Goose Fares Phil Lesh Well In Winston-Salem

Goose took the stage at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Friday for the first of two Hurricane Helene benefit concerts. The band paid tribute to bassist Phil Lesh, who died on Friday morning at age 84, by covering a Dead tune and two additional songs from the GD live repertoire.

Guitarist Rick Mitarotonda was heavily influenced by Lesh and one of the last musicians to enter his orbit for Phil Lesh & Friends concerts. “In many ways, seeing Phil & Friends for the first time at Jones Beach in 2006 was an opening into a new world for me,” Mitarotonda wrote on Instagram. “The openness and freedom in the music, the energetic exchange between the band and the audience, the scene in and outside the venue, it was all new and so full of life.

“Phil’s dedication to that music and continuing to foster community around it marked the beginning of a new era for me that night, as it has for so many countless others. I will forever be grateful for the brief time I had getting to know the wise, soft spoken, kind, and deeply musical man that he was,” the Goose guitarist concluded.

Goose was originally scheduled to perform on Friday and Saturday at ExploreAsheville.com Arena in Asheville, North Carolina. The quintet canceled the shows due to the destructive impact on the city from Hurricane Helene and pivoted to storm benefit concerts in Winston-Salem on Friday and in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday.

“Hot Love & The Lazy Poet” was chosen by Goose to open. Next came a trio of originals debuted in 2022: “Turbulence & The Night Rays,” “California Magic” and “Silver Rising.” Goose then gave “Bob Don” the slow jam treatment and wrapped the set with exploratory versions of “Red Bird” and “Hungersite.”

Multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach fronted “Yeti” to get Friday’s second set underway. Goose worked their recently revived cover of Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” into “Yeti” before leaving an expansive “Arrow” unfinished. From there, the five-piece broke out the traditional “Cold Rain & Snow.” Goose’s last known version of the song, often covered by the Grateful Dead, came on November 26, 2014 — a span of 679 shows.

Mitarotonda was in the spotlight for the subsequent “Brokedown Palace.” The American Beauty classic written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter was a highlight of Rick’s performances with Phil Lesh & Friends. Goose hadn’t performed “Brokedown Palace” since December 18, 2022.

The quintet went back to originals to close set two in Winston-Salem with a “The Empress of Organos” that featured “Moby” within. Goose returned to encore with a well-jammed “Tumble” that gave way to a final Lesh homage in “Turn On Your Love Light.” Anpsach paid tribute to Phil and his legacy of “Donor Raps” at the start of the encore by asking fans to become organ donors.

Watch fan-shot video of “Cold Rain & Snow” and more from Friday’s Goose show:

Goose now heads to Florida for two nights in Miami Beach (Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30), Halloween (October 31) in St. Petersburg and a two-show run in St. Augustine (Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2). Free livestreams of all remaining Goose fall tour shows are available for free with a nugs.net subscription.

Official Audio (via nugs.net)

Setlist (via ElGoose.net)

Set One: Hot Love & The Lazy Poet, Turbulence & The Night Rays, California Magic, Silver Rising, Bob Don[1], Red Bird > Hungersite

Set Two: Yeti -> Pumped Up Kicks -> Yeti, Arrow[2] > Cold Rain And Snow, Brokedown Palace, The Empress Of Organos > Moby > The Empress Of Organos

Encore: Tumble[3], Turn On Your Love Light

• [1] With.
• [2] Unfinished.
• [3] With You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) and Axel F teases.

Show Notes: This show was a benefit for Hurricane Helene relief. Cold Rain and Snow was played for the first time since November 26, 2014. Brokedown Palace was played for the first time since December 18, 2022 (138 shows). Before the encore, Peter did a “Donor Rap” in honor of Phil Lesh, who had passed away that morning.