Goose rolled into Drive-In Live in Swanzey, NH for the latest stop on their drive-in tour on Saturday. The concert saw the debut performance of a cover of The Band, as well as a double dose of Tom Waits.
This show came as the latest for the rising Connecticut quartet-turned-quintet, who have satiated content-starved audiences with a slew of socially-distanced and drive-in shows throughout the Northeast. This past weekend also saw the band perform at the Higher Ground Drive-In Experience in Essex Junction, VT on Friday ahead of the performance in Swanzey.
Kicking off with “Yeti”, things soon took an unexpected turn with Goose’s debut cover of “Look Out Cleveland” by The Band. Given Goose’s impending performance at Legend Valley in Thornville, OH next Thursday, this cover may have been better suited for the Buckeye State, but it sure kept audiences on their toes.
Next came the relatively-new tune “Honeybee”, which the band debuted at the Goosemas VI celebration on December 21st, 2019 at the Wall Street Theater. After that, “Jive I” led into the first improvisational highlight of the evening with “Madhuvan”. This live cut stretched near the 20-minute mark and was merely a taste of what was to come in the second set. With time for one more, Goose fired up “726” before bringing the curtain down for setbreak.
Upon returning to the stage, the band got right back to it with “Tumble” which once again stretched on into near 20-minute territory. Following that exploratory vehicle, Goose brought fans back to Earth with the conventional “Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis” by Tom Waits. While there were some noticeable flubs in the song, it would not be the last audiences would be hearing of Mr. Waits. Goose then returned to its own catalog and got right back into the swing of things with an extended run through “All I Need”, which begat a run of segues through “Echo Of A Rose” and finally “Flodown” to close out set two.
Upon returning to the stage for an encore, Rick Mitarotonda acknowledged his error in the bridge of “Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis”, so the band opted to take another run through the song, this time sticking the landing. This second take on the song then led into “Jive Lee” to close out the evening.
Scroll down to see a gallery of images from Goose at Drive-In Live in Swanzey, NH courtesy of photographer Charlie Jenkins. Full-show audio of the concert is also available on the Internet Archive thanks to taper J.Cable. For a full list of upcoming Goose performances, head here.
Goose – Drive-In Live – Swanzey, NH – 10/3/20
Setlist: Goose | Drive-In Live | Swanzey, NH | 10/3/20
Set One: Yeti, Look Out Cleveland {1}, Honey Bee {2}, Jive I, Madhuvan, 726
Set Two: Tumble, Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis {3}, All I Need {4} > Echo of a Rose > Flodown
Encore: Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis {3} > Jive Lee
Coach’s Notes:
{1} The Band, FTP
{2} JonL on rainstick
{3} Tom Waits
{4} Slow & melodic version of AIN
