Watch Goose Set Jimi Hendrix ‘Fire’ Cover Ablaze & More On Friday At Goosemas

On Friday, Goose launched the sold-out, two-night Goosemas X run with their debut performance at Hampton, Virginia’s historic Hampton Coliseum. This year’s shows saw the band use a Goosemas. In Space! theme as they explored a mirror planet dubbed “Echochrome” for the first set and fittingly kicked off a second set trip to fire planet “Inferno Prime” by unveiling a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire.”

“Fire” was one of four covers premiered by Goose over the first night of Goosemas X on Friday. Saturday's show included a Bruce Hornsby guest spot with visits to bubble and jungle planets for the two sets containing seven more cover debuts.

Goosemas. In Space! was previewed by a Will Thresher-created trailer both uploaded to the band’s YouTube channel a week prior and broadcast at the venue before the show. All five members of Goose — guitarist Rick Mitarotonda, guitarist/keyboardist Peter Anspach, drummer Ben Atkind, bassist Trevor Weekz and percussionist Jeff Arevalo — wore the spacesuits featured in the trailer on stage each night.

Appropropriately, original “Earthling Or Alien?” got the call to open Friday’s show. Goose then lit into “All I Need” in slow, melodic fashion. Yet once the five-piece made it through the first chorus, they picked up the pace in switching to the “fast” version. LD Andrew Goedde’s impressive skills and the intricate stage setup, which would change over the course of the weekend, were on display as the band revved into Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors.”

The first cover debut of the weekend was an exploratory affair that ran nearly 23 minutes. Goose would keep the focus on jamming with the subsequent “Tumble.” While the group started the song at a groove-laden pace found in past “vibey” versions, the 21-minute “Tumble” saw them eventually change gears to the typical tempo for the composed section and jam. Mitarotonda then belted out the Goose debut of Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror” to bring the five-song set to an end.

Jeff Arevalo handled lead vocals on the “Fire” that launched Goose’s visit to the planet “Inferno Prime.” The crew utilized pyrotechnics to accompany the Jimi Hendrix cover and other fire-themed songs. Hendrix wrote “Fire” for inclusion on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s debut 1967 album, Are You Experienced?. Arevalo simulated Jimi’s vocal delivery to differentiate Goose’s version of a song covered by the likes of Phish, moe., Medeski Martin & Wood and many other acts in the jam scene and beyond.

See pro-shot video of Goose’s “Fire” cover shared by the band:

While “Fire” was kept consise, Goose took the “Creatures” that followed deep. A 22-minute version led into the fourth-ever “(dawn).” Mitarotonda then led the quintet through their premiere version of the Kings Of Leon 2008 smash “Sex On Fire” as well as originals “Butter Rum” and “Arrow.” The first Goose “Burning Down The House” (Talking Heads) since May 20, 2017 was tacked on for good measure.

Peter Anspach thanked the crowd and noted “encores are back” and “we got plenty of time” when the band returned for their first encore in 13 shows including all the entire recent tour of Europe. Goose dropped into “So Ready” at normal speed before using the “Slow Ready” tempo during a jam that led into the evening’s lengthy “Hot Tea” finale.

Watch fan-captured video footage from the first night of Goosemas X below:

Official Audio

Setlist (via El Göose.net)

Set One: Earthling or Alien?, All I Need[1], Mirrors[2], Tumble[3], Man in the Mirror[4]

Set Two: Fire[5], Creatures > (dawn), Sex On Fire[6], Butter Rum, Arrow[7] > Burning Down the House[8]

Encore: So Ready > Slow Ready[9] > Hot Tea

Coach’s Notes:

• [1] Began as slow, melodic version and switched to “fast” version after the first chorus.
• [2] Justin Timberlake. FTP.
• [3] Vibey Tumble. Played with regular Tumble composed section and jam.
• [4] Michael Jackson. FTP.
• [5] Jimi Hendrix. FTP.
• [6] Kings of Leon. FTP.
• [7] Unfinished.
• [8] Talking Heads.
• [9] Jam only.

Show Notes: This show was part of Goosemas X. Set One was a Mirror planet named “Echochrome.” Set Two was a Fire planet named “Inferno Prime.” Before and after each set, the ship landed and took off. Burning Down the House was played for the first time since May 20, 2017.

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