Take a gander at the rise of jam band Goose
Trevor Weekz has seen a bunch of shows at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. But Weekz has always had seats on the lawn. At the massive New York State amphitheater, there are 5,100 seats under the roof near the stage while 20,000 more are spread across the lawn in the back.
Last summer Weekz’s band Goose headlined SPAC for the first time. The bassist got to get a good look at the whole ecstatic crowd from the first row to the dancers off in the distance.
“It was our biggest show to date,” Weekz told the Herald. “But also the crowd energy was very palpable. The volume from the crowd, it just felt like this bigger organism. Every crowd is different, and sometimes they just bring this crazy energy where everyone is super hyped. This was one of those crowds.”
Goose has been gathering momentum for a decade. Recently the Connecticut rock/indie/funk/psychedelic band has graduated to epic runs — Goose plays a three-night stand at MGM Fenway Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Anchored by founders Weekz and guitarist/singer Rick Mitarotonda and rounded out by keyboardist/guitarist Peter Anspach and percussionists Jeff Arevalo and Cotter Ellis, Goose had humble beginnings.
“There were plenty of years where we were out touring, trying to build a fan base, and there wasn’t much traction,” Weekz said. “Even in Connecticut, we’d go out for local hometown shows and not a lot of people would show up. And, well, that was kind of the case everywhere.”
Artists trying to break into the jam band and improvisation rock world face stiff competition. For every Grateful Dead and Phish, there are dozens of acts that never move beyond the 1 p.m. festival slot. Weekz attributes Goose’s rise to a lot of things — chemistry, endless touring — but two things he mentions stand out: good video and great songs.
“Pretty early on we started doing video at nearly all of our shows,” he said.
That meant when someone told a friend, “Dude, you gotta check out Goose,” said dude could easily find high-quality concert footage and not an endless string of crappy phone videos. (Note: The footage of SPAC 7-7-23 is killer.) But it’s the songwriting that really matters.
“Focusing on the songwriting, making sure the songs are good, that’s what helped differentiate us,” Weekz said.
Goose can be lumped into the jam band scene but the songs aren’t generic launchpads for endless noodling. A listen to 2022 studio album “Dripfield” reveals a catalog of finely crafted tunes — “Arrow” feels like a wild, wonderful merging of War on Drugs and Fela Kuti; “Hot Tea” evokes Top 40 pop, acid jazz, and Parliament.
A blend of sonic styles and strange genres, Goose has remained grounded in the song for a full decade. It’s nice to see that rock fans have finally caught up, from a packed amphitheater of 25,000 to a mammoth three-night Boston stand.
For tickets and details, visit goosetheband.com