Thoughts on Goose, Growing Up, and Haters
Technically a Goose Recap from 6/24/23
I don’t have to describe Connecticut-based band Goose as “up-and-coming” anymore, because they up and got here. The currently reigning kings of polarizing the jam scene came to Columbus in late June, and I’m just now writing about them. What can I say? Things get busy.
I’m mostly exaggerating Goose’s polarizing effect on actual fans of jam music. The dark recesses of the internet would have you believe there’s an epic battle between their sworn enemies and their superfans—I think it’s mostly just a few loud people talking shit online because they have too much time and hating is now a hobby. The truth that I saw with my own eyes is that Goose filled a 5,000+ amphitheater with partying hippies on a Tuesday in a growing midwestern city, in between headlining two top-notch midwestern festivals over consecutive weekends. There are only a few jam bands that can currently do that, and their names rhyme with Smilly Smings and Smish. Fight me in the comments.
I have a soft spot for this band because I’m a few degrees separated from them and have been following with interest for a good while—a music festival that I used to help organize and promote booked them when all of us were basically children, and it has been amazing to watch them climb the festival bills over the past (almost) ten years. I’ve grown, they’ve grown, and we apparently all still like guitar solos. Imagine that.
Time for the music—buckle up, haters! The boys started with “Switchin’”, a Wes Montgomery cover that allowed them to stretch out in a nice groove and build a solid instrumental peak at the outset. “Honeybee” came next, featuring the band’s manager, Coach, on rainstick. Seeing the band have fun together with their longtime friend and behind-the-scenes fearless leader was fun in the moment, but I have to say it’s a little distracting when listening to the show after the fact. The middle of the set featured a few Jives with a “Time To Flee” sandwiched in there, but the end of the set is where Grandma hides the nutmeg—“Hungersite” jammed into the first “Rosalee McFall” since 2019 was a beautiful way to send us into set break.
If you only listen to one piece of music from this show, make it the “Arcadia” from set two. It was extremely powerful in the moment. At some point during the Arcadia, I realized that nobody around me was talking and everyone was listening to the music, and had been for most of the show. This type of atmosphere is sometimes difficult to find at large jam band shows, but almost everyone around me was tuned in, stoked, and genuinely listening to Rick Mitarotonda absolutely rip. The distinct lack of chomping was really nice, and continued throughout the second set, which featured nice extended takes on “Rosewood Heart”, “Dripfield”, and “Slow Ready.” The chemistry between Rick and Peter was great as always, and Jeff kept busy playing with lots of new electronic toys—once these bass bombs, claps, and various percussive samples settle into the flow of the band, they’ll be a terrific addition to the Goose sound. The band came back for an encore with “Tumble”, one of my favorite tunes.
Goose’s rising popularity and crossover appeal is really good for the jam scene at large. Here’s a young band full of great players bringing a lot of attention and new folks to jam shows! You don’t have to be too cool for it. I hope that as more people become exposed to this music, they’ll find their way to the other weird and wonderful bands that are part of this world—Dogs In A Pile, Dopapod, lespecial, Spafford, and Cool Cool Cool, to name just a few. It’s all good stuff, and I’m going to keep enjoying it. Until next time.