Photo by Daniel Prakopcyk
Audio By Carbonatix
As a jam band notorious for being road warriors, it’s surprising that it has taken a decade for Goose to make its way down to Miami. The Connecticut-based quintet is making up for lost time, however, with back-to-back shows on October 29 and 30 at the Fillmore Miami Beach.
“You can expect the unexpected,” keyboardist and guitarist Peter Anspach tells New Times over the phone. “Going into playing a show, we have a plan. We don’t always follow that plan. I can promise there will be two sets a night, an amazing light show, and top-notch production.”
The band has just embarked on a fall tour that was supposed to start in Asheville, North Carolina. However, due to Hurricane Helene, it had to be relocated to Winston-Salem, with all proceeds going to storm relief.
“Every show is different. Miami, I’m sure, has its own vibe, and we’ll try to match it. We won’t know until we get there what the room is like. Is the crowd energetic, or are they more relaxed? The Grateful Dead do this; so do Phish. It’s the spirit of the jam band. You’re with the audience, and you collaborate with them,” Anspach says.
Goose started in 2014 as a trio, with Anspach joining a few years later in 2017.
“My band, Great Blue, was on the road and played some shows with Goose. We hung out in our adjacent hotel rooms,” he shares. “When their keyboardist left, I got the call. I didn’t have a keyboard. I didn’t know the songs. I had to practice all day in the van on the way to shows.”
Over the last seven years, Anspach believes Goose has improved exponentially. “We’ve developed a deep improvisational language that wasn’t there when I joined,” he adds. “It took years before we could all play 20-minute jams.”
Their improvements haven’t gone unnoticed. They’ve headlined festivals and become critical darlings, including a glowing profile in the Atlantic that described them as “the jam band that might persuade you to love a jam band.”
“We’re humbled and honored by that strong compliment,” Anspach says. “Music is all about emotion, and we’re glad it’s reaching out and touching people.”
With the love also comes a little bit of hate – or at least some trolling. Last year, members of the Australian rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard went on a podcast and said that members of Goose requested their own green room at a King Gizzard show. This led to fans taking sides, with both bands taking criticisms from their passionate fan bases. The beef was quickly squashed.
“I met them recently, and they apologized profusely for saying it because they knew we took a lot of shit,” Anspach says. “We’re all friends now and fans of each other.”
Fans will have two new Goose albums to look forward to in 2025. “One is completely done now,” Anspach says. “They’re both an amazing collection of songs. I think they’re all hits. We’ve played some of the songs live. Some no one has heard.”
While the new albums will only be the band’s fourth and fifth full-length records, fans can get plenty of Goose without following them on tour. Each show is livestreamed on nugs.net, and recordings from every concert are also uploaded to Goose’s YouTube channel.
Regardless, Anspach believes there’s nothing like seeing Goose in person and that Miami should take advantage of seeing one or even both of their gigs. “They’re on Halloween week, so we hope to see some great costumes,” he says.
Goose. 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 29, and Wednesday, October 30, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-938-2509; fillmore-miami.com. Tickets cost $59 via livenation.com.
