The end of 2021 brought something that music lovers feared- a widespread wave of concert cancellations. With the arrival of the Omicron variant, jam bands and groups of other musical genres alike began to postpone one of the most coveted and fun types of concert: the New Year’s concert. With no reported cases and all negative Covid tests, Goose decided the show must go on. Originally slated to be two nights at The Riviera Theatre in Chicago, Goose conducted the shows while following health and safety guidelines. Fans were thrilled with their decision!
The first night was very good. Despite starting later than expected, Goose delivered. In fact, the first set of December 30 ended up being the longest of the entire run. Rockdale opened. Fan favorites Time to Flee followed, with seemingly everyone in the building singing along “See you later… alligator!” at the request of the band. The set continued with other highlights like Jive II and Yeti before ending the ninety minute set with Tumbler. The second set contained a massive Echo of a Rose with plenty of tunes sandwiched inside, including a fun cover of Pat Benatar’s Love is a Battlefield. The semi-rare Fish in the Sea was found in the encore slot for night one.
As good as the first night was, the hype only grew for the 12/31 show. Just like the previous evening, the line to get into the show was indicative of the buzz surrounding the shows. People stretched out from the door, around the block, into the residential neighborhood just waiting to get in. A much quicker entry process allowed the show to get started promptly. They opened with Arrow and seamlessly segued into Rosewood Heart. The set seemed fairly pedestrian and was noticeably shorter than the previous night’s monster set one. However, it was with good reason. Much to the happiness of the crowd, the band announced they would be playing two more sets, and thus the conversations that many had been having before the show were answered- indeed it would be a 3 set show.
The second set opened with a cover of Vampire Weekend’s 2021 with the song being wholly appropriate for the occasion. Fan favorite Flodown followed, and then came the biggest surprise of the run. Despite it being Friday night, the band raged a rendition of the Grateful Dead’s One More Saturday Night. Keeping true to the original, it contained no improvisation and deviated in no way from the Weir number. Nonetheless, it was absolutely rocking and quite welcome coming out of left field. Arcadia ended the set around 11:30. With the New Year quickly approaching, it was a very brief set break; the band returned and opened with Wysteria Lane. Time continued to tick and the question became how they would ring in the New Year. They slowly transitioned the song to the next biggest surprise of the night, Circle of Life, the classic from the Disney movie Lion King. Again, it felt very appropriate for the moment. At this point, Goose brought out an unofficial band member, Coach, to help perform the song. He wielded a massive rainstick as is his custom when on stage. At the end of the song the countdown began. The band invited friends to come to the stage, each one holding a sign the size of a show poster with a number written on it. Starting with 10, they counted down to 1, and 2022 had arrived! Balloons and confetti filled the Riviera Theatre. Later we found out that the band was going to sell those posters with the “countdown” on the back and give the proceeds to groups supporting the victims of the Boulder fires. Immediately upon entering 2022 the band then went into Empress of Organos. The impressive third set ended with a Seekers on the Ridge that contained both part one and part two.
The two-night run ended with the funky So Ready. Goose fans were ecstatic with the fact that not only the shows raged, but that they even were held. As of the time of this writing, both Chicago shows can still be viewed on Goose’s YouTube channel in case you couldn’t catch them live. 2022 looks to be very bright for Goose, who only gained momentum during this entire Covid era. Cheers to the new year!
GOOSE December 30, 2021 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Set 1: Rockdale, Time to Flee, Jive II, SOS, Bob Don, Yeti, Tumble
Set 2: Earthlings Or Aliens? > 726, Echo of a Rose {1} > Love Is A Battlefield {2}, Travelers > Echo of a Rose, Hot Tea {3}
Encore: Fish In The Sea {4}
Coach’s Notes:
{1} Backbeat version
{2} Pat Bennitar
{3} That’s All by Genesis teases
{4} Fat Freddy’s Drop
GOOSE December 31, 2021 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
Set 1: Arrow > Rosewood Heart, White Lights, The Old Man’s Boat, Sleepwalk {1}
Set 2: 2021 {2}, Flodown, One More Saturday Night {3} > Arcadia
Set 3: Wysteria Lane > Circle of Life {4} {5} > The Empress Of Organos {5} {6}, Creatures {7} > Your Ocean, Seekers On The Ridge pt 1 & pt 2
E: So Ready
Coach’s Notes:
{1} Santo & Johnny Farina
{2} Vampire Weekend
{3} The Grateful Dead
{4} LTP Goosemas 4, only 3rd time played. As the song ended, the countdown to 2022 began. At the end of the tune the band rang in the new year.
{5} JonL on a 10 foot rain stick
{6} JonL on fish & chimes on Jeffs kit
{7} Axel F Teases
