by Nate Casey
Goose paid a visit to the Moody Center in Austin last month as part of their Spring Tour. Since the release of their debut album Moon Cabin ten years ago, they have released four studio albums and a whopping sixteen live albums. The band’s current lineup includes guitarist and frontman Rick Mitarotonda, keyboardist and guitarist Peter Anspach, bassist Trevor Weeks, and drummer Cotter Ellis. The band began in 2012 when Mitarotonda and former drummer Ben Atkind met at the Berklee College of Music–schooling comes through in their band’s virtuosic style that blends Americana influences from The Grateful Dead and Phish with jazz, funk, and electronic elements.
As the audience packed into the Moody Center, a low sound (that I at first thought was booing) crescendoed into the audience chanting “Goooooose” in unison until the psychedelic odyssey began.
Goose opened with “Feel It Now” and a kaleidoscopic light show that felt like a NASA launch. Mitarotonda and Anspach traded extended improvisational portions for every song performed–taking the audience back and forth on a musical tightrope. The light show and constantly shifting background visuals helped maintain the hallucinogenic vibe. A highlight for me was an unexpected cover of “I Will Die 4 U” with solos that one might argue Prince himself would appreciate.
You never know what you’ll get at a Goose show. Though the setlist changed with each show, every album got its due. They even played a cut from their upcoming sixth studio album Big Modern. If you are someone who pines for ten-minute solos or the good old days when artists were “real” musicians, Goose is the band for you.
Check out footage from the concert here: