Coming in hot from the night before, Goose closed the opening run to their fall tour with a burning show at Terminal 5 in New York, NY that included a surprise third set. The band sold out the two-night run at the 3,000 person venue and did not disappoint their fans with tasty bust-outs and debuts.
A seventeen minute “Tumble” kicked off the festivities and invigorated the crowd with a deep type-two jam, making it clear that the band was ramping up for an electrifying show. After a seven minute “Bob Don” which left the crowd entranced by pristine harmonies and wailing solos by guitarist Rick Mitarotonda, keyboardist/guitarist Peter Anspach introduced a new song, “Life on the Shelf.” While this six-minute performance was Goose’s official debut, “Life on the Shelf” was first performed by Anspach at Fred the Festival 2021 during his solo acoustic set.
“White Lights,” whose opening notes and lyrics gave the appearance of a soft and quiet love song, proceeded. But as seasoned fans expected, Goose sent the crowd through a spiraling and spacey journey during this fourteen minute rendition. The band showed off their versatility with Anspach’s ability to quickly transition between a plethora of keyboards and his PRS guitar. His keyboard skills softly guided the crowd through a transition to “Jive I” as Mitarotonda punched into the song with opening licks that ignited a dance spree. As the band prepared to close this jazzy nine minute jam, on a dime, Mitarotonda pivoted into the chords for “Jive Lee,” sending madness throughout the honking fans. Charged from the previous “Jive” jam, Goose was ready to dive deep into “Jive Lee.” The fourteen minute heater transported everyone to places of intense funk and deep space.
The band could have ended the set with the “Jive” pairing, but instead they launched into the Clash’s “Rock the Casbah.” Percussionist Jeff Arevalo’s lead vocals for this five-minute tune brought the crowd together as the famous chorus shook the venue with every “ROCK.”
"Wysteria Lane” opened the second set, and the cool groove rocked into a deep jam that morphed into the bust out, “It Burns Within.” Aside from a lone appearance during the Orebolo set at Fred the Festival, which is the official name of the Mitarotonda, Anspach and Arevalo acoustic collaboration, the soothing song had not been played since November 6th, 2020 at South Farm in Morris, Connecticut. Up next was the spacey ballad of “Seekers on the Ridge pt. I & II.” As the jam waned, Mitarotonda wasted no time and tore into their hit, “Hot Tea.” While the crowd danced and cheered throughout the fifteen-minute tea party, the band segued into their first ever performance of “Dragonfly I & II,” from their album Ted Tapes 2021, to close the second set. The audience expected the band to walk off and return for the encore, but instead Anspach casually announced that they would be back for a surprise third set.
As excitement and anticipation filled the Manhattan venue, Goose returned at midnight and promptly kept the party going with a cover of The Brothers Johnson’s, “Get the Funk Out Ma Face.” This funky tune was last played during Goose’s Bingo Tour stream on June 26, 2020, and was apropos for the late night energy in New York City. The band then dove into a thirteen minute “Creatures,” whose dark jams transitioned seamlessly into the Foster the People cover, “Pumped Up Kicks.”
To close this special third set, Mitarotonda slowly began the opening notes of “Madhuvan,” sending screams throughout the crowd as the band brought on this intense mystical jam vehicle. The first fourteen minutes included bassist Trevor Weekz reading the Robert Frost’s poem, “Acquainted with the Night.” The band then slid into the timeless cover of Bobby Blue Bland’s “Turn On Your Lovelight,” once again, breaking the crowd out of a mystified trance and into a blues groove. During this eight minute breakdown, Anspach left his keyboard corner and walked over to Mitarotonda for a shred-filled guitar duel. The set wrapped up with seven more delicious minutes of “Madhuvan.” Goose came back to the stage for a four-minute reprise of “Hot Tea," also known as "Hot Teaprise" per stage/road manager Jon "Coach" Lombardi's notes. The spacey tension and release in this tune was reminiscent of the Ted jams earlier in the evening.
At 12:58 am, Goose the band closed their second show of the 2021 fall tour with vigor. Their next dates include two nights at the State Theater in Portland, ME on October 28-29th followed by a two-night Halloween run at the Palladium Theater in Worcester, MA on October 30-31st. Visit their website for more details on these shows and other dates on the ledger.
Check out more photos from the show!
Set One
Tumble, Bob Don, Life On The Shelf1, White Lights > Jive I > Jive Lee > Rock The Casbah2
Set Two
Wysteria Lane > It Burns Within3 > Seekers on the Ridge pt I & pt II > Hot Tea > Dragon Fly4
Set Three
Get The Funk Out of My Face5, Creatures > Pumped Up Kicks6, Madhuvan > Tweekz Reads Poetry7 > Turn On Your Love Light8 > Madhuvan
Encore
Teaprise9
Coach's Notes
1. New Original song, FTP
2. The Clash cover
3. Played in a new feel
4. FTP, After the song, Peter Anspach told the crowd that they would be back for a third set
5. The Brothers Johnson cover
6. Foster The People cover
7. Trevor Weekz read a poem by Robert “Bobby” Frost entitled `Acquainted in the night’
8. Bobby Blue Band cover
9. Finished the Hot Tea from set two
•These were the bands first indoor shows since March 11th, 2020
•Both shows were Sold Out
•The band played 3 sets as a surprise & as a gesture of gratitude to our fans. This was very special as the band has only played a handful of 3 set shows since inception on 9.27.14.
•Thank you to everyone who came to the shows and or got involved with the streams, we love y’all!
