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 Post subject: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Tue February 21, 2023 2:39 pm 
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As mentioned in the 2022 album thread, Goose is a band seemingly blowing up as we speak in terms of hitting their stride and exponentially growing their fan base as a live draw. As recently as maybe 18 months ago, this was just some obscure band from Norwalk, CT working the fine print of festival billing. This summer, they are headlining or just below that in a whole host of those festivals. So who are these guys?

Rick Mitarotonda - guitars, vocals
Peter Anspach - keys, guitars, vocals
Trevor Weekz - Bass guitars
Ben Atkind - drums
Jeff Arevalo - percussion

While a few of these guys joined later on, the band principally formed in 2014, and is best known for their live performances, and do engage with extended instrumental jams akin to a jam band, but exist I think in a groove that transcends that space. They draw inspiration from folk rock, reggae, hard rock, funk, and yes jam bands.

So time for a quick journey, but beginning with a band predating them: Great Blue - before Peter Anspach joined Goose, he was in a jam band called Great Blue, who released 3 albums. We start our journey there…


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Tue February 21, 2023 3:52 pm 
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Great Blue - Rewind (2013)

While this band predates and runs a bit into Goose’s time, some of the songs endure to become staples of the Goose shows, and in any event these albums are pretty good. On Rewind, Great Blue largely excels in the first half of the album with songs that might creep up in length, but you can hardly tell. Doc Brown plays off a reggae groove and rhythm and manages to build off that into some interesting places. Banana Jam is instrumental and lunges into rock. 65, the instrumental C-3PO, and the quick Willy round out the highlights. It’s only in the final two tracks, Kansas and Dubzilla, where the band really loses some focus and they sort of needlessly noodle without a payoff. Otherwise this is a solid start.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Tue February 21, 2023 5:40 pm 
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Great Blue - Rewind II (2014)

A few months after their first comes another studio album from Great Blue. This one seems a shade more developed, with a mix of funk and rock - sometimes separate sometimes intermingled. Yeti is a Goose live staple of funk fun, while Crossfaded Mammoths is a rock monster. The Wave might be their best song between the first two albums, growing until a great final payoff. Apostrophe ends this thing on a final funky note. Again another solid outing from these guys.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Wed February 22, 2023 7:23 pm 
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Great Blue - Safety First (2015)

While there are some definite highlights here, I am not sure this album lives up to the first two, primarily because the songs just aren’t as strong. That said, a few takeaways here, predominantly Pancakes, a Goose live favorite. Together Not the Same and Can’t Have Both also have their moments, but this is an otherwise okay album.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Wed February 22, 2023 9:11 pm 
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Goose - Moon Cabin (2016)

With a slightly different lineup for their first album: Chris Enright and Peter Castaldi on guitars and keys, and without Peter Anspach and Jeffery Arevalo, who had yet to join the band), we really see much of what would make this band - Mitarotonda’s varied writing and guitar playing, and a whole ton of range. Indian River is nearly reggae while Rosewood Heart, and Into the Myst are smoky room slow burners. Arcadia is the most Goose song here and it is damn good. Lead the Way, and Jive I and Jive II show off the jammy side. This is a grab bag of Goose sounds, all pretty excellent though not what they would soon become just yet.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Fri February 24, 2023 4:51 am 
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Great Blue (EP) (2017)

Thus far, the swan song for this band, which is largely a succession of mostly instrumental takes off a singular riff. It’s not bad, the riff itself is great, but one listen would probably do. They do manage to pull off a wide range of sounds played off the riff, so take that for what it’s worth. By no means essential to this journey other than to note that henceforth, Peter Anspach joins Goose, and he and Rick Mitarotonda then play off each other in magical ways - Mitarotonda with a smooth as softened butter voice, massive guitar opuses, and serious introverted stage persona juxtaposed with a goofy, super ‘stached, extroverted guy surrounded on nearly all sides by keys.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Sat February 25, 2023 6:25 pm 
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Goose - Alive and Well (Fall tour 2019)

This is a compilation live album from Goose that was recorded through the late summer/early fall of 2019. Here, we finally get a full helping of what Goose is all about. Comprised of a nearly perfect starter set of Goose tunes to get you started, full of epic band freakouts, lengthy jams, and a ton of energy, this is a great way to be introduced to this band (though they are without their percussionist. Arcadia, Hot Tea, All I Need, a phenomenal Wysteria Lane, Yeti, and Tumble are all killer.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Mon February 27, 2023 12:43 pm 
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Goose - Buffalo, NY 11/16/2019

This has the feel of a small bar/club show. Anspach does quite a bit of interacting with the small crowd, and there’s a palatable energy to this show that’s intense but also a bit freewheeling. The jam heavy first set is 4 songs and over an hour, while the second set sees the band bust into crazy covers off live mainstays. Really a phenomenal show even if not the longest we’ll cover.

Set One: Atlas, Arcadia, Indian River, Drive

Set Two: Creatures > Shama Lama Ding Dong, Slow Ready, Hot Tea > Take On Me > Buffalo Jam

Encore: Short People > Hot Tea (reprise)


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Tue February 28, 2023 2:36 pm 
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Goose - Swanzey, NH 10/3/2020

In the height of the pandemic, and already a relic of that time, is a show at the drive-in. This show features a very different set of songs from the last one, but no less jaw dropping from a playing perspective. In particular, Tumble, Honeybee, Madhuvan, and All I Need are my favorites here - plus there’s a Tom Waits cover (done twice since they forgot a verse), as well as a Band cover. Another excellent show.

Set One: Yeti, Look Out Cleveland (The Band), Honeybee, Jive I, Madhuvan, 726

Set Two: Tumble, Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (Tom Waits), All I Need, Echo of a Rose, Flodown

Encore: Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (Tom Waits), Jive Lee


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Wed March 01, 2023 12:47 pm 
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Goose - Night Lights EP (2020)

The first released studio recording since 2016, Goose jump in recording tracks that they had been working out live. All I Need here is a bit sped up and funked out. Butter Rum is pretty fantastic and sort of melds reggae and funk. Wysteria Lane is fantastic. And a first of many, Goose takes a shot at recording the Great Blue song Yeti - they would re-record quite a few of even their own tunes on subsequent releases, perhaps not satisfied by the studio cut they had, or perhaps looking at a song in a new way or even returning it to its live form. Nonetheless, this is a good EP from them.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Thu March 02, 2023 12:17 pm 
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Goose - Bingo Tour (2020)

Another live release from the heart of the pandemic. Swanzey was at the drive in, so naturally this one is from their virtual tour in the summer of 2020. To make it a bit more interesting, the band called this the Bingo Tour, where a bingo machine would dictate various aspects of their set in front of crew, friends, and folks at home who had access to Bingo cards to follow along. They could draw anything from the machine from song titles, cover songs, or specific instructions like 20+ minute jam or no drums that would alter the manner with which they had to play the song they were in. Of course, a gimmick like this only works if they are bringing their best, which is evident in the very jam heavy set of tunes. Drive clearly got the 20 minute jam ball, no drums is reflected on this as well, and when the drums kick in back in the end you can really feel the difference. Fish in the Sea, All I Need, Hot Tea, and Creatures are all outstanding performances here.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Thu March 02, 2023 12:21 pm 
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liebzz wrote:
To make it a bit more interesting, the band called this the Bingo Tour, where a bingo machine would dictate various aspects of their set in front of crew, friends, and folks at home who had access to Bingo cards to follow along. They could draw anything from the machine from song titles, cover songs, or specific instructions like 20+ minute jam or no drums that would alter the manner with which they had to play the song they were in.

This is really cool. Sounds like it would be fun and interactive.

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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Thu March 02, 2023 12:28 pm 
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wease wrote:
liebzz wrote:
To make it a bit more interesting, the band called this the Bingo Tour, where a bingo machine would dictate various aspects of their set in front of crew, friends, and folks at home who had access to Bingo cards to follow along. They could draw anything from the machine from song titles, cover songs, or specific instructions like 20+ minute jam or no drums that would alter the manner with which they had to play the song they were in.

This is really cool. Sounds like it would be fun and interactive.


Yeah I think that was their idea when they were looking for reasons for people to watch more than a single night. Preserving the sense that anything could happen, which often is part of the thrill of seeing live music.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Thu March 02, 2023 4:01 pm 
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Goose - Ted Tapes 2021 (2021)

This release is an instrumental compilation released by the band of largely jam sessions in either soundchecks or in the studio in rough form. The quality of the recordings is just as good as a studio release, so there is no struggle when it comes to the audio quality. Each session is named and then broken into digestible chunks (I.e. Moon I through Moon IV), but really each song name is a larger jam that seems fully improvised. Typically, these almost how the sausages are made releases are not my thing - I want the final product alone. However, I was shockingly in tune and in attention for this despite its long run time (an hour and a half of instrumental jamming is a lot). Dragonfly, Camino, and Forest are all wonderful jams that build and break with a fair amount of range even staying within their signatures. Moon is really transportive, hypnotic and mellow, until it is gradually not mellow anymore. This sort of stuff you may only listen to once or a handful of times, but it has a way of being familiar and interesting without falling into the abyss, a great compliment for an album of instrumental takes all done on the fly.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Thu March 02, 2023 11:04 pm 
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Goose - Shenanigans Nite Club (2021)

After 5 years and all those releases later, we come upon the second full length studio album from Goose. This one sounds much better than the first for sure, and rather than simply presented as a collection of songs to chew on, this one has a very cohesive feel. They may jump between jam rock, funk, indie rock, jazz, bluegrass, and possibly more, but each song intentionally transitions into the next blurring the lines. Even so, the songs are pretty fantastic, and the jams and grooves always engaging. So Ready morphs from the live Slow Ready from a slow jam to a funked up dance, Madhuvan is fantastic, (Dawn) is a really strong and moody piece, Spirit of the Dark Horse a swimmy distant track that is really well executed in the studio, Labyrinth probably the closest they get to instrumental Phish…but it all works and works together.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Fri March 03, 2023 9:57 am 
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ElephantProof- EP EP

Side projects! This one from drummer Ben Atkind and former keyboardist Chris Enwright - largely instrumental but jumps around genres like hotcakes. They pack in hip hop, jazz, EDM, rock, you name it in 30 minutes of action packed madness, most of it very good despite the unpredictable feel of this EP. This band is really solid, even if you only listen once, their range is just impressive. I couldn’t say it’s essential but it is enjoyable if you can hack the mostly instrumental nature of this.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Fri March 03, 2023 12:22 pm 
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Vasudo - Call It Louis

Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach’s reggae outfit. These are I think largely what you’d expect - jam dudes jammin’ out on that wavelength. Mitarotonda has his moments but is much more laid back here, and his voice has a weird quality that maybe isn’t necessary for this but okay. The second half of this is where it gets really good with High and Low, Pachamama and the jammed out Let’s Just Call It Louis. This is a nice way to break up the journey.


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Sat March 04, 2023 2:05 pm 
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Goose - Denver, CO 11/21/2021

Back to the real meat and potatoes of this journey, that being the exceptional live performances from Goose. This particular show is really fantastic, with the band starting a bit light but really digging in on some mainstay Goose tracks and a couple of covers. From what is the best All I Need so far, into a quick Indian River, a spacey Wysteria Lane, and finishing with Rockdale, the first set was really fantastic. Then it was dwarfed by an even better second set. Slow Ready here is pretty spectacular moving from a top 40ish slow jam into a hypnotic EDM-like jam, and then into Mitarotonda going pretty nuts over top of it. It also is a good showcase for their sporadic use of vocal distortion even though Mitarotonda ‘s voice is pretty good and smooth. The Old Man’s Boat is a slower tune that kind of gives a breather from the spacey tunes, which come right back with Creatures. Then from Tumble, where Mitarotonda goes ballistic in the jam through the end it is all fire. The massive covers of Nights in White Satin and Magic Carpet Ride are bigger flexes than even the prior covers we saw on this journey. Loved this show.

Set One: Earthing or Alien, Echo of a Rose, All I Need, Indian River, Wysteria Lane, Rockdale

Set Two: Slow Ready, The Old Man’s Boat, Creatures, Tumble, Nights in White Satin, White Lights

Encore: Magic Carpet Ride > Jive Lee Jam > Magic Carpet Ride


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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Sat March 04, 2023 2:21 pm 
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They remind me of Umphreys McGee.

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 Post subject: Re: Goose the Band; Goose the Journey
PostPosted: Sat March 04, 2023 2:26 pm 
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wease wrote:
They remind me of Umphreys McGee.

Certainly there’s a thread there. I like both bands really but Goose I like way better.

One thing I do appreciate about this band is that they don’t feel as compelled as most other bands that play in this genre to return to a final refrain of the song. They are comfortable accepting that the place the music is in 10-15 mins later is not necessarily where it started - you don’t have to go back every time…or they just forget what they are playing.


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