Show Review - Goose 4/25/23 Eugene, OR
In Eugene, Oregon last night, Goose played a ten-song show at the smallest venue of the tour – unleashing four jams across the 20-minute mark and some awe-inspiring improv within.
The 800-capacity McDonald Theatre in Eugene felt much bigger – a deep balcony and undersold floor helped prevent the full audience from being packed together like sardines, a prevalent issue at other venues.
A brief minute of dissonance led into the opening of Peter Anspach rocker “The Whales,” letting the dual-guitar attack of Goose shred through the show opener in fine fashion. “Jive I” was up next and saw each member of the band dig into the Goose classic. Solos from Anspach and Rick Mitarotonda led the way into a ripping version of “Mr. Action,” the more recent addition to the catalogue shining once again with an explosive first-set jam.
“Borne” was tapped next, returning to its slower and more guitar-centric arrangement after the previous few versions had been in the newer and more upbeat zone. The band wasted no time in opening up this jam, delving deep into a realm of layers upon layers of spacey textures. Mitarotonda unleashed waves of reverse-delayed guitar across the crowd as Anspach dialed in synths and Vintage Vibe electric piano. “Borne” jams in 2023 have been all about patience – especially the version from Philly on 3/25 – and last night’s continued that trend in a spectacular fashion.
Due to the small venue size, lighting director Andrew Goedde once again utlilized his “light curtain” – an adapted version of his larger rig that throws up a wall of light in front of the band and even paints the musicians plaid at times. The room felt almost underwater as the layered improv melted away into the opening of “Rockdale.” The crowd-pleaser featured some great clavinet work from Anspach and a locked-in performance from drummer Ben Atkind and percussionist Jeff Arevalo.
The second set began with one of the best versions of “The Empress of Organos” in quite some time. While the song has been played on very short gaps recently, it has tended to be somewhat standard or predictable. Last night’s jam began with the usual Trevor Weekz bass solo and quickly got going with a keyboard solo from Anspach and some fretboard fireworks from Mitarotonda. When it seemed like the guitarist was just diverging from the usual jam for a quick dissonant build, the band instead opted to craft a deep and minor-key space. Exhibiting some of the patience seen in the first set’s “Borne,” Anspach laid down thick chords of Vintage Vibe as Goose dove deeper and deeper into the jam. Atkind pushed the pace as the tension continued to build and Anspach added in wild-sounding synth loops. Mitarotonda shredded higher and higher, ripping licks reminiscent of AC/DC at times.
Just when it seemed that the massive Type II section was going to boil over, the quintet perfectly exploded back into the peak of “Empress.”
“Rosewood Heart” was called upon next and let the crowd catch their breath a little during the song. This jam began innocently enough with some light major-key fretwork from Mitarotonda. It quickly coalesced into a locked-in groove – it felt in the room that each of the five band members clicked into their place perfectly throughout the expansive improvisation. Arevalo in particular stood out during the “Rosewood,” adding heavy and aggressive percussion to the effortless jam. Numerous euphoric peaks were hit with soaring sustain from Mitarotonda before the band dropped into a different driving drum-led groove that inspired some in the crowd to start clapping along on beat.
A perfect landing pad was chosen in Grateful Dead ballad “Peggy-O,” the lone cover of last night’s show. Anspach and Mitarotonda each took beautiful and melodic guitar solos that showcased their unique playing styles before a slightly extended synth intro saw the beginning of a massive set-closing “Arcadia.” While it never strayed too far from the song, it was its typical high-energy self and reached multiple peaks to close out the four-song second set in fine fashion.
Encoring with another high-energy jam in “White Lights,” Goose left Eugene a smoking ruin. Count them – FOUR songs over 20 minutes! While the energy at times was weird – less of an excited-to-see-Goose crowd and more of an excited-to-see-a-jam-band group made for less engagement than normal – the band made the most of the intimate setting and really blew me away. Two more shows left until I head home and I could not be more excited to visit the legendary Warfield in San Francisco next!!