I had never seen Goose at SPAC until this past weekend.
Stars just didn’t align yet – their first show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center was my wedding day (Happy Anniversary babe!) and the next time I was away at a friend’s wedding, so with two shows a week after summer vacation started for me, it seemed inevitable that the third SPAC time was the charm.
When the shows were announced, two of my favorite bands – moe. and Disco Biscuits – were slated for opening sets, and that admittedly felt weird for a second, these veteran jam bands opening up for the upstart Goose. Hopes rose that the fanbases would mesh a bit and the Goose fans, who, in more cases than not are newer to the jam scene, would discover these two bands and find their way towards the pantheon of jam music, an inverted journey towards the destination.
Still, it was SPAC, and Goose was playing where the Grateful Dead packed 40,000 in 40 years ago, where Phish plays three sold out nights regularly, and where I saw Huey Lewis and the News twice between 1989 and 1991. That same SPAC? Nah, can’t be.
Was this the same band who, from 2016-2018 had low attendance at shows I attended, even in their home state of Connecticut? There was a Goose show in Greenfield, MA in 2018 that had a group of us traveling there but maybe 5 people were there besides us. I didn’t think the band’s hype back then met the results, even though the talent was undeniably there. And it still is, even with a lineup change or three, which is remarkable because changing just one member can alter a band’s sound, sometimes for the better, but not always. The band saw those hiccups through and stuck to the plan, arriving at SPAC for the first time just 5 years later. If you told me back then they would go from playing to a 100 cap. room to a 20,000 seat amphitheater in just 5 years, I would have laughed.
Finally, just before 2020 they got hot, with one of the more impressive Goosemas shows to date at Wall Street Music Hall in their hometown of Norwalk, then mastered Jam Band Covid™ with Bingo tour, an idea on the shelf that took off at the perfect time of remote and socially distanced shows.
Then somewhere from 2021-2022 the band took off and the trajectory has been nothing but onward and upward. While I still saw them at Goosemas, at Red Rocks, and here and there, I hadn’t seen them in a couple years, so the SPAC experience brought a flurry of memories and an emotion or two along with them.
And for the first time on Friday, I saw the Disco Biscuits hit the stage promptly at 6pm, and outside of daytime Camp Bisco sets, in the daylight. Already, Goose was scoring points for these opening sets. Biscuits played a solid mix of old and new songs, their first show on the SPAC stage since 2001. “Twisted in the Road” > ”Story of the World” was as good an intro to early arriving Goose fans as they could have delivered, and they paired this well with a deeper cut (“Three Wishes”) a classic (“I-Man”) and a wildcard closer in “Sabre Dance.” Mission accomplished.
During their respective opening sets, Al from moe. and Marc from Disco Biscuits each offered praise for playing a venue they each had seen numerous shows at growing up, resonating with an audience who was seeing the culmination of years of touring on stage.
With moe. starting early on Saturday, the vibe felt like a moe.down set, beers flowing as friends gathered to catch up, enjoy moe. and celebrate the holiday weekend with smiles and hugs galore. After an opening “Yellow Tigers”, the inevitable “Captain America” followed, as did newer songs “Three Eyed Serpent” and “Ups and Down.” The final three songs hit the spot with “Okayalright,” “Happy Hour Hero” with Peter and Rob joining in, and a proper “Rebubula” to close.
And of course there were four sets of Goose over the weekend, soaked in from the pavilion, lawn and balcony, or wandering the SPAC grounds. Fans in all sections gleeful, festive and excited for everything Goose sent their way, some experiencing Goose as curious onlookers, others as skeptics, and plenty more indifferent but clearly enjoying themselves.
The first night was marked by an extra long first set (1:45) that helped time a ‘Shelter in Place’ concurrent to a storm during setbreak, a smart move if it was intentional. Shortening the second set made the show feel off balance time-wise (1:12) but logistics aside, the show was the fresher of the two nights. There were a few songs from new album Big Modern (“POP”, “MEDIA”) in the first set, highlighted by a surprising cover of Bryne & Eno’s “Strange Overtones;” Goose was always good for a random cover (“The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show” and “Shama Lama Ding Dong”) but this one is deserving of being in rotation, if it isn’t already.
The encore of “So Ready” with Marc Brownstein on bass and DJ Marb Menthols on turntables gave the audience a taste of “Goontz,” as close to the edge of EDM as Goose has ventured, and quite the way to end a show sans encore.
Jams of the night were found in “Thatch” and “So Ready,” quality bookends to the second set, with new album songs in between. And maybe it was within some of those jams (and some on Saturday) where I realized how they were developing and appealing; in some songs (not all) a Phish jam would develop as a bridge towards Goose’s jam. Not a Phish-esque jam that is in the same ballpark, a Phish jam that is now batting (Number 24, Mike’s Song, Number 24). This Phish sound wasn’t as present at shows I’d seen in the past, as it was noticeable multiple times during the two nights. I don’t see Goose as the next Phish, or next anything really – they are their own entity – but if that Phish jam sound wasn’t ever-present or noticeable in the past, should it be now as they flourish with their own fan base?
Saturday night had one unique aspect to the show before it began – the stageplot was roughly 20 feet back from the monitors, farther than Friday night, creating an odd aesthetic of empty space, at least when viewed from the balcony, where we wondered if dancers or a marching band would come out to fill the space. But where moe.’s stage was set up would remain barren during the show, a sizable gap between band and audience.
The first set was marked by an outstanding “Seekers on the Ridge pt I” > “Seekers on the Ridge pt II,” a slower “All I Need,” the only Big Modern song of the night, “Savenger” and a hefty “Animal” to close the set. Those last two songs combined for a total of 40 minutes and were among the highlights of the night, but once again I found myself listening intently, like this jam was familiar, and once again, a Phish jam was apparent. At one point of “Savenger”, a “Reba” bliss jam, and not long after in “Animal,” a “Gotta Jibboo” jam – each of which unfolded into a jam of Goose’s own. There was even a touch of the intro to Disco Biscuits’ “Mirrors” at yet another point. These clearly defined jams are becoming part of the band’s sound, but should they be? I’m not sure they need to have that Phish reference point anymore, 10 years in as a band.
A 24-minute “Dripfield” with a melodic and lengthy intro started the final set of the tour, an excellent journey for the audience, one that was cut short with a supposed fan-favorite, “Amongster” by Poliça, but as a trade-off let some of that “Dripfield” energy dissipate. No matter; an 18-minute “Tumble” scratched the jam itch once again, driving the set home ahead of a cover of disco classic “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” although maybe not the disco song for Goose to be covering – the dynamic vocals of the chorus are definitely in need of a guest singer to drive this one home.
Those with an eagle eye noticed Al Schnier’s guitar being brought out at setbreak, so just as the night before, the crowd could expect a sit-in. With the encore upon us, Al arrived with Goose, singing vocals on the lone nod to the day’s festivities, “U.S. Blues.” With drummer Cotter Ellis now clad as the cartoonish Uncle Sam from Grateful Dead lore, complete with oversized American flag hat, a most-American day was celebrated from the catalog of the most American band.
The band and organization have found a way to invest Goose’s success heavily in lighting (with Andrew Goedde’s stock rising each show), video, and marketing of the band, creating a juggernaut that keeps feeding their future, not their coffers. The payoff could be seen across the lawn and pavilion of SPAC at the final two shows of their tour. All I need is to see another show or two and I’ll be more sold on Goose.
Goose – July 3, 2026 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Set 1: Echo of a Rose[1], Dustin Hoffman, Strange Overtones[2], POP, Borne -> MEDIA, Jed Stone, The Empress Of Organos
Set 2: Thatch[3] -> Good2B, Good Times // End Times > (((postplace))), So Ready[4]
Coach’s Notes:
[1] Fast version.
[2] David Byrne & Brian Eno.
[3] Unfinished.
[4] With Marc Brownstein on bass and DJ Marb Menthols on turntables.
Goose – July 4, 2026 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Set 1: Same Old Shenanigans, Your Direction, Seekers on the Ridge pt I > Seekers on the Ridge pt II, All I Need[1], Savenger, Animal
Set 2: Dripfield[2] > Amongster[3], Tumble[2] > Don’t Leave Me This Way[4]
Encore: U.S. Blues[5]
Coach’s Notes:
[1] Slow, melodic version.
[2] Unfinished.
[3] Polica.
[4] Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.
[5] Grateful Dead. With Al Schnier on guitar and vocals.
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