Show Review - Goose 9/4/24 Boston, MA

FLOW IS BACK

Goose closed out their three-show Boston run last night with a straight heater, improving on the shaky setlisting and playing from Tuesday night and breaking through to a couple of strong jams among the high-energy affair.

It felt like we were due for a Peter Anspach-fronted opener, and “The Whales” has been a reliable pick for that slot, kicking off a first set in four of its last five plays. The venue seemed noticeably more packed for the run finale last night and the energy was higher from the get-go, even more so as the band moved into a punchy “Mais Que Nada,” making a rare appearance early in the first set.

Anspach took the lead again on “Doc Brown,” keeping the energy high with a blazing guitar solo before the band finally dove into improvisational territory with a nearly 20-minute “Indian River.”

With the first performance of the 80s synth version since last year, Anspach lit up the venue with a smooth OB-6 solo before leading the quintet into the “Welcome to Delta” jam. Drummer Cotter Ellis held down the pocket while the band ripped over top, guitarist Rick Mitarotonda sustaining several peaks with serious fretboard fireworks. Cooling at the 14-minute mark, the band smoothly descended into a mellow space reminiscent of the Chateau Sessions “Hungersite.”

Ellis pushed the band into half-time as they found a progression, engaging in some brief hey-hole jamming and excellent interplay, the five musicians syncing up perfectly. Sticking to collective improv without one person in the lead, Anspach’s gentle piano and Mitarotonda’s quiet riffing became the focal point of the jam, patiently exploring the space without any urgency, content to sit in the groove.

Wrapping up just short of the 20-minute mark, Mitarotonda led the band into a surprise late-first-set “Wysteria Lane,” teeing up a second extended jam.

Anspach dominated the space early with pulsating OB-6 textures, soaring over Mitarotonda’s riffs as the dual-drum attack of Ellis and Jeff Arevalo pounded away. The intensity ramped up with successive rising waves of synthesizer, the layers getting thicker before Mitarotonda led into a major-key modulation.

Anspach adjusted the filter on the synth to make the textures more subtle as the band quieted down, setting a hold drone on OB-6 and making the switch to Moog Muse. Gently laying on floaty textures, Ellis picked up the pace as Mitarotonda landed on a blissy progression, leading the band into several minutes of pure joy.

While unfortunately a mere 14 minutes in length, last night’s “Wysteria” immediately showed that the band was locking in on improv in a way they hadn’t the previous two nights, coming together in an egalitarian mode with everyone working together across the upbeat progression and building to a gorgeous peak, eventually dying away in favour of ending off Tuesday’s unfinished “Echo of a Rose” instead of continuing the jam.

“Slow Ready” brought the first set to a close – and Anspach showed off the capabilities of his new Moog Muse by pre-programming the arpeggiator into it, automatically playing the two chords necessary which freed the keyboardist up to play phaser piano along with the jam. There’s definitely the potential for some new exploration within “Slow” now…only time will tell.

There are certain shows where you can just feel an imminent “Thatch,” and last night was one of those – the opening riff brought the house down to open the second set as the band dove into arguably the best version of 2024 so far.

Immediately diving into minimalism, Anspach took to Moog on a reverb-heavy and almost marimba-like sound, bassist Trevor Weekz holding down the low end with some vicious slapping.

As the intensity grew a bit, Anspach switched to OB-6, peppering in some nice bassy work with his left hand while working phased-out Vintage Vibe with his right, developing a repeated motif.

Anspach and Mitarotonda locked in together on a major modulation just before the 12-minute mark, smoothly transitioning modes while staying locked in on the gradual ramp-up that had begun earlier. Calling back to the version from Forest Hills in June, Goose locked in on several minutes of incredible peak jamming from there, working as one to blow the roof off the venue. Arevalo stuck out as he is wont to do on “Thatch” smashing percussion hits and leaving Ellis to drive the bus.

Anspach kept a low synth drone going as the energy got higher and higher, Mitarotonda’s vicious soloing going through peak after peak before blasting into the ending of the song.

Taking barely a second to catch their breath, Goose went into “Creatures” next, going full disco for its 15-minute runtime. Anspach once again turned to phased-out piano, infusing it with delay as well. Finding a progression they liked, the band built to a solid peak before cooling into “Doobie Song.”

While not my favourite song to hear in the middle of a second set by any means, I was very excited at the beginning of “Fish in the Sea,” picking the flow of the set right back up with some more dance party action.

Quite frankly, there’s no better pairing to close out a second set than “726” > “Dripfield,” the perfect emotional contrast between the gorgeous introspection of the ballad and then what I truly to believe is Goose’s best song, the primal banger. “Drip” also got a little bit more time to jam than it has previously in 2024, hitting some serious Type I fire before smashing into the ending.

For the encore, the band dedicated “Shama Lama Ding Dong” to Paige and Jon Caruso, two dedicated Goose fans who work their asses off to bring the El Goose Times to life. Paige has been chasing “Shama” for years and the band has played it one show off from her attendance on multiple occasions – so it was an incredibly special way to close out the run in Boston.

It's odd to go three shows without a serious bracket contender or a single addition to my Jam of the Year playlist, but it’s seemed all week that Goose was setting up the setlists for this weekend at SPAC – tons of jam vehicles are on the board as we head upstate to the historic shed for what is bound to be two unforgettable shows!

Livestreams of the whole tour are available exclusively for nugs subscribers, and audio is getting uploaded quick!