Show Review - Goose 11/16/23 Manchester, UK

Set 1: Elizabeth, Look Out Cleveland^[1], Flodown, Everything Must Go, California Magic, Tumble

Set 2: I Would Die 4 U^[2], Thatch, Creatures > Drive > A Western Sun > Drive^[3]

Coach's Notes:
    [1] The Band.
    [2] Prince. With Axel F teases from Rick.
    [3] With (dawn) ending.

UK Goose arrived in Manchester last night and absolutely burned down the Academy 2 venue. The biggest room of the tour so far with a capacity of just under 1000, there was plenty of dancing space toward the back of what was essentially a multipurpose room on a university campus. At this point in the tour, the band feels incredibly comfortable in the smaller European spaces and were locked in musically from the first notes to the last.

Bringing the show in with the second “Elizabeth” of tour, it followed a similar path to its Berlin counterpart with a microjammed – yet distinctly Type II – version that hit an amazing synced-up peak with awesome contributions from both guitarist Rick Mitarotonda and multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach.

The Band cover “Look Out Cleveland” was tapped next and gave percussionist Jeff Arevalo a turn on lead vocal ahead of a deeply funky clav jam. I’ve spent a lot of time in my last few recaps talking about how locked in the rhythm section has been recently, and drummer Ben Atkind and bassist Trevor Weekz were at the forefront of the show last night, laying down the deepest and tightest grooves as a foundation for the rest of the band. Weekz even uncharacteristically turned to face Atkind at numerous points, showcasing their incredible interlocking musicianship.

A quick romp through “Flodown” led to the first huge jam of the night in “Everything Must Go.” Aside from being one of my favourite songs in the Goose catalogue right now, “EMG” has really developed as a jam vehicle over its past few versions. The longest one to date was played last night, and the improv began with a drum-centric motif as Anspach hit the marimba piano to add his own percussive flavour. The band flirted with a major modulation for a number of minutes but opted to build the minor-key vibe instead, eventually transitioning to a brighter space at the climax of the music.

Chilling out with a loose “California Magic,” Goose closed out the first frame with a hot “Tumble,” letting the song fill its recent role of emphatic set closer rather than huge jam vehicle.

The second set kicked off with the second-ever cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U,” and the crowd absolutely lost it at the first notes. Just like at Red Rocks, Mitarotonda’s vocals were absolutely impeccable as they tore through the dancey song. Hinting at some extended themes, Mitarotonda threw in a few “Axel F” teases for good measure before the improvisational portion of the set got underway with “Thatch.”

Anspach brought back the “coin” sound on his clav from Amsterdam as Atkind’s popcorn snare cut right through the air amid punchy bass bombs from Weekz. “Thatch” has given Goose an opportunity to explore some minimalist funk themes in the last few versions, eschewing their usual balls-to-the-walls maximalist approach.

Mitarotonda locked on to an earwormy arpeggiator riff as Anspach laid down some ethereal synth pads to take the jam into a dreamier major-key space from the hard-charging initial minor key. From there, Goose broke into a progression akin to “Red Bird” or “Get Lucky,” beginning the peaky build from there. Mitarotonda continued to return to that lick throughout the build as peak after peak was unleashed on the crowd. People jumped in the air for joy and smiled hugely as “Thatch” did what it does best – absolutely rip.

Without missing a beat, Anspach tapped out the intro to “Creatures,” keeping the energy high and the dance vibes going. 14 minutes of hot Type I later (including a mid-song drumstick flip by Atkind), the jam cooled into a transitional “Empress”-like space, also calling to mind the 3/8/23 “Drive” first jam. The absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous improv was highlighted by lightly-delayed piano and incredibly patient guitar melodies.

Again, just breathtakingly gorgeous. It shows an incredible amount of talent to be able to come off of the foot-to-the-floor “Creatures” peak and transition in mere seconds to slow, patient, and melodic like they did last night. I highly recommend listening to this on a sunny morning!

“Drive” turned the gas back up as Mitarotonda let loose some wild fretboard fireworks in the first half of the sandwich. A tender and introspective “A Western Sun” offered the lone ballad of the night before Goose audibled the “Drive” jam instead of an exclamatory “Madhuvan” that was planned.

This is hardly your ordinary 8-minute “Drive” groove, however – as the music got more energetic and explosive, Anspach’s piano found its way into the progression of the volcanic “SOS” outro. Mitarotonda jumped in quickly, as did the rest of the band, and we found ourselves in a completely spontaneous segue into one of the best peaks and set closers in the Goose catalogue.

Moments like finding your way into a completely unplanned song or segment like this is one of the reasons I love jam bands so much, and I hope that more moments like this happen with Goose in the future!

Tour continues in Bristol tomorrow night before we wrap up with two in London – and you can tell that these three shows are primed for absolute greatness. These moments are why we Goose!