Goose Cover Creedence Clearwater Revival and Father John Misty in San Francisco Return

Photo credit: Juliana Bernstein

On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27 and 28, Goose set off its Summer Tour with a highly anticipated two-night booking at The Masonic in San Francisco. After a marathon month that brought its fourth studio album Everything Must Go, a debut performance at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, a collaborative program with The Disco Biscuits and Viva El Gonzo, their inaugural destination festival in San José del Cabo, Mexico, the indie-jam quartet kept the excitement coming with their first appearance in The Bay Area since 2023. Goose marked the occasion with a pair of fairly straightforward but masterful performances that got Northern California fans up to speed on the band’s achievements since their last live encounter.

Goose took the stage on Tuesday night with its third performance of Everything Must Go album closer “How It Ends.” The band’s ensuing second treatment of “Iguana Song,” which it appropriately debuted at the El Ganzo Oasis on May 9, merged into a hypnotic rendition of the decade-old fan favorite “Flodown,” ornamented with a quick quote of “When The Saints Go Marching In” from frontman and guitarist Rick Mitarotonda. The first frame came to a close with a segued medley of “Borne,” “One In, One Out” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River,” a setlist staple (covered 33 times since 2016) left conspicuously unfinished.

After their brief break, Mitarotonda, Peter Anspach, Cotter Ellis and Trevor Weekz stepped back into the spotlight with an anthemic “Big Modern!,” once again cut short to commence a meticulously merged race through “Creatures,” “This Old Sea,” Everything Must Go standout “Atlas Dogs” and an exhaustive, high-flying finale of “Dripfield.” With a beat to recover and bask in the audience’s roaring reception, the band wrapped up night one with a spin on The Band’s “Don’t Do It.”

Last night, Goose got the show rolling with the urgent and sensitive essential “So Ready,” then poured into a remarkably untethered and improvisatory first set highlighted by a blend of Father John Misty’s “I’m Writing a Novel” and “SALT,” which Mitarotonda spiked with some fiery licks lifted from “Crazy Train.” The band’s fourth and final San Francisco set commenced with “Dr. Darkness,” then brought on the series’ definite high points: a second-time performance of the new original “Dustin Hoffman” culminated in a return to Tuesday’s clipped “Big Modern!” before a rapturous, seamless blur of “Wysteria Lane,” an unfinished “Echo of a Rose” and “Green River,” which concluded the previous night’s incomplete version with a surge of energy. To lead into the final bow, Goose brought on an encore of its longtime signature “Arcadia.”

Goose will perform again tomorrow, May 30, at Bend, Ore.’s Hayden Homes Amphitheater. After a packed 22 further stops on its Summer Tour–including several high-profile festival bookings and their first headline performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden–the band will launch its newly announced string of Fall Tour dates, which collects eight shows in the Midwest and Southeast (one with Mt. Joy) and three undisclosed later dates from Aug. 28 to Oct. 4. Find tickets here and more information on Goose’s full live itinerary at goosetheband.com.

Find the full setlists from The Masonic at elgoose.net/setlists.