No Time To Rest
Refusing to rest after three wild nights at the Fox, Goose dishes up yet another hot concert
Without taking a breather, Goose followed up a wild three-night weekend in Atlanta with a full-throttled performance in Charlotte, North Carolina. Reminiscent of the Raleigh show from the same state a week earlier, it was another hot night with a warm breeze majestically stirring Trev’s hair. Rick and Cotter again were openly carrying their guns again, donning tank tops. Following all the success of the past month, one could notice a new level of Rick’s stage confidence at moments, exhibiting a rockstar-like swagger
What not to miss
Love Is A Battlefield
Echo of a Rose
Sneakers In My Fridge pt II
Madhuvan > Secret Agent Man > Madhuvan
The band started this Sunday show with the sun still high in the sky and led the 5,000-person crowd through a first set in which the sum was greater than its individual parts. No song in particular stood out above other versions of the tour but the playing was strong and the vibe was stronger the entire time. Opening up with an energetic Earthling or Alien, a short-but-sweet Lead Up took the two-slot. After Turned Clouds the Yeti which never showed up at the Fox emerged. It was another strong offering with Trevor leading out of the gates, although he wasn’t quite as dominant as the tour’s other versions.
Borne followed—again, the lovely ballad somehow finds its way into a 2001-style jam. The jam this time sounded a bit more mature and thoughtful (but not better) than the last two renditions. Out of its ether came Pat Benatar’s Love Is A Battlefield which is a blast to hear, especially with Rick’s soloing in it. Goose are masters of ressurecting popular 80’s songs and interjecting them seamlessly into shows, I love it. Butter Rum closes the set which for a moment sounds like it will go type-II a la 6/10’s Omaha version but never quite gets there before wrapping up.
Coming back after setbreak, the band crafted a second act which, beginning-to-end, was pure fire. The Echo Of A Rose opener riled up the crowd. Echo’s jam waxed into a fast paced jam with Rick, in his tank top and rolled up pants, alternating licks over Peter’s xylophone-sounding playing. The jam became menacing while Rick dripped with swagger as he wielded his axe about his body. The jam finished with its lyrics before the twin Sneakers dropped with a shorter-but-hotter-than-usual version of pt II solo.
Then Madhuvan’s opening notes culminated from the stage. The Fiddler’s Green version stirred in the collective mind of everyone and this version, while not the improvisational masterpiece we saw on 6/8, was memorable nonetheless. As the composed section faded away, the band descended quickly into a psychopathic sludge of sound before the assertive notes of Secret Agent Man rang out. The song had been teased a number of times this tour so it seemed like only a matter of time before the full version popped up (Mad World next please). It was the first time they played it since 2020. Rick exited the solid, enjoyable version of Secret Agent Man with a fury of fire as he and Cotter brought the set back into Madhuvan. Rick, playing like his life depended on it, hit every frantic note flawlessly.
And with Arcadia encoring, the band closed the forth straight night of music which has been so explosive, so energetic, and so amazing that it is hard to picture they still have more gas in them to get them through this week.