2022 might have been the year of the tiger, but easily could have been the year of Goose, as this band achieved numerous significant milestones. From selling out Radio City Music Hall and Red Rocks, to a co-headlining fall tour with the Trey Anastasio band, this Norwalk, CT based squad literally lived out their own dreams last year. This remarkable year closed out in style for this jam rock band at the Andrew J Brady Center in their second home of Cincinnati, Ohio on December 31, 2022.
This past year has certainly been coming up Goose. The band sold out two nights at the iconic Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks Ampitheather in Morrison, CO and Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. They also shared the stage with the Trey Anastasio for a co-joined, colaborative fall tour that featured sit-ins by both bands. They released a brand new album, Dripfield. The late night talk shows got on the Goose bandwagon, as they made appearances on Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers. They had memorable performances at many festivals including Peach, Bonnaroo, Sweetwater 420, Newport Folk Festival and High Sierra. A two night stand for Goosemas, their December Holiday themed event, was held in Broomfield, CO, and marked the first time that Goosemas occurred outside Connecticut. The year wrapped up with a sold out two night stand in Cincinnati, and included for many fans who have been part of the Goose community since the beginning.
Fans arrived later this evening than the prior night based on the late start for the new year set. The multi-line set up was easier to navigate after learning the ropes on night one. The venue was decorated with three large bags of balloons that were attached to the ceiling. The atmosphere was certainly ripe for killer jams.
Goose decided to step on stage firing on all cylinders. The jams picked up where they left off the night before with a deep dive during "All I Need." This included a nice drum solo by drummer Ben Atkind. Multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach and guitarist Rick Mitarotonda were in lock step early. The band kept their feet on the gas for the dynamic duo, "Borne" > "Hungersite," two songs from their latest album Dripfield.
New tune "Mr. Action," followed, which debuted two weeks prior at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO. This included a dedication by Anspach to the entire Goose crew and team. A monster, twenty minute "Red Bird" took flight next. The set ended with a fiery "Drive" that set the stage for the new years festivities.
The band eventually returned for their last set of 2022. They had changed from their regular show attire into all white pants/shorts and white sleeveless shirts, except for Anspach who opted to wear a short sleeved white shirt. Only white lights were used on the stage and projection screen behind the band as began playing "Dr. Darkness." The dark theme rolled on with the 80's version of "Indian River," and the lights continued in the black and white schema.
Time was quickly running out as the band leapt into the jam vehicle "Madhuvan" about twelve minutes before midnight. The projector displayed a ten second count down as midnight approached. The band built up tension leading into the new year, and segued into the traditional "Auld Lang Syne." Balloons and confetti dropped from the sky, as colorization returned to the lighting display. The band went back into Madhuvan before another full throttle "Empress of Organos."
This exciting new year's eve set wrapped up with the bluesy "Thatch" transitioning into a green, pink and blue light fueled "Dripfield." The band left the stage, but only Anspach and Mitarotonda returned for the encore. Anspach thanked everyone for the great year. They performed "This Year's Love" by David Gray as a duo for a few minutes, before bassist Trevor Weekz joined them on stage. At the conclusion, percussionist Jeff Arevalo and Atkind returned to play "Animal." This final tune reminded the crowd that "You're an animal. It's phenomenal."
Goose is back in action next weekend at Playing in the Sand. They also announced a full spring tour beginning in March 2023. Hop on over to their tour page for more details.
Check out more photos from the show, as well as our coverage from the first night of the run!
Set One
All I Need, Borne > Hungersite, Mr. Action, Red Bird, Drive
Set Two
Dr. Darkness, Indian River, Silver Rising, Madhuvan > Auld Lang Syne (Robert Burns) > Madhuvan, The Empress of Organos, Thatch > Dripfield
Encore
This Year’s Love (David Gray), Animal
