Last night, Goose opened their annual Goosemas celebration with the first of two nights at Broomfield, Colorado’s 1STBANK Center, just outside Denver. Marking the ninth holiday celebration, this year is the first time that Goosemas has taken place outside the band’s home state of Connecticut, AND the first time it has been a multi-night run.
Colorado has always been a second home for Goose, so it was a natural pick for this year.
Beginning the night with a “Flodown” (or “Flopener,” if you will) complete with a “River Lullaby” tease from guitarist Rick Mitarotonda, the quintet got the crowd up and dancing immediately. “Everything Must Go,” a newer track that debuted on the October leg of Goose’s fall tour, came next before a concise and well-jammed “Butter Rum.” Multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach shined on the ensuing “The Old Man’s Boat” as his warm and buttery Vintage Vibe electric piano reverberated around the arena.
The first big jam of the night came in “Drive.” Settling into a churning groove dominated by Anspach’s choppy rhythm playing (courtesy of his new red guitar), drummer Ben Atkind pushed the jam into a darker space with aggressive tom work as Mitarotonda switched to rhythm-centric playing for a while before ripping an absolutely earth-shattering solo to finish off the jam.
The first cover of The Band’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight” since Goosemas VI on December 21, 2019 (177 shows) came next ahead of a soaring “Same Old Shenanigans” to close out the first frame.
As the band took the stage for the second set, Anspach noted that they would be pulling songs at random from Santa’s bag of fan requests – the band had set up an “All I Want For Goosemas” drop with balls and Sharpies on the concourse of the venue.
Pulling “Pancakes” first, Goose wasted no time before dropping into a deep groove, containing multiple stop/start breaks that highlighted Anspach’s piano work and Mitarotonda’s wah-rhythm playing. The jam continued to pick up steam as the band drove to peak after peak after peak, demonstrating their skillful ability to build tension and release jams.
Mitarotonda’s time playing with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio on the band’s recent TABoose Tour became increasingly evident last night, as his playing was infused with some of Anastasio’s licks and sound – but still in Mitarotonda’s own style.
“Rosewood Heart” was tapped next and built into another blissful jam before Anspach pulled out the “Trevor Reads Christmas Poetry” ball.
A quick reading later, the band dropped into a grimy “Wysteria Lane.” Quickly mellowing into a funky motif led by Atkind, Anspach peppered the jam with staccato and reverb-heavy organ playing. Moving over to the Vintage Vibe, Anspach found a cool riff that once again sent the gentle vibrato of the electric piano bouncing around the arena. Sitting in this groove, Goose began to build the intensity to a small peak before dropping into a transitional groove that almost hinted at a segue into “Echo of a Rose.”
As the jam continued to cook, Anspach pulled a ball that read “Audience Group Hug,” encouraging everyone to hug their neighbor. Not content to segue into a new song just yet, Anspach laid some synth textures overtop of the major-key jam as it built to an incredible peak. The band opted for Ted Tapes cut “Moby” instead, dropping five minutes of Trevor Weekz‘s bass bombs and soaring guitar atop a soft bed of electric piano.
Easing in as the set closer, “Rockdale” was taken at a slow and funky pace that allowed the band to really dig in. The jam immediately switched gears from the bliss-filled improv earlier in the set and dropped into an absolutely swampy groove. Anspach dialed up a filthy Clavinet sound and led the band through extensive “Crazy Train” teasing. The dual drummer attack of Atkind and percussionist Jeff Arevalo laid the perfect foundation for the “Rockdale” jam as Mitarotonda and Anspach began to drive it toward a huge peak. Hitting back into a full-speed peak attack, Goose gave us an absolutely top-shelf version of the song that rivals its 25-minute counterparts from earlier this year while only hitting a shade over 16 minutes itself.
Returning for the encore, Anspach thanked the crowd before pulling two gimmicky balls – Mitarotonda and Arevalo shared a quick kiss thanks to “Rick and Jeff Kiss” and Anspach gave the crowd a brief twerk thanks to “Peter Twerk.”
Closing the show with a rocking “White Lights,” crowd and band alike are primed for liftoff once again tonight as Goose torches the 1STBANK again. A livestream is available via nugs.net. Watch the beginning of Friday’s livestream below:
Setlist (via ElGoose.net)
Set One: Flodown[1], Everything Must Go, Butter Rum, The Old Man’s Boat, Drive, Christmas Must Be Tonight, Same Old Shenanigans
Set Two: Pancakes, Rosewood Heart > Trevor Reads Poetry, Wysteria Lane[2] > Moby, Rockdale[3]
Encore: White Lights
Coach’s Notes:
- [1] Flopener. With River Lullaby tease.
- [2] With “Audience Group Hug” ball.
- [3] With Crazy Train teases.
Coach’s Corner: The second set was decided based on a random selection of balls with fan requests written on them. Christmas Must Be Tonight was played for the first time since December 21, 2019 (177 shows). Trevor Reads Poetry was played for the first time since March 4, 2022 (63 shows). Before the encore, Peter pulled “Jeff and Rick Kiss” and “Peter Twerk” balls.
