Show Review - Goose 11/12/24 Washington, DC

Vibes Night

Goose arrived at the final stop on their 2024 fall tour last night, taking over The Anthem in DC for the first of two highly anticipated nights. Coming off of an instantly-legendary weekend in Cincinnati, the band continued the streak with a blazing hot show, keeping up their perfect cover selection and incredibly hot jamming.

The show kicked off with “Dr. Darkness,” the always-reliable opener easing us in before we went headlong off the deep end with an expansive Type II “Earthling or Alien?.”

The jam kicked off in the usual minimalist funk, bassist Trevor Weekz leading early with some punchy riffs. Multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach went for some chordal clav riffs before cranking up the reverb and doubling along with marimba piano.

Guitarist Rick Mitarotonda opted for wah-infused vamping, locking in with Anspach as the latter created a simple-but-effective repeating motif as he’s been doing so well lately. Things began to depart “Earthling” territory from there, levitating atop drummer Cotter Ellis’ steady pocket as the instruments got busier, increasing the intensity through the funky groove.

A major-key modulation initiated by Mitarotonda saw the band really take off, soaring into a beautiful and uplifting jam. Anspach moved to piano as things progressed, building a patient peak with a slow ramp-up to the apex. Hitting some riffs akin to the ending of “Dripfield,” Mitarotonda weaved together phrase after phrase as the crowd’s energy rose along with the band, locking in on a collective finish.

“Seekers on the Ridge” acted as a nice cooldown after the explosive jam before the band kept the improv going with “Echo of a Rose.” Hanging out in the Type I space for a couple of minutes with buoyant bass lines from Weekz, the band eventually slowed things down into a probing space where Anspach made the switch to a Wurlitzer patch.

Weekz and Mitarotonda engaged in some active interplay as the bassist displayed some of his finest playing I’ve heard on a tour where he’s been a clear interplay.

From there, Anspach moved back to piano before things got heavier and moved into a clav-centric chunky funk zone. Ellis began to pick up the pace as things lifted up into the beginnings of a peak zone, hitting into a rocking ascending motif that hearkens back to the 10/4/22 “This Old Sea.” Unlike that version, while Mitarotonda was clearly the leader in last night’s “Echo,” each member played an active role in the build.

Hitting a screaming peak, the band came down and dodged an easy transition to the outro of “Echo” and instead opted for “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” marking the second performance of this The National cover in 2024. From there, a reggae-tinged “Bob Don” – complete with a proper and patient “With” section – led into the end of “Echo.”

The first set then closed out with a saucy “So Ready,” the song doing what it does best.

Coming back from setbreak, Goose made a big statement with the “Eminence Front” call, the song’s regular rotation status this year more than welcomed by the DC crowd as things got going. “Hungersite” had a huge blast of energy from the crowd and the band responded in kind, unleashing one of the most volcanic peaks of the tour.

“Hungersite” tends to stick pretty close to its one lane until the final few minutes of bigger versions, and last night’s finished out with some chunky power-chord riffing by Mitarotonda before the band jumped into an all-out dance party of “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record.”

Anspach ripped an amazing solo on OB-6 synth within the song before the band jumped into extended territory with a slowed-down motif. Ellis and percussionist Jeff Arevalo went wild on a primal beat as things picked up some speed, Anspach making a switch to phaser piano as he laid into some clean “Sinnerman” teases.

While the jam didn’t go into particularly deep improvisational territory, the interplay between the band members kept up nicely throughout the long section of big energy.

“Pancakes” got a late-set call and quickly transitioned into a quieter space, hitting into a gorgeous and contemplative major key. Weekz once again was at the forefront, directing the flow of Mitarotonda and Anspach’s melodies as the three lead musicians swirled around each other.

A synth drone gradually entered the space as the band picked things up, Mitarotonda sticking largely to chordal work. Breaking from the floaty space after a long time of luxuriating in it, the band hit into a more propulsive groove thanks to Ellis’ beat switch. Mitarotonda flipped to lead mode and built a frothing peak before sliding smoothly into a rambunctious “Loose Ends.”

While the set easily could have ended there, the band opted for a tender “This Old Sea” cooldown (complete with excellent guitar work from Arevalo) ahead of “Animal” to close things out.

An interesting solo encore call of “Peggy-O” saw the amazing cover bring the show to a close with three-guitar Goose.

There are a ton of heavy-hitting songs left on the table for the tour closer tonight – and if the last run is any indication, they’re more than ready to rise to the occasion and burn The Anthem to the ground. With their final show of the final tour of 2024 on deck, I can’t wait to see what the band has in store for us. A livestream of the tour closer is available exclusively for nugs subscribers.