Goose brings their energized set to Perry New York with a breath of fresh air!
I had the distinct pleasure of tailgating at a Goose concert this week at the infamous Silver Lake Drive-in located in the backwoods of Perry NY! I had been there several times when my children were younger and we would always make a full night of pizza, mini golf, arcade games and of course the double features at least once a summer. Well, this was nothing like watching a movie with my kids! We had our parking space, plus the full adjacent parking space to put out food, drinks, table, oriental carpets, bean bag chairs... Not your ordinary concert experience. Covid forced us to either not have live music or to figure out a way to do it differently, and this was an amazing way of handling it. While we kicked back in our "concert nest" enjoying the cascading jam session with what felt like the freedom of your own backyard, it dawned on us that this may very well be a one-time experience seeing as more vaccines are being distributed, and crowd restrictions are easing up. Hopefully, this might be one of the few takeaways that we'll keep after this whole covid mess is behind us.
Regardless of the venue, or how the concert experience played out, this band absolutely tore the lid off of it! Their ability to control the dynamics and energy of their set was far beyond their years. Taking crescendos from deep in the basement and blasting them right through the ceiling rafters. They seemed to have a connection with the crowd that at times had the kind of hypnotic power one might find at a dead show, with the skillful phrasing and musicianship of the Dave Mathews band, (without sounding like either). Goose's FOH engineer was Sam Bardani, a gentleman, a seasoned pro, and clearly an asset to this band provided us with a crystal clear, fully submersive mix from the first strike of a chord to when the house lights came up. You're definitely going to want to earmark these guys if you haven't yet and just watch where these guys go... It's not every day you get to stumble upon the genuine article, and this band is just that.
By Will Young.
Goose—rick mitarotonda [vocals, guitar], peter anspach [vocals, keys, guitar], trevor weekz [bass], ben atkind [drums], and jeff arevalo [vocals, percussion, drums]—fluidly traverse genres with head-spinning hooks, technical fireworks, and the kind of chemistry only possible among small-town and long-time friends. following 2016’s moon cabin, the norwalk, ct quintet quietly took flight, playing countless shows while slowly and steadily amassing a nationwide following. the end of 2017 saw the band welcome peter anspach on guitar and keyboard - a pivotal moment that solidified the group’s core lineup. months of relentless touring prepared them for a string of milestone festival performances during the summer of 2019, most notably defined by a storied performance at peach fest. the band’s subsequent pro-shot video gained significant traction, highlighting the existing catalog of content compiled over the previous two years. with increased buzz came increased demand - one by one, goose sold out all of the shows on their fall 2019 headlining tour and scheduled last-minute performances at bowery ballroom and music hall of williamsburg in january 2020, which sold out instantly.
Due in part to goose’s penchant for improvisation, the band went on to successfully navigate the myriad challenges presented by the covid-19 pandemic. they produced a series of intimate virtual events, culminating in a universally acclaimed bingo tour - a two-week live streaming event, featuring four full concerts, with setlists determined by the outcome of a live bingo game.
Fall 2020 saw a welcome return to live performance with a slew of sold-out drive-in shows throughout the northeast, midwest, and mid atlantic. propelled by seemingly unstoppable momentum, the band concluded the year with their seventh annual goosemas holiday concert, a live stream from a rooftop in rockefeller center.
Shenanigans nite club, the band’s upcoming 2021 release, is an ode to oft-forgotten vestiges of goose's experience, both personal and collective. while the work stands alone as a concise sonic snapshot of a defining epoch, each track contains whispers of what’s to come.
