loose Ends tease
18:04 – Crowd yells GOOOOOOSE and then sings Happy Birthday to Trevor