Show Review - Goose 5/30/25 Bend, OR
THE THATCH
There’s really nothing like an outdoor concert on a perfect summer evening, and last night’s Goose show at Bend’s Hayden Homes Amphitheater was the epitome of why that setting is so amazing. It’s an idyllic venue on the banks of a river, surrounded by trees and the beautiful energy of the Oregon town.
But enough about the vibes – let’s talk about the music.
The band kicked off the show with an airy “Your Direction,” returning to its more yacht-rocky album arrangement after the dance-infused rendition performed at Viva El Gonzo. This song continues to grow on me and probably will continue to do so with more play – it fit the opener role perfectly last night.
Ilsey Juber’s “No California” came next, the fan favourite cover opening up into a gritty Rick Mitarotonda guitar solo ahead of a breezy and explosive “Turbulence & The Night Rays,” the song selection suiting the sunny early-evening weather with the hard-hitting major-key peak.
“Silver Rising” offered a bit of a breather and another fiery guitar solo before things began to open up improvisationally with “Rockdale.”
Sharp envelope-filtered clavinet work led things off courtesy of Peter Anspach, while Mitarotonda dirtied his tone to match and ripped through the initial funky space. Executing a smooth major-key modulation together, the band broke into the first exploration of the night as Mitarotonda began to play in a “Dragonfly”-like zone.
Anspach bolstered the blissy jam with solid piano work, supporting drummer Cotter Ellis and Mitarotonda as the two musicians led the way through the extended peak. A subtle undertone of synth pad gave this jam a psychedelic quality that is in a zone Goose loves to explore, a joyous-yet-layered sound that made this “Rockdale” feel much more than its relatively concise 13 minutes.
A surprise late-set call for “Hungersite” kept the improvisational momentum going, Ellis and bassist Trevor Weekz driving a speedy pocket over which Anspach took an early lead. Goose tends to play to the setting of shows a lot of the time, and once again filled the early sunset vibe with a high-octane jam led by Mitarotonda in the latter half of “Hungersite.”
The guitarist stepped on his wah pedal for a cool effect and uncorked several minutes of shred that got the amped-up Oregon crowd dancing. Descending from the peak, the band wound a brief minute of ambience into the beginning of “Give It Time,” closing the frame on a high note.
While the song selection in the first set was fairly predictable, the band felt loose and ready to roll going into the second frame, especially as the sun got closer to the horizon and lighting designer Andrew Goedde’s massive “A” rig became more present.
In the midst of an otherwise vibes-centric show, Goose began their second set with an all-timer level “Thatch,” marking the longest version of the song to date and easily one of the best (if not THE best) improvisationally.
Weekz kicked off the jam with some vicious slap work as Anspach set up a synth drone, pivoting into some lead clav work, calling to mind his textural role in the 7/7/23 “Thatch.”
Mitarotonda darted around Anspach’s hypnotic lines, alternating between choppy rhythm chords and quick bursts of riffs. It was clear from the outset that the band had intentions beyond your average-great funk “Thatch,” and Ellis’ pivot to a sixteenth-note ride cymbal pattern bolstered that as the jam got spacious and airy.
The dreamy clav work continued to dominate the space for a while, Anspach eventually changing to arpeggiating piano work as Mitarotonda moved more to the front. Modulating into a major-key space, the band worked as a singular unit and began to develop a progression, eyes ahead on what was already sure to be a colossal peak.
One thing Mitarotonda has been excelling at lately is leading jams without overplaying or going full all-out shred mode all the time – and the first peak of “Thatch” is a perfect example of that, as the guitarist chose his notes deliberately through the joyous apex, joined by Anspach right alongside.
The band dropped away into a quiet and dreamy space from there, Anspach switching to soft Vintage Vibe electric piano. Ellis continued to push forward with a fast tempo, driving the momentum without going crazy high octane.
Beginning to ramp up once again, Anspachn went back to piano – this time with a subtle synth pad underneath – as Mitarotonda added some subtle sounds to the jam before coming in strong. The interplay between the two musicians in this segment is breathtaking as they share ideas, crafting a dual-hit motif immediately picked up on by Ellis almost immediately.
Putting their foot to the floor, the band roared into a renewed peak zone as Anspach unleashed a wave of synth, backing off there and hitting back into strong piano and organ as Mitarotonda opened the floodgates of peak soloing.
This absolutely phenomenal peak easily could have led back into the ending of “Thatch,” and it already would have been an excellent jam – but when Cotter Ellis is your drummer, things don’t wrap up the way you expect.
Just as the peak was hitting its finish, the drummer pivoted into a fast-paced double-time beat that took the band into a minor-key zone thanks to Anspach’s busy urging on piano. Mitarotonda and Anspach introduced a tense descending riff that allowed the band to play with dynamics, ebbing and flowing on the flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants jam that headed into a darker zone.
Ellis shifted right back into half-time and Goose proceeded to unleash a thrashing, heavy rock peak with Anspach laying on thick and distorted clav as the band continued the descending motif. Cymbals crashed, madness ensued, and the quartet exploded back into the ending of “Thatch” with absolutely volcanic energy and a huge roar of approval from the crowd. Weekz kept the dissonant descending riff going throughout the ending, a cool effect that differentiated this from a usual “Thatch” ending.
“Feel it Now” kept the vibes and energy up with a heavy helping of digital sauce from Mitarotonda, leading into a beautiful performance of the Autumn Crossing suite that made up the bulk of the second half of the set.
My opinions on “Travelers” > “Elmeg the Wise” in a live setting have been pretty controversial since last year, and as someone who prefers bigger jams to vibey segments I was disappointed when they dropped into it last night. It’s hard to deny, however, that it hits hard on a beautiful summer evening, and though the “Red Bird” that the band had planned on playing after “Feel it Now” may have yielded more improv to continue the energy from “Thatch,” I can recognize how special Autumn Crossing is to many fans – and the band.
I have high hopes that someday we’ll get an extended “Elmeg” jam like the versions from 2021 and 2022, but we will need to wait a little bit longer for that…
“Don’t Leave Me This Way” closed the second set out in raucous fashion, this relatively recent addition to the Goose cover catalog already firmly cemented as an excellent dance party/late-show energy boost that the crowd absolutely went nuts for, ahead of a quick “Hot Tea” before the early curfew.
The momentum is just building, and while last night only had one “big” improvisational excursion, it’s the kind of thing that elevates a solid show into great status and shows us that there’s a LOT more growth and development in store over the next month.
Tour continues tonight in Spokane – livestreams are available exclusively to nugs All Access subscribers.