Show Review - Goose 6/11/25 Chesterfield, MO
The Inevitable Vibes
Goose tour continued last night just outside St. Louis for their second of two midweek shows at The Factory, and the band followed up Tuesday’s deep and jam-heavy second set with a show focused more on vibes and energy, playing to the shorter attention spans many in this audience seemed to have.
The night kicked off with “Iguana Song,” the Peter Anspach-penned song getting its first placement to start a show. With each performance, the band stretches out the cruising jam a little bit more – and last night was the finest of the four to date, Anspach and guitarist Rick Mitarotonda building up walls of sound over the steady beat laid down by drummer Cotter Ellis and bassist Trevor Weekz.
The energy was kept up with a raucous “Flodown,” its intro getting some more interesting flavour than your typical rendition with pulsating waves of Roland JUNO-60 synth from Anspach and fretboard scratches from Mitarotonda as Ellis pounded some toms in deviation from the straight-ahead snare rolling that the song usually has.
Moving into “Honeybee” next, the band performed the Anspach song for the first time in just over a year, last seen on June 10, 2024 in Omaha – or 82 shows. “Coach” Jon Lombardi joined in on his traditional rainstick role and added its soft textures to the music as Mitarotonda shredded through the outro solo.
“Caution” shuffled in with some reggae vibes and was the first set’s surprise jam vehicle. Getting the treatment just like San Francisco’s “Green River,” the usually inside-the-box cover drifted into an extended improv space thanks to Mitarotonda and Anspach both diving into their pedalboard’s textural capabilities and opening up some wild and crazy sounds. Ellis and Weekz kept a beautifully steady pocket with the bass once again CRANKED in the room, the guitars eventually emerging from the murk into some funky riffing.
Anspach stuck to his traditional support role on guitar, continuing to lay down thick layers of chords while Mitarotonda picked out some minor-key and tense riffs. Laying in this space for a while, the band eventually brought the jam to a close and segued into “AUATC,” the second cover in a row acting as a nice cooldown – at a faster pace than normal, Mitarotonda beautifully singing and soloing through the Bon Iver song.
“Yeti” brought the energy back up with an extended blast of two-guitar funk, the fully fleshed-out jam being a nice change of pace from what seems like a lot of versions that contain a “Pumped Up Kicks” interlude in the middle.
The set closed with a big version of “Everything Must Go,” the title track of Goose’s album conspicuously only on its second performance of the tour. Mitarotonda kicked off the jam with a big blast of aggressive guitar, Ellis’ rolling beat getting things going through a mini-peak before the band dropped into a more contemplative and open space. Weekz and Mitarotonda battled it out on some mimicry, copying each other’s riffs and finishing phrases as Anspach lightly tapped out some marimba piano work.
Toying with a modulation briefly, the quartet chose to stick with the minor-key jam for a while. Ellis’ free-flowing groove allowed for some amazing interplay between guitar, bass, and keys as the three musicians circled each other in the motif that has been the hallmark of the forward-moving improvisational journey this summer.
Moving into brighter pastures, Anspach’s chordal pattern seemed almost akin to “One In, One Out” briefly as Mitarotonda’s riffing took on a bright and sunny quality. Weekz continued to push out front with some bright melodic work as things began to amp up in energy.
Mitarotonda brought things back into a minor zone as he began to hammer out heavy rock chords, Ellis matching him on thumping toms as Weekz got in on the action as well. Entering an ascending progression thanks to Anspach, the jam began to head for a big peak that was achieved with a perfectly-timed tempo shift from Ellis.
Blasting through the guitar-led finish from there, a slightly botched re-entry to “EMG” proper ended the set on a high note, taking us into the very well-managed sub-30 minute setbreak.
Returning with “Thatch,” Goose seemed poised to follow up the huge Bend version from a couple weeks ago with another heater, but decided to go with the straight-ahead funk-peak that this song nails so well. Anspach’s minimalist Roland tones early on elevated the space, and his doubled riffs on clav felt like a combination of two cool textures that don’t get put together often right now in Goose jams.
Hitting onto a dancey and familiar chord progression, Anspach brightened his synth patch into more of an 80s vibe to support the patient build. Coasting through the peak, the band was in full flow as it felt like the music was just pouring off the stage through the high energy segment.
Rather than finish “Thatch,” the band opted to transition into “Nights in White Satin,” making an appearance for the first time since September 26, 2023, or 122 shows. The gorgeous ballad led into an all-out dance party within “Jeff Engborg,” the instrumental doing what it does best at keeping the vibes of a second set high.
“Rosewood Heart” saw another huge peak get uncorked and a quick burst of the deep funk-groove jamming that the band leaned into during the 39-minute Boise version, though it was quickly eschewed for a great segue into “Spirit of the Dark Horse.”
An expected “Hot Tea” closed out the second set with some extra-mustard funk courtesy of Mitarotonda, Weekz really shining to bring the show proper to a close.
Encoring with “SALT,” the band decided to insert their most adventurous improv of the night in the final song and dove headlong into some amazing gnarled and twisted dark jamming that, much like the Fiddler’s “Empress,” was abandoned all too soon because of time constraints (though they did play almost ten minutes past the supposed 11:30 curfew).
While last night didn’t reach the improvisational heights of Tuesday’s show (or others earlier in the tour), it was still a high-energy affair that was well-suited to the rowdy crowd – there was much less chomping last night than during the big improvisational journeys on Tuesday night.
Goose tour continues tonight in Indianapolis before a pair of festival performances at Bonnaroo and All Good Now round out the weekend. Watch tonight live exclusively on nugs – new subscribers can take advantage of a limited-time promo to get four months of All Access at just $5 per!
Tune in live this afternoon at 4:30 ET as we recap the show live on Always Almost There!