Goose’s fall tour shot off like a rocket Friday night at the Parish Public House in downtown Albany, the first of several upcoming sold out shows set to take place across the east coast.

With an ever-increasing discussion hailing the Norwalk, Connecticut based band as the ‘next big thing,’ the Guthrie Bell Productions ticket was one of the hottest and hardest to score in recent memory, creating a field day for scalpers and scammers alike, something rarely seen for a show at the former Red Square in Albany. Indeed, the excitement and energy in the air prior to the show was palpable.   You just got that sense that something special was about to happen.

Following a fan organized a pre-show meet up at Wolff’s Biergarten, fellow Connecticut bird band Eggy promptly took the stage at 9pm, wasting no time setting the tone for a scorching night of funky grooves and balls to the wall rock n roll.  The highlight of the set came when the band invited Goose guitarist Rick Mitarotonda to the stage for a blistering take on the song “Here and Now.”

(Photo: Zak Radick)

After a brief intermission where seemingly everyone in attendance went outside to cool off, it was finally time to see the Goose fly high.   Welcomed to the stage by a rowdy chorus of Goooooooose chants,  the band wasted no time giving the fans what they wanted.  Opening up with the ridiculously catchy new single Time to Flee, the band then launched into a bit of a bust out, Lead the way, last played on July 19th.  With Trevor Bass (who kept his shirt on) and Ben Atkind (drums) holding down the low end, Elizabeth came next, followed by a pair of covers; One More Day by the Wood Brothers and the song that had everyone talking at set break, Inside Out by Spoon, marking the first time Goose has played it live. A full throttle take on Yeti brought the first set to a close right around midnight and left many asking the question…”What did I just witness?”

After another brief intermission, fans began scurrying back inside to hopefully reclaim their spot on the nearly burned up, now booze soaked floor. As the band began picking up their instruments, someone leaned in to ask me, “Are you ready to launch?” I laughed and told him “I kind of thought we already did.”  “You just wait,” he assured me.   His confidence gave me goosebumps.  The energy in the crowd remained electric.

Set two kicked off with a rowdy take on Jive 1, which saw the crowd clapping their hands in unison  from the opening lick.  From there, Goose moved into a beautiful version of CCR’s Green River, far surpassing the traditional length and structure of the original.  After a brief pause to let the audience catch their breath, Flowdown came next, followed by arguably the jam of the night, All I Need.  From there, the soothing sounds of Peter Anspach’s keyboard took over, leading into a gorgeous version of Bruce Hornsby’s The Way it Is, which effortlessly segued into a Jive Lee set closer.

Now nearing 2am, the band had time for just one more song. Dedicated to their recently married Coach, who was busy all night manning the merch table, the band launched into highly appropriate wedding reception classic “Shout” by The Isley Brothers. Indeed, something special happened in Albany on Friday night, something worth shouting about. Goose transformed the Parish Public house into a straight up Animal House and fans lucky enough to be there couldn’t have left happier.

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