One of the big stories of the year in the jamband world has been Connecticut’s Goose. Simply put, the band is on a tear and are drawing sold-out crowds across the country. Is the hype justified? Well, when they announced that they were going to do a December run in Colorado, I decided I had to find out and what better way than to combine a little skiing with a show in the intimate confines of Steamboat’s Old Town Pub.
Despite some ice, flat light, and limited trails to choose from, we had a decent early season day on the mountain and got ourselves ready to head into town. We showed up at the OTP on the early side but as showtime drew close, there was a buzz in the room that surely let the band know that this Saturday night crowd was ready for a party.
When Goose hit the stage at about 10:40, the crowd broke into a chorus of Happy Birthday for multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach and then the band launched into “Flodown” which immediately showcased the band’s undeniable talent as guitarist Rick Mitarotonda’s fingers danced on his fretboard. The feel good vibes continued with the slinky “Doc Brown” and they kept the party going when they busted out the first cover of the evening with the Creedence gem “Green River.” I loved it when I heard them do this on a recording so it was a treat to catch it live and Mitarotonda’s voice really suits the song. The band latched onto the riff and jammed it out a bit before moving on to the ethereal and vaguely Police influenced “Wysteria Lane.”
I kicked myself for heading to the bar just as they slid into Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out.” I had just been talking about their cover of this one earlier in the day with my buddy so was obviously thrilled they chose to drop it into the set and they had the whole crowd singing along like some kind of crazy Karaoke party. The set came to a fiery end with a massive “All I Need” that allowed the boys to really stretch out and settle into some tight jamming that kept the peaks coming.
When the band came back out after set break, it was their turn to sing Happy Birthday to their friend and then Anspach took a turn on lead vocals for “Elizabeth.” The next song really took me by surprise when the Brazilian stylings of Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada” turned the room into a tropical dance party. I originally fell in love with this song when Sergio Mendes released his collaboration with will.i.am back in 2006 and Goose laid down a very respectable version.
It was then back to original material for “Arcadia” – another song our crew had been talking about earlier in the day – and things got a little funky as the band took control of the crowd and pushed the energy level up a few notches. At this point I was sold and knew that we still had some time left in the set. Goose kept the funk boiling with a tight take on Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” before slipping into “Butter Rum” and reviving the tropical vibes. They brought us home with “White Lights” and while the clock was pushing 2am, and the room had thinned out a bit, there was a still a healthy crowd when they returned from the encore break to deliver one of my favorite tunes by The Band (via Marvin Gaye) “Don’t Do It.” It was a great end to a very solid show by a band that is deserving of all the praise they have been getting.
Goose – Old Town Pub, Steamboat, CO – 12-7-2019
Set One: Flodown, Doc Brown, Green River, Wysteria Lane, Moving Out, All I Need
Set Two: Elizabeth > Mas Que Nada, Arcadia, I Wish > Butter Rum, White Lights
Encore: Don’t Do It
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