There’s something rather interesting, somewhat unique, and very special about this show in Royal Oak. Right off the bat, It’s only 10 songs. It contains a few ballads, a few new songs, a song that is as disliked as much as that Martin Shrkelii guy (not really sure why), a classic rock cover, and a “crowd pleaser” or two. It  doesn’t contain a lot of those songs you would hear at a festival or when you’re first getting into Goose, and on paper… could be easily overlooked. That said… anyone who was at this show, and/or anyone who has taken the time to listen to this show a few times, knows that this is a front-runner for best show of 2022. 


The show starts with a massive Borne (only the 5th time they’d played it), that finally stretched its legs past the 20 minute mark. At one point I was certain that they were gonna segue into 2001, but it ended up taking a different direction. They moved on to SOS next, which was also quite lengthy, and contained a wonderful “dawn” section. Life on the Shelf was next. It was short and sweet, but a good breather after a two-song/40 minute opening. After just five minutes, Life on the Shelf segued into what is arguably the biggest jam of 2022, (and the longest song they had played to date). At 38 minutes, this becomes a benchmark that won’t be eclipsed for another year (Echo from Seattle in April of ‘23 at 45 minutes). The jam undoubtedly goes into Echo of a Rose, but for some reason they pulled the reins back, and decided not to commit to it. If that wasn’t enough for one set, we got a 13 minute Jeff Engborg to close the 93 minutes set (a song which had only been played by Goose twice prior to this evening). 

 

Set two kicks off with a gorgeous 726 that pushed past the 20 minute mark, an amazing version of Madhuvan (which also pushed past 20 minutes), the rare Jackson Brown song Doctor My Eyes, and a ripping Yeti to close the second set out. After the obligatory “walk off”, the guys returned to give us one more… a little Butter Rum as a nightcap.

 

Again… this is one of those “if you know, you know” kind of shows. It doesn’t look like much when you quickly glance at the setlist, but damn… it is the dictionary definition of a “Hidden Gem”. If you haven’t listened to this one, seek it out! Oh… and the show poster is one of the best of the tour.