Sept 16/23 Masonic Temple

 

The night was beautiful as was the venue. Grand old building and it was packed. I attended this show with a great mix of a Phish fan who had never seen Goose, a veteran Deadhead who dislikes Phish but loves Goose, and a rock and roll fan who isn’t a head but loves the Goose. I love them all. Multiple perspectives, no one left disappointed.

Set 1 –

Got things rolling with a Turbulence. A perfect song to kick it off with as always, well written and slinky little groove, I noticed right off the bat, Rick’s tone is golden, dirty and clear. Vastly different than the last time I saw them. Into the Whales, a song I now love because of the live experience (never jumped off the tapes before for me) And then the notes start Wysteria. Bam! Energy in the room skyrockets. Great jam that gets super syncopated at the mid point, and rides that synthy drone as Peter switches from guitar to the keys. Just when we think it’s done, Peter throw Rick a mischievous elf smile and rides a new Latin based groove out. Jeb and Spuds can’t resist. Perfect segue into Electric Avenue to grab the crowd once more. Finally Red Bird, which for the purposes of this interview we will just call Reba Bird, and it is deserved. Unfortunately, a hasty exit by Jeff cuts the set “short” but wow. Just a perfect first set.

 

Set 2 – Yeti brings the funk to re-engage the gluteus maximus and up the energy. Next up, Borne, the slow song that is so much more. Personally, living an incredibly busy life right now, the 24 hours away from job and family all came crashing in for the first of two times I would tear up. “someday, someday I will lay my head down” I say this in life and in this room, I sang it to the rafters! Then the rift, the Hungersite, the song of my summer last year and the one I used to hook many a new fan. It’s a great version, with Rick’s improved tone right up front. I hesitate to use the guitar god moniker but the mix in the room thrust him up and we all followed. Solid version. Next Jeb shakes off the bathroom break and Rocks the Casbah (Let Jeff Sing) and sends us to my next cry of the night. I took a walk around the venue during 726, head full of goodness and just soaking it up from every angle. I stopped and stared at the stage as my second favorite Goose ballad was played, welling up again, so grateful for the life I lead and an official goodbye to the summer. And then the notes of Arrow as I sprint back to my crew, to be rewarded with the get down throw down of a top shelf, manic, energy bomb that is Arrow. Bam, set.

 

Encore – While it would be later revealed that we were in for a Tumble at this point, you could not have chosen a more perfect emotional beautiful ending to this evening than Silver Rising. My alpha ballad, they played with such genuine emotion, and washed us home with perfection, leaving everyone in the room feeling like they had just been hugged and loved. Detroit will be returned to, and I will be there. An absolute five star show and should be in  the mix for a top five appearance for show of the year.