2022/4/22 Goose @ Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
What was originally billed as “Sleeveless In Seattle” became “Soundless In Seattle” as Goose battled technical difficulties in the early goings of their first night at The Paramount Theatre. Having to leave the stage twice while the band and venue figured out the building’s PA issues, the four song first *set* was a bumpy and often painful affair. Goose would return after an uncertain break, however, to rip a nearly two-and-a-half hour ten song second set for the ages highlighted by the longest jam in their history: a monster 45-minute Echo Of A Rose. Here’s how it went down…
The crowd was feeling it early as the band took the stage a few minutes before 8:00 and opened with Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” (LTP 6/15/21; 147-show gap). The party was on, but something was off, even if only imperceptibly at this point. “Animal” followed, a strong version but something still slightly askew. During “Lead Up”, the house PA completely failed (8:16) and the band, listening to themselves in their in-ear monitors, was at first unaware as the PA crackled and died. (Notably as the sound started dying, the New York Rangers had just lost in overtime, providing yours truly with a second simultaneous kick in the balls.)
After seven painful minutes of start-again-stop-again playing, Goose left the stage briefly at 8:23 to get it all figured out before returning to take a mulligan on “Lead Up” at 8:35. (Note: it sounded as intended on the live stream and also the show recording though fans in the room were faced with a different reality.) One of the most promising young tunes in the catalog, this one won’t make any best-of lists to be sure, nor will the “Flodown” that started well but ended in a spiral of dying sound as the band would be forced to again leave the stage at 8:53.
At this point, uncertain of whether they’d be able to fix the problem, Peter sat on the end of the stage to chat with the crowd and the band communicated with fans over social media as doubt crept in and the hour crept on. A PA announcement discussed the possibility of having to reschedule the show for Monday as the room deflated, the wind forcibly taken from their sails. At 9:36, the band finally returned and Peter let the crowd know that they’d been given extra time so “let’s just rip it, but if the sound fails again we’ll have to reschedule for Monday.” Well, rip it they did as they setlist audibled “Echo Of A Rose”, the sound immediately and noticeably better than at any point before as the band settled into 2023’s MVP jam vehicle. It was finally game on in Seattle.
Just eleven minutes in and the first improvisational peak already in the books, the indie-jam quintet locked into its second thematic section behind Rick’s patient build and Peter’s clavinet before locating a funky (dawn)-ish space: it’s always darkest before the (dawn), indeed. Peaks, funk, bliss, the sound was fully dialed now and with the low and constant rattle from Trevor’s 5-string coming up through my feet, the entire lower half of my body was moving uncontrollably with the bass man’s low hum. A turn through evil Goose was next, with an incredibly patient build characterized by dissonance and minor key jams, every note cloaked in latent energy that hinted of the coming release to the building tension.
It is said that there are three parts to a magic trick: the Pledge, the Turn, and the Prestige. After all, making a pigeon disappear is easy, the magic is in bringing it back…the Prestige. Ater poking, prodding, and steamrolling their way through roughly half a dozen thematic sections, Goose made the pigeon reappear as the Seattle Echo neatly found its conclusion 45 minutes later, making instant reparations for the earlier sound gaffes and writing history in real time as Goose’s longest jam to date.
Wind fully restored, the room was again buoyed by a sprightly “Earthling Or Alien?” before a cathartic “Western Sun” ticked and tacked its way to Santo & Jonny’s “Sleepwalk”, already the show’s second 100+ show bustout. For those who may have intuited a little (a lot) of extra emotion in Rick’s guitar leads, the timeless instrumental was played as an homage to his father’s birthday who passed unexpectedly when Rick was just a senior in high school.
Only twelve minutes long, “Thatch” went big and wasted no time at all with a bevy of hard-hitting fuckery. Always reliable jam-vehicle “Arrow” also went deep in its short time, even making a jam sandwich of Bob Seger’s “Hollywood Nights” before returning to the song’s conclusion. Firing on all cylinders, 80’s synth-dance track “Feel It Now” pounded the two-hour set to an emphatic finale.
Fans got all that they paid for and then some as the band returned for a two-song encore, 25 more minutes of glory with the recently common pairing of “726” > “Dripfield”. Long forgotten were the PA issues that plagued the early goings as the crowd was headed for the exits at the midnight hour. Show biz is tough sometimes with unexpected twists and turns, and the crowd was definitely bummed while the show itself was in question, they took it in stride and were ultimately rewarded for their patience and loyalty.
Goose, for their part, showed consummate professionalism and it’s really amazing to think about how they shed what must have been an auspicious mindset to turn in what ended up being a really memorable night for both fans and the band. After all, sometimes the darkness just serves to make the light seem a little brighter. Hopefully Soundless In Seattle is nothing but a distant memory. To be sure, though, Sleeveless In Seattle continues tonight: never miss a (Sleeveless) Sunday Show. (PS: Exactly zero of my shirts have sleeves. Actually.)
Personally speaking, I couldn’t possibly ask for anything more of my 50th Goose show. Thinking back to my first show on 10/31/19, it’s really mind blowing to think about the great number of friends I’ve made and shared these experiences with. This one for example, was spent with friends I made at that very first show whom I’ve kept in touch with but haven’t seen since as they live in Alaska and I in New Jersey. There are countless such connections and I won’t bore you with all of them, but simply put, wherever Goose is feels like home and I’m eternally grateful for both this band and its amazing community of fans. I hope to see you at one of the next 50!
Set 1: Danger Zone[1], Animal, Lead Up[2], Lead Up, Flodown
Set 2: Echo of a Rose[3], Earthling or Alien?, A Western Sun > Sleepwalk[4], Thatch, Arrow -> Hollywood Nights[5] -> Arrow, Feel It Now
Soundcheck: Lead Up, Feel It Now, Danger Zone (this soundcheck is incomplete)
Coach’s Notes:
[1] Kenny Loggins.
[2] Aborted due to PA issues.
[3] Fast version.
[4] Santo & Johnny.
[5] Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.
Coach’s Corner: The first set was shortened due to PA issues. Danger Zone was played for the first time since June 15, 2021 (147 shows). Sleepwalk was played for the first time since December 31, 2021 (111 shows).