Two Days of Goose: Hot Tea In Portland, Empress of SPAC

I got the chance to see Goose, an up-and-coming jam band, on back-to-back nights

As recently as six months ago, I never would have imagined that I’d end up going to two straight shows of Goose, the up-and-coming jam band sensation from Connecticut, but that’s exactly what I did this summer. More than that, I went to my first two shows of theirs at two new venues for them in two different states, something I’ve never done with a band before. I’ve rarely even attended multiple shows in a row with the same band before: my forty-one shows of Phish that I’ve attended were mostly catch as you can, with most of the multiple night runs in the same city.  So, this was a first for me, not just Goose, and it was an interesting way to catch my first two shows of a band.

There was a time when I was highly resistant to getting invested in Goose, mainly because their fans were constantly mentioning them in the Phish groups on Facebook and elsewhere to a degree that I found approaching obnoxious levels. That changed, though, when I watched the video of Trey Anastasio do the sit-in with them at Radio City Music Hall last June. I immediately began listening to shows of theirs, old and new, on both YouTube and Nugs.net, and liked what I saw. I appreciated the dynamic between all the band members, and they were clearly talented. They certainly seemed to be more than a few notches above other bands that I’ve heard referred to as the ‘next Phish’ in prior years, without naming names. By the time Trey Anastasio Band and Goose announced that they would be doing a joint tour in the fall of 2023, it was a given that I’d attend the tour-opener in Portland - at the very same venue where I first saw Phish.

That show was epic, and I immediately knew I had to see Goose live on their own terms. So, I was naturally disappointed to see that their initial summer tour announcement was skipping over New England entirely, just as Phish was this year. Still, I resolved to attend their show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center: It would be my first visit to the venue, as I’d never seen Phish there, just as I’ve never seen them at MSG. Until I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in 2021, I’d only seen Phish outside New England on a handful of occasions, and never outside the Northeast. So, I planned my first trip to SPAC as a nice chance to see a new band at a new venue, for me as well as them. Then they suddenly announced that they’d be performing the prior night at Thompson’s Point the day before, a delightful outdoor venue in Portland less than an hour from home, and I was faced with a quandary: Do I ignore that show, switch to it entirely, or attend both? In the end, I decided to do the only logical thing and go to both, briefly stepping on to Goose tour.

That was clearly the right decision, and one I don’t regret in the slightest.

The first night of my mini tour was at Thompson’s Point, which is in many ways a typical venue for Goose, though it happened to be their first appearance. As I noted above, it’s a terrific, well-run venue: it’s outdoors, right on the water, within walking distance of one of Maine’s finest breweries, Bissell Brothers, and always has good food trucks. Vending and concessions are usually easily navigable, too; the only hiccup there is typically parking, always a nightmare (from now on I’ll always get an Uber or Lyft). Amazingly, I didn’t run into anybody I knew, either at Bissell Brothers or at the concert, but found the Goose fans - longtime and new - incredibly welcoming and friendly, just as I had at the TABoose show. The crowd was a solid mix of dedicated Goose fans and newbies alike; the guy next to me barely knew anything about them, while some I met had already been to ten or more shows.

Unsurprisingly, given the location and the t-shirt design of the evening, the band opened with The Whales. They didn’t stray too far during the opener, which isn’t a surprise; the song (Penned by keyboardist-guitarist-vocalist Peter Ansbach) is usually longer live than the album version, but isn’t typically used as  a jam vehicle. It does typically appear in the first set, and it’s been used as an opener before. Indeed, relatively short jamming in the first set - the longest song was under 18 minutes - was the theme of the night in Portland, though they managed to include some nice jamming in those shorter numbers. After The Whales they transitioned smoothly into Rockdale, which effectively showcases the voice of lead guitarist Rick Mitarotondo. Mitarotondo’s vocal stylings are one of the factors that definitively sets Goose apart from many other jam bands: he’s an excellent singer with a good range, and they’re more than happy to take advantage of it. In Rockdale, Goose began to stray from the base tune a few minutes in, getting in some subtle jamming led by Mitarotondo. When jam fans look at setlists, it’s all too easy to hunt out the longer tracks, but this Rockdale shows why that’s a bad strategy: sometimes excellent jams are found in shorter, more digestible form. It’s the musical equivalent, perhaps, of a small plate presentation, rather than the typical large entree in a meal, but it’s often satisfying. The jamming in Rockdale may have begun as a subtle one, but it gradually picked up the pace throughout, coming to a crescendo before they wrapped it up and moved on to Borne.

That Borne, like much of the rest of the first set in light of what would come later, is likely to be overlooked by casual listeners and fans alike, but it is not to be missed. They pretty much played the first six minutes or so of the song entirely traditionally before transitioning into a deep, moody jam that seemed to flow out of, rather than be exactly part of, the song. Indeed, much of the crowd seemed to agree, as cheers erupted around the six-minute mark of the nearly 18-minute Borne: it truly did seem as if the band was wrapping it up and moving on. Instead, Peter led them into an exploratory jam that meandered and flowed naturally through the band. At the end, they did indeed return to Borne, just barely preventing the setlist from becoming Borne > Portland Jam > The Way It Is.

In this particular rendition of the Bruce Hornsby tune, the band deviated only slightly, giving Peter the chance to do some extended work on the keys in the middle; Rick then led a short jam in the latter half. Neither ever really took off, though - instead they closed out the tune and moved on to Rosewood Heart. With Rick singing the lead vocals, Rosewood Heart was an ideal pair to The Way It Is, though it would have been even better if they had done it as a smooth segue, rather than just ending The Way It is. Rosewood Heart developed into a slow, pretty, intricate jam that Peter and Rick seemed to take turns leading at times before they picked up the pace to close out the song. That, too, worked well, allowing them to nicely set up Pancakes, the second-longest jam of the first half, for a superb close to the first set. That Pancakes, too, is a nice moment of the evening, as each of the five band members seemed to take turns leading the jamming at various moments. In general, Goose seems to do a good job of that just as Phish does, making it clear that each member of the band makes important contributions. That’s a great sign of a smoothly-operating team.

The second set opened up with the beautiful Feel It Now. I love that this song opens with percussionist Jeff Aravelo taking the lead, allowing it to slowly build before the other band members step it up about three minutes in, with Peter starting to sing four minutes in. The addition of another percussionist besides the drummer is like the addition of a second guitarist: it allows Goose to create a more layered sound that frequently lends itself well to jamming, just as having multiple vocalists does. That night, the song slowly built towards a superb but all too brief bit of jamming before they moved on to Dr. Darkness. That slow, funky, jazzy number is relatively new, premiering early last year after New Year’s, and ever since I first heard it I’ve been hoping they would use it as a jam vehicle at some point. They may yet some day - it would lead towards some dark territory - but sadly, tonight was not to be the night. Instead, it was Hot Tea time.

This song will surely prove to be one of the top contenders for Jam of the Year, and it was nice to see that they almost immediately posted the full video, though for some reason they haven’t for the full show yet. Hot Tea, of course, nicely shows off the keyboard stylings of Peter, as well as the vocal and guitar abilities of Rick, so it’s no surprise that it’s become a major jam vehicle for them. About four minutes in, it was clear that was where this one was going, as Peter began intensely pecking away at the keys and leading the band into Type II jamming territory. The rest of the band quickly picked up on that, though Peter was clearly leading the way, building up the intensity slowly - both literally and figuratively - but surely, taking them towards a mini-crescendo that gradually gave way back to the structure of the song in time for the next verse. That initial bit of jamming clearly set the tone for the tune. Peter not only got the crowd going by clapping, as he typically does, but he seemed infected by our energy as well - though for the next bit of jamming Rick took more of the lead, about eleven minutes in. He was clearly delighted by the direction things were taking as well, doing a nice bit of funky jamming before Peter took the reigns yet again, though only briefly before drummer Ben Atkind got a chance to lead them into a slower, subtle, jam. They were clearly in the groove after that, with each band member making key contributions to the musical conversation that was playing out in front of us. It was easy - even from my vantage point in person - to see and hear that each band member was talented and an important contributor, and also to understand why the group has built up such a dedicated following in such a short time. They truly do work together seamlessly, and they clearly feed from our energy as well. After seeing this in person, the guy next to me - who had barely even heard of them before - decided he had to go get a t-shirt and poster, despite risking the wrath of his wife (in his words).

After that epic Hot Tea, they went on to a short, traditional 726, which is a nice, slow pretty song. They no doubt needed the break, so they didn’t take this song for a trip either. Instead, it served as a perfect bridge into Madhuvan, a common jam vehicle that would prove to achieve lift-off as the final song of the second set tonight. The move from the slower 726 into the higher-energy Madhuvan was the perfect transition, oddly enough, setting up the band for a truly grand finale. This Madhuvan was mainly led by intense guitar work from Rick, who took the band up into the stratosphere for the first seven minutes or so before returning to earth. They somehow managed to transition into a slower, funkier jam for a bit, with haunting keyboard work by Peter for a few minutes. They then gradually, subtly ramped up the volume and intensity for a bit, working up into a truly frenetic pace worthy of a closing number. That eight or so minute jam in the midst of Madhuvan, to recap, went from fast to funky to frenetic before they briefly left the stage. They returned to close out with a favorite cover, The Band’s Don’t Do It, with which they mostly stuck to the script - except for a fine bit of fast-paced jamming towards the end that featured very impressive guitar work from Rick.

After the familiar stomping grounds of Thompson’s Point, it was time for to head south and west to Saratoga Springs for the band’s debut at the famed Saratoga Performing Arts Center. While the venue itself is absolutely spectacular, the logistics of it all are a little underwhelming. I was seated in the balcony, and my view was perfect, aided only slightly by the video screens - while vital for the lawn crowd, they were fairly superfluous under the roof. It’s easy enough to get around SPAC; the biggest disappointment was the vending options, which were limited for both food and drink and a hassle. It might be better in the VIP areas (I’ll probably never know), but the food wasn’t at all appealing; Thompson’s Point, with its many excellent food trucks, had better options than the famed SPAC. Next time I’ll know not to eat there.

Still, the show itself was superb. Peter was clearly thrilled to be there, noting that he’d seen shows from back in the lawn before (no doubt Phish, amongst others), and the intensity of now being onstage. They opened with two slower, prettier songs that I rather enjoy and was immensely pleased to catch in person at my second show, going from Silver Rising to California Magic. Silver Rising is especially slower and they always seem to stick to the script with it, though (as with Dr. Darkness) it’s one that I’ve always thought had the potential to be extended. California Magic, though much poppier and rockier, is always played straight, too - indeed, if it were a wee bit shorter, it would be easy to see that particular song taking off on the radio. It’s definitely catchy.

They weren’t going to let that trend last long, needless to say. They took their next song, Animal, the distance, stretching it out to almost twenty minutes. This is a song that could easily lend itself to some particular spacy jamming, but it didn’t tonight. At first, Peter was the one who took it in a new direction, but Rick quickly took the lead this time, charging forward into a nice, medium-pace groove that the entire band quickly picked up on. Although they picked up the tempo as they moved forward, it never really reached the epic heights of some jamming crescendos: instead, it just gradually, effectively built towards slightly higher elevations, before it finally wound down to transition in to the Ansbach-written and led Red Bird.

This slower, pretty song was one of my instant favorites of theirs, and Peter was obviously relishing the chance to sing it at SPAC. It’s good for any jam band to have one slower, prettier song that they can extend, and Red Bird is clearly serving that purpose for Goose. It’s also good to see any band, no matter the genre, both have multiple vocalists and have a lead vocalist who is willing and able to take the backseat once in a while. This is one of the songs where having a second percussionist clearly makes a big impact as well, especially in the quieter sections where Peter is leading on the keyboard. That section didn’t last all that long, though: the full band quickly jumped in, kicking off a somewhat laid-back, albeit rocky and not slow, bit of jamming that punctuated the song nicely in the middle. The impact of bassist Trevor Weeks was also felt here; again it was plain that all five band members were vital. They transitioned from a very slow beginning into a much rockier jam, then back into a more upbeat jam again before Rick took the lead and brought them back to a slower melody yet again.

That slower melody (and the lights transitioning out of red) marked the beginnings of the end of Red Bird. Although it wasn’t a sudden, dramatic ending, they still didn’t quite smoothly transition into the next song, Same Old Shenanigans, though they could have; instead they firmly ended Red Bird. This song, like several of the songs in the first set the prior night in Portland, was a much more digestible, shorter jam than either Red Bird or Animal. Over the course of about fifteen minutes, the band surely did wander a bit, but they kept the focus on the structure of the song itself. There were moments when it seemed like a break-out might occur, but it never quite got there; instead, there were tiny hints of what was to come after intermission, with the band ending the first half on a high note.

They returned to the stage and, after a few words from not only Peter but even Rick, launched in to The Empress of Organos, an excellent jazzy number that continued the high energy from the last song. They didn’t wait long in the second set to get into the jamming, as this would prove to be one of the highlights of both evenings. Peter got it started with a very up-beat, jazzy bit of jamming on the second verse that the entire band seemed to immediately enjoy. Clearly buoyed by their successful first half in the historic venue, the band kept it all going, reaching for the sky that had been shedding tears pre-show. Initially, they didn’t depart far from the tune itself, merely embellishing and extending, but then they started to take it in a quite different direction, slowing things down into a more mellow jam. By the middle of the song, they were clearly venturing into new territory, with Rick, Peter, and everyone else playing well off each other before kicking it back up a notch again towards a faster pace. They gradually increased that pace, and also gradually returned more fully to the structure of the song, getting into a much rockier and more intense jam towards the end. I am fully impressed by the ability of this group to transition in tempo and style in the middle of a song, and to easily flow in and out of Type I and Type II jamming. Here, they kept up the pace at the end of Empress, bringing it to an intense, crashing conclusion, and the crowd obviously appreciated it.

After that they certainly deserved a break, so they moved on to David Gray’s Please Forgive Me, another cover enhanced by Rick’s voice. It didn’t prove to be much of a break, however: after just ten minutes, with a short, varied jam in the middle that began slow but got faster, they launched into Thatch, another song of theirs that is frequently taken on long trips. Tonight would prove to be no exception, as we were in store for our second twenty-plus minute jam of the night - after two nineteen-minute jams in the first half. They were clearly in more of a mood for journeys tonight than they had been the night before, with slower, shorter songs serving as the break between longer jams. This Thatch showed immediate early signs of promise, so it was no surprise that it took full flight. About six minutes in, the entire band began noodling around, seemingly aimlessly, yet not at all asynchronously. Even if they weren’t quite sure what they were doing yet, they wanted to go somewhere; they were simply in the process of unfolding the map and asking for directions (from themselves). This wasn’t a slow, pretty jam, but it wasn’t a high-paced, frenetic jam either; it was precariously perched right in the middle. Eventually, Peter decided that he needed tequila, apparently, so he decided to tease The Tequila Song, and the rest of Goose quickly picked it up.  As is often the case, that thread helped inform the direction of the next section of jamming. They began to creep along towards a faster pace again before wrapping things up and bringing the second (or third, it’s hard to keep track) jam of the night to a close.

After that, they obviously needed another respite - as did we all - so they decided to favor us with another slow song of theirs, This Old Sea. This pretty tune, like others I’ve mentioned earlier, isn’t generally extended, but unlike others, it needn’t be: in fact, Goose could use a few more slow, breather, short songs like this one.  To close out the second set, they meandered into Dripfield, which isn’t short, even on the studio album for which it is the title track: it clocks in at 7 minutes. The new album is great, to be sure, but they are clearly not trying to be radio-friendly, which is just fine with me. Dripfield remains an excellent song, as it nicely moves between highs and lows - which showcases Rick’s vocal range. It also is one of the Goose songs where Peter completely abandons his keyboard and instead accompanies Rick on guitar, giving them that two-guitar sound that I mentioned earlier. Tonight, this version got a nice jam going, serving as a triumphant closer for them on the second set.

For the encore, they chose one of their own songs tonight, and they didn’t rest on their laurels, instead launching into a Factory Faction that was a superb jam in its own right, with Peter announcing that it was their biggest show ever.  While both were excellent shows on their own right and stand alone very well, it was a real treat to see them together in back-to-back nights. Goose is clearly a professional, talented group, with a professional, talented operation behind them. Every aspect is top-notch: their posters, t-shirts, and merchandise is all great. They are obviously building both a fan base and a community in their own right, one that will stand the test of time. If you ever get the chance to catch them live in your neck of the woods, I highly recommend them.

You may follow Jim on Twitter or Facebook. He is also a weekly political columnist for the Portland Press Herald, Maine’s largest daily newspaper