Over the weekend red hot Connecticut rockers Goose hosted their annual hometown holiday party, Goosmas. Selling out the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk, CT weeks (if not months) in advance, the sixth annual Goosemas more than delivered on its promise to be the biggest and best one yet. With two sets of music featuring several original debuts, deep cuts, surprise guests, holiday themed covers and even a little snow falling from the balcony, the guys in Goose joyously slayed away late into the night until the local authorities said it was time shut it down.

Filled with the spirit, fans who flocked to the venue early were greeted by a DJ set from Doey Joey and a 90 minute mashup set from Talkpeck Soundsystem. Playing tunes from Talking Heads, Vulfpeck and LCD Soundsystem, the all-star group of musicians was comprised of Matt McNulty (vocals, guitar), Miles Livolsi (bass), Rob Compa (Dopapod), Scotty Zwang (Ghost Light), Sammi Garett (Turkuaz), Avery Acevedo, Rob Madore (Electroniq Soul), Jeff Engborg (Great Blue) and Ian McGuire (CIA).

Now time for the main event, Goose took the Christmas tree covered stage a little after 10pm for their first set, dubbed “The Ghost of Goosemas past.” Opening with an acoustic cover of The Band‘s “Christmas Must Be Tonight.” Rick Mitarotonda, Pete Anspach, Trevor Weeks, and Ben Atkind then picked up their regular instruments for an electric version of the fan favorite “Tumble.” For the next surprise, former Goose member Peter Castaldi then joined his old mates on stage for an “OG” tune called “Gringo,” followed a unique, slow take on “All I Need.” Up next, another Christmas themed cover, Carol of the Bells, played in the style of over-the-top holiday rockers Trans-Siberian Orchestra. From there, the seldom played “Rosewood Heart” came next, seguing nicely into a cover of The Waitresses‘ “Christmas Wrapping.” Now with the crowd in the palm of their hand, the original song “Yeti” brought the energy to new heights before the set blissfully came to a close with the classic piano based Peanuts Christmas song, “Linus and Lucy.”

(Photo: Zak Radick)

After a brief intermission featuring another DJ set from Doey Joey, it was time for set two, dubbed “The Ghost of Goosmas Future.” “Wysteria Lane” quickly got the crowd back in the dancing spirit before another cover, “Sweet Home Chicago.” From there, the first original Goose debut of the night, “Arrow,” followed by a joyous version of White Lights, which featured “snow” falling snow from the rafters. The second new original “Honey Bee” made its debut next, followed by a slow take on “So Ready,” dubbed “Slow ready.”

For many, the highlight of the show would come next as an emerging favorite “Creatures” would seamlessly transition into the Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows,” before landing back on their third original debut of the night, “The Ocean.” Tying a bow on a stellar second set, the boys then segued back to how it started with “Wysteria Lane” to close out their final show of the year. With no time left for an encore, the band jammed through some announcements, which included the final tally and raffle winners from their canned goods food drive.

With 2019’s meteoric rise of Goose now in the rear-view and no New Year’s show scheduled, the band looks ahead to future. Up next, an already sold out show on January 24th at NY’s Bowery Ballroom, followed by a lengthy run of west coast dates with Pigeons Playing Pong and several already confirmed high profile festival slots . For tickets and tour information visit the band’s official website.

Setlist:

Set 1: Christmas Must Be[1], Tumble, Gringo[2], Slow Need > Carol of the Bells[3], Rosewood Heart > Christmas Wrapping [4] > Yeti, Linus and Lucy [5]

Set 2: Wysteria Lane > Sweet Home Chicago[6] > Arrow[7] > White Lights, Honey Bee[7], Slow Ready, Creatures > Tomorrow Never Knows [8] > Your Ocean[7] > Wysteria Lane

[1] The Band
[2] w/Peter Castaldi
[3] Trans-Siberian Orchestra
[4] The Waitresses
[5] Vince Guaraldi
[6] Blues Brothers