Article Contributed by David Burton
Published on 2026-08-25
Goose | photos by David Burton
Goose returned to Bend, Oregon for a two-night run on August 21st and 22nd at Hayden Homes Amphitheater. The band played one show at the same venue last fall, when they made their appreciation for the city of Bend clear.
Last year, the typically reserved Rick Mitarotonda made a point to take the mic and say of Bend, “It’s really tight here. Super tight. We really like it here. I might move here, we don’t know.”
While his declaration of possibly moving to Bend was said tongue-in-cheek, the band’s appreciation for the city was clear. Usually when a band says they “can’t wait to come back,” it feels like a scripted line they say at every stop on tour.
With Goose, it was true they could not wait to come back. So much so, they made it a two-night stop. And they came back in a big way.
The two-night run at Hayden Homes Amphitheater was exactly what the ideal summer concert should feel like. Each night featured an opening act, Greensky Bluegrass and Buffalo Traffic Jam, respectively, and fans came out early to see the openers take the stage at 5 p.m. each night.
The weather was nearly immaculate all weekend. A bit of overcast and slight drizzle at the start of Friday’s show was just a small token that paid off in the form of a gorgeous rainbow over the stage, followed by a picture-perfect sunset over the amphitheater.
While the weather was nearly flawless, so was the energy of the crowd each night. Everyone had nothing but smiles on their faces the entire weekend, and it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of the crowd each night.
In Goose terminology, one could have said that “there ain’t no frown at the Flodown” for their weekend in Bend. The vibes of Goose’s return to Bend made it impossible to feel anything but joy in the air.
Ironically, “Flodown” made an appearance in the opening set of Night 1, featuring a new arrangement with an extended intro. The changeup to one of their most-played songs, the third most played in the history of the band per elgoose.net, is just another example of the evolution of the band, who continue to venture into new territory even within old material.
The rest of the opening set of the weekend featured a few other surprises, including two covers: a rare bustout of “Atlantic City” by Bruce Springsteen and the first-time performance of “My Oh My” by Punch Brothers.
While Set 1 was lengthy, featuring a total of eight songs, Set 2 was the opposite, with just three songs. The band made those three count with an epic trio: “Dripfield” > “Good2B” and “Arrow.” While “Good2B” was the standout jam of the weekend for me, one could argue that any of these three from Set 2 were the best. An “Arcadia” encore put a bow on an amazing opening night in Bend.
Night 2 brought more surprises for the crowd, mostly in the form of setlist construction.
While often choosing to play more standard, shorter songs in the opening frame, Set 1 of Saturday’s show featured five major jam vehicle songs: “Drive,” “Pancake,” “Born,” “SOS,” and “Madhuvan.” However, only the latter two were really given space for a big jam to take place, and the back-to-back heavy hitters closed a great Set 1.
The “Madhuvan” to close the set was particularly interesting to me, as it starts off with a very soft, slow, and emotional playing, but after some blissful jamming it quickly takes a turn into some intense and dark improvisation to close out the song.
Set 2 featured some of what has been dubbed “Goontz” by Goose fans, as the first two songs got into some grimy, electronic improvisation. With the sun down and light show on full display, the weekend took a turn into a full-on dance party as Goose hit the Goontz hard with these two jams.
These were followed by two new songs from the Big Modern! album, “Good Times // End Times” and “(((postplace))).”
A familiar, high-energy closing song was up next with “Empress of Organos.” The fans clapped along at Peter Anspach’s direction as what, in my opinion, is the best closer in the band’s repertoire was the perfect choice of vibe to end such a high-energy weekend.
Except, surprisingly, the band did not stop there.
Instead of finishing the song, the band left “Empress” unfinished and dropped into “This Old Sea” to end the night. This felt like an odd choice to me at the time, given the energy was so high at the end of “Empress” but brought down to Earth by the slow and sad “This Old Sea.”
The band rushed off the stage before returning for an encore and making their love and appreciation of Bend known again before dropping into the fan favorite “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby.
As the clock turned toward the 10:00 p.m. curfew, the band shifted out of “The Way It Is” into a jam that led back into the end of “Empress of Organos.”
This made the choice to leave the song unfinished make much more sense, as they clearly wanted to end the whole night, including the encore, with an “Empress” closer. I still think the choice to add “This Old Sea” was a poor one, but I can understand why they did it.
If my only complaint of the weekend was that they played an extra song, then I think it’s safe to say it was a pretty good weekend.
Overall, Goose put together a special two-night run for the fans in what has become one of their favorite places to play. Before taking the stage on Night 1, Peter even said how Hayden Homes is “one of their favorite venues to play in the country.”
The band’s energy for the city translated into the vibe of the entire weekend. Everyone felt together as one as they celebrated a weekend of summer, outdoor music filled with surprises and exceptional playing.
Fans love to boast how their show was a “you had to be there” type of moment, but for these two shows in Bend, I think the declaration is valid. The music alone was impressive enough to be considered a great two-night run. But it was made even more memorable by the incredible scene, setting, and energy on both nights.
Goose will absolutely be back in Bend in the future, and I suggest you do what it takes to get there. It’s an incredible place to spend a few days, and an even better place to see Goose do their thing.
Goose finishes up their Summer Tour with shows in Colorado and Salt Lake City before hitting the road again in November. Visit goosetheband.com/tour for more info.
