Show Review - Goose 9/11/24 Chicago, IL

MEDIA MEDIA MEDIA

After heading down to Charlottesville on Monday and enjoying a nice day off in the Midwest, Goose tour resumed last night to begin a three-night stand at Chicago’s Salt Shed – after a successful two-show run in 2023, this time the band opted to take over the outdoor fairground stage rather than inside the shed itself.

With absolutely stellar weather, the early showtime was perfect for a midweek show – especially since the band continued their excellent clock management streak by taking the stage less than ten minutes after the posted 6:30 ticket time.

A classic “Flopener” began the festivities, complete with a sly “Welcome to Delta” tease from Peter Anspach on piano as the band ramped up into a solid intro. “Butterflies” came up next and had some extra reverse delay madness from guitarist Rick Mitarotonda during the song proper, increasing its already-psychedelic vibe as the band entered into the fast-paced jam.

Drummer Cotter Ellis donned a pair of sunglasses before counting off his 80s-inspired “My Mind Has Been Consumed By Media.” Anspach took a great intro solo on OB-6 synthesizer as bassist Trevor Weekz unleashed some serious slap work. The band seems to be settling in with this one nicely, sounding great in its second play – it worked as a great shorter song with a very catchy hook.

“California Magic” came next and led into “Butter Rum,” not my favourite call and an indication that this set might be heading into average-good territory rather than break any exciting musical ground. Goose loves to defy expectations, however, and uncorked a nearly 20-minute rendition of the song, marking the best “Rum” since probably 3/12/23.

The jam began in a low-key grooving space, Weekz, Ellis, and Arevalo dialling in to each other perfectly as Anspach and Mitarotonda stuck to vamping initially.

Ellis danced around his ride cymbal as Anspach found a riff he liked and began to repeat it, causing Mitarotonda to get involved. The guitarist eventually added some distortion to his tone, increasing the intensity along with Ellis’ insistent drumming, he and Arevalo adding more fills and usage of their full kits instead of straightforward grooving.

Anspach’s chords became more insistent, building tension in what still seemed like your average “Rum” Type 1.5 jam until Ellis initiated a pivot into a more driving four-on-the-floor section. This switch quickly inspired Mitarotonda and Anspach to change on a dime to a more upbeat and rocking progression that the band would build off for the next several minutes.

While a sentiment of “Rum” proper remained for the duration of the improv, it’s hard to deny that this is an excellent rendition of the song, never feeling stale or losing energy throughout its runtime as the band hit peak after peak as they locked in further.

Not satisfied with a single volcanic peak, Mitarotonda took the band into a quieter section that built around a similar two-chord slide atop Ellis’ calypso beat. The momentum continued thanks to the drummer as Goose entered into a new vein of peak jamming, ramping the energy right back up as the guitarist switched to thick chords instead of leads for a while before pulling the band somewhat abruptly back into the ending of “Rum.”

From there, the band offered a breather with David Gray’s “Please Forgive Me,” which was immediately followed by a superstar set-closing “Same Old Shenanigans,” doing what it does best.

A quick setbreak flew by as the band took the stage for the second frame with plenty of time until the 10pm curfew, opening back up with “Echo of a Rose.” This version hit into a brisk pace as the jam got going, departing the song proper into a bright space dominated by Anspach’s busy marimba piano work.

Pulling back from the hard-charging vibe they were building in thanks to Mitarotonda’s reverb-drenched leads, Weekz stepped up to the plate with some off-time melodic runs, engaging in some mind-blowing interplay with the guitarist as Anspach returned to regular piano and led the quintet into heavy “Please Forgive Me” teasing.

Developing this motif for a ripping peak, Mitarotonda opted to cool off and finish “Echo” just short of 15 minutes before ripping directly into “Wysteria Lane.”

The jam kicked off in a quiet space that Anspach quickly took over with dreamy OB-6 soundscapes, hearkening back to June’s Portland “Wysteria” and its simulation of a spaceship blasting off. Mitarotonda stuck to mellow riffing early on to leave room for the pulsating waves of synthesizer, but soon turned to his “digital sauce” pedal to get things moving forward, utilizing a new patch that sounds like a blend between an octave, a synth, and a volume swell.

Anspach kept the synth sustaining as he turned around and began to use clav in a more textural role, blending with his piano and quieter tones instead of going full-force as he is wont to do.

Ellis increased the intensity of his tribal beat and the band quickly emerged from the saucy space into a driving and more analog groove, Mitarotonda switching to rhythmic vamping as he built a repeating riff along with Anspach and Weekz. One of the amazing things Goose has been leaning into this fall so far has been the “hey hole”-style jamming instead of all following Mitarotonda or Anspach for long stretches. Their long stretches of practice has honed their ability to listen and play with each other on a deeper level than was capable in the past, greatly enhancing their improv.

Continuing to push the pace thanks to Ellis, Mitarotonda and Anspach danced around each other on a continuing single-chord vamp as Weekz took the lead and introduced a new progression. Arevalo’s insistent shaker work helped cultivate the vibe as the band locked in on this new theme.

Anspach began doubling percussive marimba piano and clav for a cool vibe as Mitarotonda alternated between sharp chords and earworm riffs, the searching of the first part of “Wysteria” paying off as all five members of Goose engaged in some amazing improv to bring the jam to a patient and explosive peak.

As the peak hit, Anspach went full clav for a brief spell, the sharp envelope filter poking through to let Mitarotonda know it was time to move on as the guitarist responded by cooling off and leading nicely into the beginning of “Jive I,” missing after the performance of its interlude intro on Monday night.

For the third time in the band’s history, the full “Jivefecta” was performed in order in the same set, with well-played and concise versions of “I” and “II” leading to an excellent “Lee” dominated by Anspach’s phaser piano as the band pushed into some of the fastest music of the night.

Anyone hear a little bit of Mario Kart in here or is that just me?

For the encore, the band had plenty of time left for a bigger song and opted for “Madhuvan,” which proceeded to lift off into a gorgeous bliss jam whose chord progression bears more than a passing resemblance to “Shama Lama Ding Dong.”

Anspach laid down gentle Vintage Vibe underneath Mitarotonda’s melodies, lifting higher and higher into an emotional space as Ellis kept things at a slower pace to contrast with the blazing hot end to the second set. Anspach eventually threw in full-bodied organ and piano as the band fully locked in on a powerful major-key peak that smoothly transitioned back into the “Madhuvan” ending and build at the apex.

Hands in the air, smiles on faces, pure joy. That’s how you end a show.

Attempting to pick what the band might play tonight is somewhat of a fool’s errand due to the sheer volume of songs on the table, but one thing is for certain – it’s going to be an amazing show.

Two nights remain in Chicago and both are sold out – livestreams are available exclusively for nugs subscribers for the entire tour.