Goose concluded their spring tour and west coast trip on Saturday with a jam-heavy evening at the Cal Coast Open Air Theater on the campus of San Diego State University. Coming on the heels of their first shows at the sold-out Warfield in San Francisco the prior two nights, the boys from Connecticut offered a treat to their fans with an improvisation-laden show to cap off a spring tour full of sold-out shows, venue debuts, bust-outs, and the announcement of their first ever European Tour. With an average song time of 14 minutes, the 10-song show left plenty of room for some cohesive exploration throughout the night.
Kicking off the cool evening shortly after sundown was a fast version of “Echo of a Rose”, sitting as a show-opener for the first time since the Capitol Theatre run in March. Echo slipped into the first Dripfield song of the evening with “Whales”, where lead guitarist Rick Mitarotonda took the reins and delighted the crowd with a peak defining solo before all coming back together for the closing refrain.
Things throttled down to a heavy-funky groove for a monster “Rockdale” as full darkness outside set in and provided lighting director Andrew Goedde opportunity to display his wares. With Trevor Weekz (bass), Ben Atkind (Drums) and Jeff Arevalo (Percussion) deep in the pocket, Rick and Peter Anspach (Keys, Guitar) were free to explore in the vast spaces provided by the rhythm section. This version featured a brief venture into “Loose Ends” before dropping the tempo back down into the close of the Rockdale.
There was an audible excitement from the crowd when the opening notes of “Lead Up” started, sitting as one of the newest songs Goose has added to their already extensive catalogue. Debuted during the Cap run, the song was a well-placed breather with a solid yet straightforward composition before the band jumped into the set closer “Arcadia”.
Many fans count Arcadia among the initial songs that got them hooked, the Moon Cabin track marked by Peter’s clavinet, Rick’s vocals, and the ability for the song to be performed in a straight-forward, raged out approach or a Type II exploratory manner. Arcadia can be like a snowflake that feels different each time you hear it. This night’s take was an extended version of the former, a constant buildup that peaked and closed the set out with a bang.
Following a 15-minute set break, the band picked up right where they left off and followed a 5-song first set with a 4-song second set. Kicking off the set was a song that immediately became a staple after its debut in early 2022 as the crowd roared with the opening notes of “Hungersite”. The 20-minute version left nothing to chance and was certainly one of the highlights of the evening.
Hungersite then segued into an upbeat “Creatures” that wound its way through to one of the best received song selections and biggest bust out of the night, the National Lampoon’s Animal House and fictitious band Otis Day & the Knights track “Shama Lama Ding Dong”.
The second set fittingly closed the evening with a 20-minute version of the self-titled “Dripfield” that did not disappoint even the most critical of fans. The night was closed out with the funky, danceable “Hot Tea” that allowed each of the artists to showcase their talents one last time before ending the evening.
The band will be following their wildly successful Spring Tour and will kick off their summer tour/festival circuit with 2 nights in New Orleans to headline the Daze Between festival this week and an appearance at the 25th Anniversary Summer Camp before starting their summer schedule in earnest in June. Be sure to catch this rising act if you have not yet already done so!
