It was the right time to rock the night away, and Goose did just that for the second night of their ninth annual holiday themed Goosemas on December 17, 2022 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO. The band continued the theme of drawing wishes written on green and red balls by audience members to determine the second set, as well as dusted off a pair of holiday rarities and more unexpected holiday shenanigans.
The music began similarly to the night before, though this time the set commenced with a jazzy holiday rarity, "Carol of the Bells," last played December 19, 2019. Multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach's melodic keyboards rounded out this classic Christmas tune. "Turbulence & The Night Rays" followed, with a stellar intensity build up led by drummer Ben Atkind. A short but sweet "Atlas Dogs" proceeded. Now, the jingle hop had begun.
The longest tune of the night, "Time to Fleeze," clocked in next at twenty three minutes. Guitarist Rick Mitarotonda was firing on all cylinders during this extended jam, and nailed the tasty tension and release. The more reflective "Western Sun" gave everyone a few slower moments to recover, and reminded the crowd why they decided to attend this special holiday show. "Go everywhere, feel everything, see everyone you want." The set closed out with a fiery Tumble that included another heater.
The band returned to the stage with Santa, and several bags of balls that contained holiday wishes from the crowd. The first wish drawn was for "Thatch," a funky new song that debuted last month at Glen's Falls, NY. This song featured some notable bass thumping by bassist Trevor Weekz as well as Mitarotonda shredding on his guitar early in the set. The subsequent wished selected was for "Creatures," which sent the dance party into high gear during this dark, electronica inspired jam. As the band fell into a natural segue, Anspach plucked another wish, this time for "Berkowitz,"and the squad launched into "Slow Ready," but only the instrumental part of the song. This coupling with "Creatures" was truly a perfect pairing. Giddy-up jingle horse, jingle your feet.
Mitarotonda read the next ball and said, "This is for Stoller." The band dropped into that unquestionable riff for the elusive "Factory Fiction," and the crowd went wild. Lighting Director Andrew Goedde illuminated the area behind the stage with brilliant multi-colored lights during this raging jam that saw Mitarotonda in that delightful pocket. He has been playing in another stratosphere since their recent tour in November with the Trey Anastasio Band.
Upon conclusion of "Factory Fiction," Anspach reached for the large bag. As he went through the wishes, he commented "There are some great wishes in here. You guys are funny." He then selected a ball and said "how about a group goooose chant?" The crowd proceeded to chant "Goooooose!" The synthy beast known as "Animal" was tapped next, this time for Yogurt. The band doubled down on the synth and animals noises. Elephants and chimpanzees could be heard after the chorus. Jingle around the clock, indeed.
Anspach took a moment to thank the fans for traveling to Colorado, before selecting another wish, which proved to be the end of the set: "Dripfield." This indie influenced song was first played at Goosemas in February 2022, and has evolved into a jam monster. As the band dropped into the chorus, confetti was blasted from all directions into the arena. Both Anspach and Mitarotonda played dueling guitars with one another while the confetti continued to drop. As the song rolled to a close, the band stepped off stage.
Goose returned to stage armed with another bag of holiday balls with wishes. The first selection was submitted by Santa, who asked the crowd to do the wave. Next, a ball was selected that requested a joke. Percussionist Jeff Arevalo obliged the crowd in his elf costume. The penultimate draw was "A group bow," followed by a warming "Hot Tea." The band dove into this tea party, and the crowd was dancing and prancing in 1stBank Center. After the first chorus, the band jumped into another Goosemas favorite, Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy." Goedde illuminated the lights behind the band in green and red candy cane colors. As the band transitioned back into "Hot Tea," more confetti was unfurled. The light rig behind Goose displayed the words "G O O O O S E" horizontally. As the song wound down, the band took a group bow to end this joyous holiday fueled event. That's the jingle bell rock.
If you couldn't make it out to Colorado for this merry and bright Goosemas run, fear not. Not only are they playing a two night stint for new years in Cincinnati, OH at the Andrew J Brady Center, but they also recently announced a stacked spring tour. Head on over to their tour page for more details about all up coming dates.
Check out more photos from the show, and our coverage from Goosemas Night 1!
Set One
Carol Of The Bells [1], Turbulence & The Night Rays, Atlas Dogs, Time to Flee, A Western Sun, Tumble
Set Two
Thatch, Creatures, Slow Ready [2], Factory Fiction, Animal [3], Dripfield
Encore
Hot Tea > Linus And Lucy [4] > Hot Tea
Coach’s Notes
[1] Traditional.
[2] Jam only.
[3] With animal sounds.
[4] Vince Guaraldi.
Coach’s Corner
The second set was decided based on a random selection of balls with fan requests written on them. Before the encore, the crowd did the wave and Jeb told an elf joke as prompted by the balls. Carol of the Bells was played for the first time since December 21, 2019 (178 shows).
