Goose Debut Ween’s “Chocolate Town” in Richmond, Va.

Goose, photo by John Patrick Gatta

Goose pulled into Richmond, Va. last night for another stop on their enthralling fall tour. As they approach the end of an unforgettable year that has included their inaugural destination festival, their Madison Square Garden debut and not one but two celebrated studio albums, the indie-jam quartet’s victory lap has brought a steady stream of live highlights. With the first of two nights at Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, the band added two new songs to their onstage repertoire, proving their inexhaustible creative spirit yet again.

Goose set off their performance on Thursday with “Everything Must Go,” the title track from their triumphant fourth studio album. “Draconian Meter Maid” led the band into the introspective spiral of “Lead Up,” which was followed by a perfectly segued pairing of the longtime favorites “All I Need” and “Same Old Shenanigans.” The first surprise of the evening’s setlist came with a debut of Ween’s 2003 Quebec classic “Chocolate Town”; this was the group’s first cover of the oddball rock experimentalists and spiritual godfathers to modern jam (see Phish’s recent resurrection of “Roses are Free”). After “California Magic” and an ‘80s synth version of “Indian River,” Goose capped off the first frame with an expansive “(dawn).”

Goose’s second set in Richmond swerved from the litany of concise treatments in their first to showcase the band’s improvisational prowess, stitching together just five tracks with some hypnotic and electrifying interplay. “Animal” served as the starting gun, funneling the quartet into “Red Bird,” a seamless movement into “Atlas Dogs” and finally thier first-ever electric version of the Orebolo holdover “Dim Lights” To close out the main portion of their performance, Goose turned to a brooding, propulsive and ultimately high-flying cover of Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman,” followed by an encore of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Turn On Your Love Light.”

Tonight, Oct. 3, Goose will return to Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront for a follow-up performance. They’ll remain on the road for two further shows in Philadelphia and Las Vegas on Oct. 4 and 5, then round out their year of touring with an appearance at Suwannee Hulaween and Goosemas 2025, presenting at Providence, R.I.’s Amica Mutual Pavilion on Dec. 12 and 13. Find tickets and more information at goosetheband.com/tour.