On Thursday, Goose came to Red Rocks for the first of a three-night Colorado run featuring two nights on the rocks and one at CSU in Fort Collins. It was a joyous, bright affair that served as a representation of everything that makes the jam scene feel so communal. Everyone in that massive crowd was right where they were supposed to be, shoulder to shoulder with friends and strangers alike bathed in color and sweet, sweet music beneath a clear October sky.
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Goose is one of the most interesting and polarizing bands in the jam scene. Around 2019, they experienced something of a meteoric rise. They went from playing small bars and lower-tier festival sets to headlining some of the biggest venues in the country, being featured on Jimmy Fallon and sitting in with such legends as Trey Anastasio and Billy Strings seemingly overnight. This has received both intense praise from those in the jam community who are open to something fresh as well as backlash from those who’ve been in the scene for decades and are wary of the new kids on the block.
It’s an interesting debate that raises the question of whether or not holding on to what comes before is more important than embracing what’s next. Goose ultimately transcends such binary classification in that they’re a band that channels history and turns it into something new, honoring the Titans that came before them while forging their own path. While the past informs everything, the future is all we as people have and Goose’s future is looking mighty bright if it holds more shows like this one.
The show started about half an hour later than advertised, most likely to allow the hoards of fans still waiting to get in a chance to get settled before the show began. The band eventually hit the stage to thunderous applause, the restless crowd ecstatic and erupting into a collective drawn-out cry of one word: “Goose.”
Before playing, keys and guitar player Peter Anspach thanked everyone for coming and checked in with each “zone” of Red Rocks with his trademark sense of humor, joking and asking each from the back of the venue to the front how they were feeling. The waves of applause seemed to satisfy and the band kicked the show off with a cover of the Echo & the Bunnymen tune “The Killing Moon.”
It was a propulsive start to the show that set a great momentum that carried over into “SOS” which then led to “Atlas Dogs,” then a cover of a song by one of Anspach’s previous bands, Vasudo, called “Turbulence and The Night Rays,” “Bob Don,” and “(dawn).”
Most of the first set felt exploratory, a testing of the waters as each song featured extended parts that flirted with improvisation. Lead guitar player and singer Rick Mitarotonda sent soaring solos out into the ether as dual drummers Jeff Arevalo and Ben Atkind rolled alongside notoriously stoic bassist Trevor Weeks and Anspach tied it all together.
Each of these extended parts threatened to become a full-blown jam but never quite got there. It felt as if the band was still getting comfortable, acclimating to the space while searching for their footing before delving deep into true improvisation. This changed with the next song, “Pancakes.”
Initially written for another of Anspach’s earlier projects, Great Blue, the song at face value is a light-hearted ode to breakfast, the most important meal of the day. In actuality, it’s a vehicle for huge jams and this rendition was no different. As the main part of the song ended, it gave way to a jam that was unafraid to go to some weird places and culminated in Mitarotonda absolutely ripping as members of the crowd threw their arms up in unison, joined as one by musical bliss. This gave way to one of the band’s most recognizable early hits, “So Ready,” which also featured a massive, dynamic jam in the middle, and the set came to a close.
The second set was a whole other animal. Following a short break, Goose once again hit the stage and immediately launched into the fan favorite “Creatures.” The song is one of the band’s darker offerings and another notorious jam vehicle. It set an interesting dynamic as the darker aspects of the song gave way to the kind of bright, major jam that causes one to close their eyes and imagine all the good things they have in their life. This brightness then led into a surprising cover of “ShammaLamma Ding Dong” by Otis Day and the Knights that had many smiling from ear to ear.
This was followed by the relatively deep cut “Feel It Now.” This was the only standalone song of the set, with nothing leading directly into it and it not leading into anything after. It was followed by the slower “This Old Sea” which concluded with a huge, bluesy solo from Mitaronda that then led into “The Labyrinth,” an undeniably pretty instrumental tune that offers ample room for improvisation. This then led beautifully into “Hot Tea,” a song beloved by fans that elicited jumping and singing along at full volume. The jam was again bright and beautiful, affirming life with each passing note. It eventually came to an end and so did the set.
The encore came quickly and was relatively brief: an energetic, virtuosic version of “Flodown,” one of the band’s most intricate tunes and a goddamn barn burner. It was a fitting end to the night as fans got the fuck down, hearts intertwined with those around them and minds alive with sweet memories of joy and contentment, the future now beginning to look a little clearer. The song came to an end and the band told the crowd they’d see them tomorrow. The crowd slowly flowed out of the venue itching for two more nights of incredible music.