Through just five shows on this first leg of Goose tour, the band has covered a lot of ground. After the weather-plagued two-night run in Frederick, MD and a one-nighter in North Charleston, SC, the Connecticut-bred quintet rolled into Pelham, TN to finish the May stretch at The Caverns Above Ground Amphitheatre with a two-night run.
The weekend run kicked off on Saturday with what proved to be the Peter Anspach show. After the opening “Travelers”, the multi-instrumentalist took up the mantle by leading the band through “Doc Brown” as well as the Great Blue composition “Elizabeth”. Goose then gave a special birthday wish to lighting director Andrew Goedde, who celebrated his 26th birthday by joining the band onstage for an acoustic rendition of Paul Simon‘s “Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard”.
While this marked the first time Goose performed as a whole with Anspach and Rick Mitarotonda on acoustic guitars, what really stole the show was Goedde’s phenomenal whistling. After an acoustic telling of “Turned Clouds”, the band fired up a “Rosewood Heart” that would prove to be one for the history books. Not only did Goose begin the song acoustically and transition flawlessly to electrics, the lengthy jam that ensued also saw the band experiment with type II improvisation as Goose deviated from the established song structure—a theme that would run throughout the weekend. Finally, the set wrapped up with a segue into “Jive I”.
Though roughly half an hour passed between sets one and two, the band picked right back up where it left off with “Jive Lee”, which transitioned into “Jive II”. Goose continued its tradition of no repeats throughout the first leg of tour with “Wysteria Lane” followed by the debut of the instrumental “Moby” from the lastest Ted Tapes release, featuring Earth-rattling bass bombs from Trevor Weekz. Finally, the set wrapped with fan-favorite Vasudo composition “Empress Of Organos” before the band returned for a blissful if low-energy encore of “726”.
While energy was high for the second show on Sunday, dark storm clouds and intermittent showers cast an ominous mood over The Caverns Above Ground Amphitheatre. However, the show began as planned—even a few minutes early—as the band opened with a cover of The Wood Brothers‘ “Atlas”. As storm clouds continued to envelop the darkening skies, the band moved on with an altered Ted version of “Indian River” before debuting a new composition called “Welcome To Delta” as the rain began to come down.
There is a phenomenon that happens to bands while playing outdoors during adverse weather. For many of the better bands, it ignites inspired performances as these musicians play on against the elements and legions of dedicated fans brave the storm in an act of allegiance. Goose is one of those bands, and their fans are one of those bases. During the ensuing “Butter Rum”, the quality of performance began to rise as now bolts of lightning encroached into the distance. Following a weather-truncated “Elmeg The Wise”, the band instructed audiences to take shelter in The Caverns down below as they rode the storm out.
After only a slightly extended set break—during which fans were able to explore the ornate Caverns, which were luckily available as a dry shelter—the show resumed. Of note, Anspach performed the entire second set from under a canopy in the interest of keeping his equipment dry. The added amenity sparked numerous quips and observations by the band throughout the remainder of the performance.
The show picked back up with the long-awaited “Madhuvan” which did not disappoint as a lengthy jam went into “Spirit Of The Dark Horse”, where “Tumble” was teased ahead of a segue back into “Madhuvan”. This “Dark Horse” sandwich with “Madhuvan” bread once again saw Goose experiment with type II jams with impressive results. Things slowed down a bit with the musical peer pressure of “Doobie Song” before the “Tumble” teases came true with a full-fledged version of the song.
While the band did perform “Tumble” on night two of Frederick, this version seemed slightly different and many were quick to dub it a “Slow Tumble”, though the official setlist notes from Jon “Coach” Lombardi made no such demarcation. Following the song, Coach was then brought to the stage for a quick chat with Anspach who asked, “Should we do it?” Only for Goose to cover The Band‘s “Don’t Do It” to close set two.
With no curfew to keep, the band was able to dish out a full-length performance, avoiding the time crunch the band and fans faced in Frederick. Returning to the stage around 11 p.m. CT, Goose dished out a lengthy rendition of Talking Heads‘ “Crosseyed & Painless” before ultimately completing the “Elmeg” that was cut short by rain.
With that, Goose wrapped up the first leg of its summer tour (though it was not yet summer). The band returns to the stage on June 11th with a show at Northlands in Swanzey, NH. Scroll down to see the full annotated setlists as well as photos of Saturday’s show from Keith Griner, a full-show video of Saturday, and a preview of the first set on Sunday.
Goose – The Caverns Above Ground Amphitheatre – Pelham, TN – 5/8/21 – Full-Show Video
[Video: Goose]
Goose – “Atlas” (The Wood Brothers) – Pelham, TN – 5/9/21
Goose – “Elmeg The Wise”, “Mahuvan” > “Spirit Of The Dark Horse” > “Madhuvan” – Pelham, TN – 5/9/21
[Video: Goose]
Setlist: Goose | The Caverns Above Ground Amphitheatre | Pelham, TN | 5/8/21
Set One: Travelers > Doc Brown, Elizabeth, Me & Julio Down By The School Yard {1} {2}, Turned Clouds {1}, Rosewood Heart {1} > Jive I {3}
Set Two: Jive Lee > Jive II, Wysteria Lane > Moby {4}, Empress Of Organos
Encore: 726
Coach’s Notes:
{1} Snakes & Handini on acoustic guitars.
{2} Andrew Goedde whistling; This was phenomenal! He jammed hard with Dini & Kurt
{3} Chank teases from Peter
{4} FTP
Tonight was Goedde’s 26th birthday celebration.
Setlist: Goose | The Caverns Above Ground Amphitheatre | Pelham, TN | 5/9/21
Set 1: Atlas {1}, Indian River {2} > Welcome to Delta {3} > Butter Rum, Elmeg The Wise
Set 2: Madhuvan > Spirit of the Dark Horse {4} > Madhuvan, Doobie Song > Tumble, Don’t Do It {5}
Encore: Crosseyed & Painless {6} > Elmeg The Wise
{1} Wood Brothers
{2} Alternate Ted version
{3} FTP
{4} Tumble Tease
{5} The Band
{6} Talking Heads
