Goose

[kellerb]

Wait, who authorized that in-person concert last night? THEY MUST WANT TO KILL THEIR FANS.

Well, all the jambands sat in a big circle.  Then Wavy Gravy walked around the outside patting them each on the head.  Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck....

[GBL]

Wait, who authorized that in-person concert last night? THEY MUST WANT TO KILL THEIR FANS.

It's a sad day when Goose, SCI, and Bisco are the champions of live jam music!

good thing this is NOT a sad day then, as champions of live jam music they are not

[Bobafett]

I just can't get into goose.  I've had friends try to push them on me for the past year, and I just think they sound generic.  Hell I even tried again last night.

[VDB]

I also jumped to Goose last night for shiggles. All prior comments still apply. The bongo player was hilariously inactive during the hour or so I watched. Prooobably wouldn't be in the band if they were to reform it today.

[Gumbo72203]

I love Goose.  I'm not sure what's holding you back from these guys, but man... they kill.  They are absurdly talented, and professional.  These kids mean business, and I like that.  They have it all, the chops, the infrastructure, the fun attitude, etc.  It's a whole thing.  They have the package. 

I was introduced to them via Matt from Formula 5.  I didn't really get it at first, but the more i peaked in and out, the more I got interested.

In the middle of finishing their show from yesterday.  I love it.  What I like is that they kind of take the best of Phish, the Dead, and Bisco and put it all together into a fresh thing.  I like that they go realllllllly low and slow with the ballads like the Dead, they have the manic tension peaks of Phish, and then the synth dance of Bisco.  What I also love is the heavy reverb and ambience in their sound, appealing to the post-rock and shoegaze side of me. 


The thing that makes them winners is the video and marketing.  Bands are more than music, and they understand this more than anybody.  They are ahead of the curve in every facet of their business, and that's why they're excelling over every other band.  When the music is all equal, it's the accessories that put you ahead.  Merch, iconography, marketing, etc etc.


Multi-cam pro-shot SBD's up after every show. They're hungrier than every other band, and that's also why they're winning.  They don't stop, and they are a force.  They are not fucking around, and that's a catchy energy.  Lots of other bands stop at the music and make half-assed attempts at marketing, merch, etc etc.  These guys are steamrolling the business aspect of being a band.  It's fun to watch. 


They are the pattern for how to be successful right now.  It's all there. 

This is one of my favorite jams, and is probably my favorite song of theirs. 

https://goosetheband.bandcamp.com/track/creatures-29



Criticisms of Goose:

1) they need more songs
2) they need to get scary and take a bit more risks.   (Caveat:  they are still new, so lets put them at about 1990 in development compared to Phish.  The big jams and Type 2 wizardry is coming.  Not every band starts at Fall '97)

However, they are so good that I don't really care that they aren't Type 2 masters yet.  Their music is thrilling, and I love listening to them.  As long as they keep going, things are going to get REAL interesting for them. 

[susep]

I've checked them out here and there, random streams etc.  Certainly not my cup of tea however it is interesting to see peeps go gaga over them I mean their shows look fun etc.  It reminds of the time I saw moe opening for the Allman Bros.  A few hardcores were dancing around, singing every lyric.  I'm sitting there watching in total amusement.   

[PIE-GUY]

I've watched almost two hours of their webcasts from the last two nights posted here. They are not bad, honestly. Totally inoffensive. I say that from the perspective of this... a lot of bad jamband music literally offends me. tDB, PPPP, even moe. to some extent - these bands offend me. Goose is ok. 

That said, in 2 hours I have yet to see that super-dorky guy play the guitar that's slung over his shoulder. Is it just part of his outfit? Cuz, his stylist sucks... which brings me to the part that starts to offend me about them. I think they have stylists... that's fucking weird. I mean, Phish does, too, these days. But a young band like these kids shouldn't. 

[VDB]

The keyboardist was playing guitar periodically as I watched last night. He's pretty talented but his pants did offend me. The main guitarist is talented, too. My friend called him "fast Jerry" and that sounds about right.

[Gumbo72203]

Peter plays guitar on certain songs but it seems he is playing much more keyboard lately, which i think is okay. 

This is perhaps my favorite Goose song, and he starts it on guitar.  This one comes in from a jam so it's not a clean start the way it normally would be, but it's great.  the jam is much more wild and chaotic than normal, I get shades of 93-95 Phish with the tension in this one.  I like it a lot. 

https://goosetheband.bandcamp.com/track/creatures-29



The other thing is that Goose took me a bit to really latch onto.  I kept peaking in and out, and I always enjoyed it, but I feel like they've matched the jump to big venues and really brought their A-game.  They're meeting the expectations. 


THIS show floors me.  The first set, specifically.  Wow.  If you're genuinely curious and have some time, do this first set.  This is the show that cemented it for me where it's like "Okay, yeah.  These kids mean actual business." 

The "Arrow" opening and then the Flodown intro jam, and the Arcadia jam are just soaring.  It's incredible stuff. 

https://goosetheband.bandcamp.com/album/2021-11-22-mission-ballroom-denver-co

[cactusfan]

I have a friend who seems committed to getting into these guys. I was going to see a show with him in January, but then omicron peaked, and the idea of getting covid at a Goose show was not acceptable, so we skipped that.

Been listening to some of their stuff and trying to figure out why I don't like it.

I think the word I keep coming back to is "generic." They're very talented. They've got some good funky rhythms going on, some very nice jam peaks. But everything just sounds so... plain. The songs themselves are absolute junk, just pure jam-band bland, but yeah... they play them... well? I guess?

I can kind of get their rocketing to fame. They do all the jam-band stuff very well. It's just they don't do it with any real sense of personality or originality. It's like they went to school for Jam Bands, studied real hard, and now do all the stuff people want to hear very well.

But where's the weirdness? Where's the depth? I just can't find anything to hold on to. I've managed at most to listen to two songs in a row, and then it's too boring and annoying to continue.

Saying they're young, so of course they're not as good as Phish yet, misses the point. Young Phish were still writing songs like Fluffhead. I don't listen to much '80s Phish, but when I do, they sound like the weirdest bar band of all time. I mean who writes songs like early Phish songs?

To my ears, Goose is polished in all the most boring ways. So what if they eventually figure out how to go "type 2"? Who wants to wait through those dull songs to get there? Imagine if every Phish song was Soul Planet. That's what Goose is to me.

Good for them for figuring out what "jam band fans" want to hear. They're doing it well. But I'll pass. (Though I still may end up seeing them the next time they hit the Bay Area, just so I can bad mouth them to my friend having seen an actual show (or who knows? Maybe I'll be so blown away I'll recant this post)).

[mistercharlie]

Imagine if every Phish song was Soul Planet. That's what Goose is to me.

This is the perfect summation of Goose for me. Spot on! 

[shoreline99]

Imagine if every Phish song was Soul Planet. That's what Goose is to me.

This is the perfect summation of Goose for me. Spot on! 

I can't disagree with anything in that post. I have friends that LOVE Goose and keep trying to get me to listen, but I'm just not making the connection...

[GBL]

The thing that makes them winners is the video and marketing.  Bands are more than music, and they understand this more than anybody.

why are you here exactly?

which brings me to the part that starts to offend me about them. I think they have stylists... that's fucking weird. I mean, Phish does, too, these days. But a young band like these kids shouldn't.

🙄

[Gumbo72203]

why are you here exactly?

i'm not sure i'm following what you're getting at?

[mopper_smurf]

My best friend tried to listen to Goose the other day, despite me telling him not to bother. He described them as a "lame duck jam band".