With two tries and three to go on a five-night adventure to The Capitol Theater, Goose ventured into uncharted territory on the band’s first-ever two-night-plus series, promising “Things are gonna get weird.” Even if jimmy fallon was on hand to grab headlines and help the band deliver on that promise, the central theme of all five nights continues to be Goose’s music and live production value.
While night one seemed to be all about deep improvisation and night two was a banger with a higher volume of standard-length songs, night three was a high-energy affair with a thoughtful mix of the two. The first set featured a long list of songs from the band’s new material while, in contrast, the second was highlighted by a nearly 20-minute “Creatures”, not to mention a ridiculous and elusive version of Pierre-Gabrielis “In Your Eyes”.
The debut of “Lead Up” was the second song debut in as many nights and joined the set opener “Animal”, “Everything Must Go”, “Turbulence & The Night Rays” and “Thatch” as five of the seven first- set of tunes that were unveiled last year. “The Whales”, debuted during Bingo Tour in 2020 and included in last year drip field release, was one of the most seasoned entries in the set behind the well-established “Flodown”.
Goose – “Animal” [Pro-Shot] – 03/10/23
After highly successful but standard passages through each of the set’s first six songs, new fan favorite “Thatch” emerged as an emphatic highlight of the first set behind the throbbing bass and pounding drums of the rhythm section of the band (Trevor Weeksbass; Ben Atkind, drums; And Jeffery Arevalodrums/percussion).
Goose – “Lead Up” – 03/10/23
[Video: Marc Komito]
Returning from the break eager to spread his wings and soar, Goose launched into a mind-blowing “Creatures” which also saw the multi-instrumentalist Pierre Anspach testing the limits of his wireless guitar by walking through the crowd as he exited the stage on the left, passed through the dense crowd on the floor in front of the soundboard and returned via the stairs at the top of the stage on the right .
Goose’s improvisational exploration would also lead the band through a brief tease of the Grateful Dead“The Wheel” before the light director Andrew Goode bathed the stage in appropriate light for a 12-minute version of “Red Bird” that felt much longer in the best way.
The story of the pivotal night, however, was neither the band’s improvisational prowess during “Creatures” nor the upcoming shenanigans involving a certain talk show host, but rather the jaw-dropping twist that led guitarist and singer. Rick Mitarotonda and Goose put on “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. Played for only the fifth time and for the first time since the group was joined by Jess Wolfe And Holly Laessig of Lucius Last August, Goose stretched the original 5:23-second track well past the 17-minute mark as it explored explosive new territory that its original creator had certainly never dreamed of before.
Goose – “Creatures” [Pro-Shot] – 03/10/23
Giving fans a chance to settle in with another relatively recent and rare catalog addition that debuted in early 2022 after slipping from It was tornof the repertoire, Goose then played the beautiful and tender “Arise” for only the fifth time before bringing the show back to its energetic roots with a “Hot Tea” evening for the ages that was spurred and stirred through a delicious groove by the bassist Semainez.
Goose – “Hot Tea” – 03/10/23
[Video: Marc Komito]
Recalling that Jimmy Fallon greeted fans earlier from Pierre Shapiro‘s Muppet box, the placement of an extra mic stand on stage hinted that shenanigans were afoot for the encore. Peter Anspach then confirmed the obvious as the band were brought back on stage: “He had us on his show, now he’s here on our show.” Mr. Fallon is an accomplished entertainer and the band and audience were no doubt entertained as the Tonight’s show the host then took lead vocals on a cover of Wilson Picket Passing by Mack Rice“Mustang Sally”.
Goose featuring Jimmy Fallon – “Mustang Sally” (Mack Rice) [Pro-Shot] – 03/10/23
While opinions no doubt vary on every aspect of this performance, every eye in the room was laser-focused on Fallon as he danced and pounded it with reckless abandon. Fans may take themselves pretty seriously, but the band know how to have fun – like everyone else in that room last night – and at the end of the day, not only was it a great end to a high-energy show , but he delivered his hand on the band’s promise that things would get weird.
Three totally different shows with different feels, each their own masterpiece but together more than the sum of their parts, there are now three and two to go as Goose returns on Saturday and Sunday to complete what lies ahead. as a historic Capitol Theater run. Find out how to stream the shows live here. Revisit live for live musicfull coverage of Wednesday and Thursday broadcasts.
[1] FTP.
[2] Peter Gabriel.
[3] Wilson Pickett. With Jimmy Fallon on vocals.