Goose is really starting to take flight.
“Thank you so much, everybody,” singer, keyboardist, and guitarist Peter Anspach said right before playing “Arcadia” as an encore Friday, July 28, at the Mann Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “Unbelievably, this is the biggest show we’ve ever played. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We couldn’t do it without you. Thank you so much.”
That high water mark lasted an entire day as the Norwalk, Connecticut-based jam band broke its record the following night by performing its biggest headlining show at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York.
It didn’t take long for the band to heat up, beginning 45 minutes after the scheduled start time. Lead singer and guitarist Rick Mitarotonda didn’t waste any time shredding on the opening song “The Whales.”
During the first song, Anspach quickly made a nod to the venue when he sang, “Then off we’ll go, farther than Alaska, farther than the Mann.”
The jams just got heavier as the night went on, beginning with “Silver Rising” and drummer Cotter Ellis, who has been with the band since February, making his presence felt throughout the amphitheater.
Bassist Trevor Weekz, who hardly moved from his perch except for walking to and from the stage, locked in on the groovy “Atlas Dogs,” which added to the Tom Petty vibes on the song in the outdoor venue.
Mitarotonda was absolutely shredding from the start of “Flodown” and did not waste a single note as he unleashed his excellence throughout the song.
With a night featuring a couple of special guests, the first was Rogers Stevens, the Blind Melon guitarist who joined the band for his band’s famous hit “No Rain,” which had the crowd singing in unison. On the track, Mitarotonda took a step back and let Philadelphia-based attorney make the most of his moment and lead the famous licks for the alterntive rock anthem.
Shortly after Stevens left the stage, Anspach announced it was special guest night and brought out Matt Quinn from Philadelphia’s own folk-rock band Mt. Joy, who traded vocals with Mitarotonda on “California Magic.”
Everyone was in top form by the time the first set ended with “Tumble” featuring Weekz on a tremendous bass solo and Anspach pulling out his guitar and twirling around in the front of the stage before returning to his keyboards.
The crowd felt the band’s energy, which was so great that they cut the stage lights a few times just to cool down. People danced on the walkway to the balcony and rocked out in every inch of the Mann Center.
The band wasted little time after returning to the stage. “There’s a second set,” Anspach said. “Rip it.” Goose began the second set with an epic version of “Hungersite.” During the song, Weekz showed the most amount of animation by playing after a balloon floated near his bass pedals which he kicked back into the crowd.
Throughout the second set, percussionist Jeff Arevalo broke the fourth wall whenever the camera focused on him, prompting a raised eyebrow or sideways glance projected to the audience.
There were plenty of highlights across the 21 minutes of the song, including Ellis showing off his intense, energetic drumming, a deep, funky jam and Anspach behaving like a mad scientist behind the keyboards mixing and matching various effects until he got the perfect sound to the approval of the Luigi doll sitting on the stack.
My prom song seinor year of high school was “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel, a curious choice given the song came out a year after most of the graduating class was born.
I remember being confused by the choice and questioning the legitimacy of the voting process at the time, but I would have gladly accepted the 25-minute version that Goose performed.
The band closed the second set with “Red Bird,” and by then the crowd was soaring with people in balcony trying to get people on the lawn to clap in unision.
After a concise break, Goose closed the show with one of the best versions of “Arcadia” that I’ve ever heard. Once again, the stage lights blacked out, and the light show went in full effect, going in every color and spinning in circles, akin to a fireworks finale.
Download the band-recorded show via Bandcamp.
See Goose on its fall tour Sept. 1 at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey; Sept. 6 and 7 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, and Sept. 9 at Ting Pavilion in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Setlist
Set 1 7:55 p.m. start
The Whales
Silver Rising
Atlas Dogs
Flodown
No Rain
California Magic
A Western Sun
Tumble
Set 2 9:46 p.m.
Hungersite
In Your Eyes
Red Bird
Encore 10:45 p.m.
Arcadia
