On Saturday, November 19, Goose and Trey Anastasio Band concluded their eight-show fall tour of the Northeast. The arena tour began in Portland, ME on November 9th, followed by performances in Lowell, MA, Uncasville, CT (at the Mohegan Sun Casino where Goose played their first arena show in February 2021), Glens Falls, Moon, PA, Fairfax, VA, and Syracuse. Endearingly referred to as “TABoose” over the past few months, the bands co-headlined the tour and sold out each of the nights, with each night of the run consisting of two 90+ minute sets of music opening with Goose and concluding the night with TAB, with various sit-ins throughout each of the bands’ performances.
Throughout the tour, both Peter Anspatch from Goose and Anastasio have expressed to the audience how grateful they were for the fall run and how much fun they have been having working, rehearsing, and chatting while on tour. Palpably so, fans have stated how much they’ve seen the tour has rubbed off on both the young indie-groove band and the veterans of the jam band scene.
Just after 7:30pm sharp, Goose took the stage, greeted with booming applause. The Connecticut-based five-piece began their set with “Flodown.” Referred to by fans as the “Flopener,” the jam’s introductory train-beat from drummer, Ben Atkind kicked the crowd into a barn dance style frenzy while guitarist, Rick Mitarotonda and keyboardist Anspach being to play around with space and chaos to pump the room’s energy to 11. As Goose’s skill and performance have evolved over the years, their older songs continue to grow and expand in composition. An example of this can be seen in the beginning of the “Flowdown” from the 2021 album, Shenanigans Nite Club. However the twisty angelic tones of the band’s 2022 Dripfield album could be heard in this performance tonight.
Goose continued the set with “Pancakes,” whose mysterious drum-beat and feedback are combined with fun audience participation clapping along with Peter Anspach. The punchy jam originating from Peter’s previous band, Great Blue, was filled with wailing overdrive from Rick while Anspach exercised his piano and organ playing skills. Rumblings from bassist Trevor Weekz provided subtle foreshadowing to the evil peaks and valleys at the end of the jam until the band’s speedy timing and turnaround at the end of the song.
To cool down the hot and bothered audience from the “Pancakes” jam, Goose provided a breezy rendition of their song “Turned Clouds,” a first time play on the tour. While the song’s back-end jam always provides fun vibes, the crowd was met with an extra flair from Trevor’s slap bass which built up intense tension and release to send the “Turned Clouds” sky high.
Next, the crowd at Santander Arena saw “Dripfield,” summoned by the usual entrancing synth from Peter, digital drumbeat kicked in by percussionist Jeff Arevalo, and mystifying beams of purple and green light from Andrew Goedde. The song’s eight-note trade-off between Rick and Peter on guitar pumped the energy through the crowd until the toms from Ben’s kit kicked in and sent the drip into an extremely primal sounding jam. Rick channeled the energy through his hollow body PRS sending commanding growls over the controlled chaos composed by the Connecticut quintet.
After this stunning performance, Peter took a moment to thank the fans, the 77-person crew working to get everything in place for the shows, and of course Trey for all the fun they have been having on the tour. With that, Peter welcomed Trey on to the stage and the group began the Vasudo original, “Rockdale.” Rick and Trey harmonized the opening notes of “Rockdale” in a style reminiscent of the Allman Brothers style. As the main jam began to take form both Rick and Trey dove into low frequency distortions creating a comfortable valley for the two to later shoot off. Rick began to wail as Trey filled the space with expression before the two wove through each other’s soloing in complimentary form. The rest of the band held down intense space and rhythm with Trevor Weeks holding it down on bass, Jeff and Ben shredding high hats and snares, and Anspach on organ.
With the energy up, the honking and hollering fans were then treated to a bustout of “Elmeg the Wise,” which this author would describe as peak Goose. The enchanting hymn, written by Mitarotonda, describes a being on a path searching for wisdom and inspiration. As the song punched into the jam, the band’s enchantment of the crowd quickly lit up.
To cap off the set, the band welcomed the TAB horns players, James Casey, Natalie Cressman, and Jennifer Hartswick to the stage shortly before Rick tore into the opening notes to the fan favorite, “Hot Tea.” In its studio debut on Dripfield, the classic jam was paired with horns for the first time. With seasoned trumpet, trombone, and saxophone players on stage, the crowd was in for a raging tea party and received nothing short of it.
Goose Setlist:: Flodown[1], Pancakes, Turned Clouds, Dripfield, Rockdale[2], Elmeg The Wise[2], Hot Tea[3][1] Flopener.
[2] With Trey Anastasio on guitar.
[3] With Trey Anastasio on guitar, James Casey on saxophone, Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet, and Natalie Cressman on trombone.
The Trey Anastasio Band graced the stage for the final time of the tour and was greeted by the sold out crowd with eruptions of warm applause and cheers. The love and reception of Trey in the arena felt like an entire crowd welcoming their rock star father to melt faces.
The set began with “Push on Til the Day,” whose bouncy rhythm kept Trey hopping and bopping around the quick and concise composition. Things cooled things down with “Love is What We Are,” a fun reggae half-time beat was adorably paired with percussionist Cyro Baptista playing a small bow and arrow to appear as a bearded, can-jingling Cupid.
To fire things up again the band erupted into “Mozambique” with a jazzy salsa style that kept the crowd moving as Trey ran back and forth across the stage. “Cayman Review” came next followed by an incredibly funky “Camel Walk.” Bassist Dezron Douglas kept everything locked in place as keyboardist Ray Paczkowski revved up his organ. Trey took this as a queue to glide through a solo which was met at the end with a palpably strong call and response jam between saxophonist James Casey and the rest of the band.
“Twist” had a fun jam paired with some high kicks and “woo’s” from Trey, who showed off a fair amount of his looping skills that he has grown partial to over the last couple of years. “No Man in No Man’s Land” kept the night moving with tight and concise horns and on-the-dime turnarounds. The jam concluded with a drum and space style solo from Cyro and drummer Russ Lawton.
“Life Beyond a Dream” captivated the crowd next with harmonic crescendos from the horn/vocal section. “Dark and Down” was a highlight of the TAB set with its intense vibe and composition. Trey’s soulful solo raised the hearts of the crowd and left the room speechless before its eruption of applause.
While waiting for Mitarotonda and Anspach to join the stage on guitar and keys, Cyro treated the crowd to a spacey jam consisting of Vargan playing and voice modulated poetry. Rick and Peter sat in for “Ghost” where the jam sent the crowd once again into overdrive. While waiting for Trey’s fried amp to be fixed, Peter shared some words that he heard from Trey at one of his first Phish shows. Anspach recounted that Trey asked the crowd, “Hey, any youngsters out there? This is a pretty good job!” With that Peter encouraged the young people of the crowd to pursue music if their passions lie there.
“Hey Stranger” and “Everything’s Right” brought joy and whimsy to the crowd as the night neared the end. For the last song of the set, the rest of Goose rejoined the stage for “First Tube,” where Dezron and Trevor wove through heavy basslines together and brought even more energy. A disco ball at the top of the stage canopy shone throughout the arena while the rhythm section turned around and played to the crowd behind the stage.
Both bands came to the stage for the encore and ripped into a beloved slow version of the Phish jam, “Llama,” whose final lyric, ‘Taboot’ was appropriately changed to ‘Taboose’ for the night. The slow and melodic “Show of Life” came next and as Trey ended the song and thanked all the band members and crew, Trey said, “We don’t want the party to end. So I say keep the fuckin’ party going!” With this, the group punched into “Party Time” which ended with a New Orleans-Style parade walk off guided by Cyro’s whistle and the TAB horns.
Trey will be back with Phish for their NYE run at Madison Square Garden over December 28-31. Goose is scheduled to play two nights at 1stBank Arena in Broomfield, CO for two nights of their Annual Goosemas show on December 16-17, with other scheduled Goose events at the Fox Theater in Boulder on December 18, two nights of New Years Eve at the Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, and five nights at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester from March 8-12.
Trey Anastasio Band Setlist: Push On ‘Til the Day, Love Is What We Are, Mozambique, Cayman Review, Camel Walk, Twist, No Men In No Man’s Land, A Life Beyond The Dream, …And Flew Away, Dark and Down, Ghost [1], Hey Stranger [1], Everything’s Right[1], First Tube [2]
Encore: Llama [3], Show of Life [4], Party Time [5]
[1] Rick Mitarotonda on guitar and Peter Anspach on keys.
[2] Rick Mitarotonda on guitar, Peter Anspach on keys, Trevor Weekz on bass, and Jeff Arevalo and Ben Atkind on percussion.
[3] Rick Mitarotonda on guitar, Peter Anspach on keys, and Jeff Arevalo, Ben Atkind, and Trevor Weekz on percussion; performed in an alternate arrangement. Final lyric changed to “Taboose.”
[4] Rick Mitarotonda on guitar, Peter Anspach on keys, and Jeff Arevalo, Ben Atkind, and Trevor Weekz on percussion.
[5] Rick Mitarotonda on guitar, Peter Anspach on keys and vocals, and Jeff Arevalo, Ben Atkind, and Trevor Weekz on percussion. Ended with the horns and everyone else on percussion playing as everyone walked off stage.
Comments are closed.