The festivities returned for Day Two at Viva El Gonzo, Goose's first international festival that was held in San Juan Del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico on May 9, 2025. The weather was picture perfect in this tropical paradise located about twenty driving hours south of San Diego. Festival goers had grown their sea legs, and were also treated to a number of exciting collaborations.
The music began with two Fem House sets at Crainia, starting with Rivka Ruth, who is also known as Becky Chinman and the fiance of Peter Anspach from Goose. Her beats and energy were the perfect start to this full day of music. LP Giobbi followed with a thumping set of Dead House remixes.
LA LOM, the Los Angeles League of Musicians, was up next on the Round Rocks stage. They were certainly the sleeper act of the festival, and brought their signature blend of surf guitar, cumbia, and Peruvian chicha, amongst other styles.
The high flying bird band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong took flight after LA LOM on the Main stage. Their set was highlighted by a short 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' intro that led into 'Rocketman' by Elton John. This tight jam continued as they rolled into a funk filled 'Ocean Flows,' from their 2017 release Pizazz, which ended their energetic set.
Dawes returned to the Main Stage for round two, and brought several friends on stage to elevate their performance. They dropped a tasty cover of 'War Pigs' by Black Sabbath, before bringing Adam Granduciel on stage. He is the lead singer and a guitarist for The War On Drugs, and contributed to 'Fisherman's Blue's' by The Waterboys. Afterwards, guitarist Rick Mitarotonda from Goose joined them for a smoking collaboration on original 'Most People.' A blues rock jam developed and flowed into 'Fire on the Mountain,' by the Grateful Dead. Fans of all three bands were certainly pumped for both sit-ins, as well as the beautiful sunset that unfurled as the band finished playing.
Fittingly, The War on Drugs proceeded with their set on the Main Stage during the blue hour, as the day transitioned into night. This included a live debut of 'Who's That,' along with another sit-in by Mitarotonda during their original tune 'Brothers.' They continued on the path of reciprocity by having members of Dawes join them for Bob Dylan's 'Sweetheart Like You.' While not considered a jam band, their set was filled with a blend of indie rock and Americana notes that included some extended jamming.
Our fearless leaders and festival host Goose took the Main Stage for two stellar sets of music. Notably, 'Backward Hat' Rick appeared on stage, ready to unleash the heat from his guitar. The foursome came out of the gates hot, with a scorching 'Arrow.' The jam was driven by Mitarotonda's high energy guitar licks before flowing into spacey, ambient sounds. From there, the band transitioned into a dark 'Bob Don.' Next up was 'Draconian Meter Maid,' written and sung by drummer Cotter Ellis. This number featured all four band members propelling the jam, including multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach on piano, before mellowing out into 'Seekers on the Ridge Pt 1 and 2.'
Prior to the start of the festival, there was much anticipation for two live debuts from their recently released album, Everything Must Go. The band was as excited as the crowd to premiere 'Iguana Song.' The song presented more dual guitar action via Mitarotonda and Anspach, while the whole band drove the song to an inspired end, much to the crowd’s delight. A short, fiery 'SALT' closed out the first set.
After set break, the band reemerged with Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes in tow to take 'Atlas Dogs' for a spin. Mitarontonda and Taylor Goldsmith alternated lyrics throughout the song as the dual drumming of Cotter Ellis and Griffin Goldsmith complemented the song perfectly. The Goldsmith brothers fit in well as Mitarotonda and Taylor Goldsmith exchanged guitar lines in harmony. The jam from 'Atlas Dogs' segued beautifully into a raging 'Rockdale.' The band, along with their guests, drove the jam forward with some face melting guitar work before harmoniously nailing the ending guitar riff.
The Goldsmith brothers exited the stage to cheers from the crowd before the quartet dove into a rousing rendition of 'Red Bird.' The band was locked in as bassist Trevor Weekz shined. Goose then nailed another perfect transition into the rarely played Jim James cover, 'State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.).'
The closing segment of the night was perhaps the most interesting of the festival. The band dropped into a energetic and spirited version of 'Empress of Organos' with Anspach feeding off the crowd as he hammered on the piano keys. Mitarotonda furnished blistering guitar licks that included teases of 'Low Rider' by War. The quartet slipped into ambient improvisation before transitioning into a new arrangement of 'Slow Ready.' Titled 'fast:slow,' this tune featured a disco beat by drummer Ellis over an arpeggiator provided by Anspach, with the familiar lyrics sung by Mitarotondo. Even though the sun had set, the band brought the heat on this jam, which kept the crowd dancing for twenty minutes before transitioning back into 'Empress of Organos' to close out the show.
After Goose finished up, Dogs in a Pile kept the night going at the Crania stage in front of a backdrop of psychedelic visuals. The band dispatched an amazing set that featured more sit-ins from festival host Goose. Mitarotonda and Anspach joined the band for a stirring rendition of 'Boogie on Reggae Woman' by Stevie Wonder as well as the Dogs in a Pile original 'Trunk Rum.'
Closing out the night at Crania was Tycho delivering a memorable DJ set. It was a perfect way to end the second day and send the crowd back to their hotels with a smile.
Check out more photos from Day Two at Viva El Gonzo. Also, view our photos and review from Day One.
Goose is back on the road in a couple of weeks, including an appearance at Bottlerock Napa Valley on May 25 and a two night stand at The Masonic in San Francisco on May 27-28. Tickets are available via this link. They also visit Bend, OR, Spokane, WA, Boise, ID, and Las Vegas shortly thereafter. Visit their tour page for more details on the rest of their summer tour.
Date: May 9, 2025
Location: San Juan Del Cabo, Mexico
Festival: Viva El Gonzo
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Set: Water, Porcupine, Right Track, Shine On You Crazy Diamond[1] > Rocketman[2] > Ocean Flows
Notes:
[1] Pink Floyd
[2] Elton John
Dawes
Set: Mister Los Angeles, Ghost in the Machine, War Pigs[1], Fisherman's Blues[2], Most People[3] > Fire on the Mountain[3][4]
Notes:
[1] Black Sabbath
[2] The Waterboys with Adam Granduciel
[3] with Rick Mitarotonda
[4] Grateful Dead
The War On Drugs
Set: Who's That[1], Brothers[2], Pain, Red Eyes, I Don't Wanna Wait, Harmonia's Dream, Sweetheart Like You[3], Under the Pressure, I Don't Live Here Anymore
Notes:
[1] Live Debut
[2] with Rick Mitarotonda on guitar
[3} Bob Dylan, with Dawes
Goose
Set One: Arrow[1] -> Bob Don[2], Draconian Meter Maid > Seekers on the Ridge pt I > Seekers on the Ridge pt II, Iguana Song[3], SALT
Set Two: Atlas Dogs[4] -> Rockdale[4], Red Bird -> State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U.)[5], The Empress Of Organos[6] -> fast:slow[3] -> The Empress Of Organos
Notes:
[1] Unfinished.
[2] With.
[3] FTP.
[4] With Taylor Goldsmith on guitar and vocals and Griffin Goldsmith on drums.
[5] Jim James.
[6] With Low Rider tease from Rick.
Dogs in a Pile
Set: The Bag, Look Johnny II, Spun-> El Sonidito[1]-> Spun, G Song, Boogie on Reggae Woman[2]
Encore: Trunk Rum[3]
Notes:
[1] Hechizeros Band
[2] Stevie Wonder, with Peter Anspach and Rick Mitarotonda
[3] with Peter Anspach and Rick Mitarotonda
