Umphrey’s McGoose: See Jake Cinninger & Joel Cummins Join Goose For Outrageous ‘Empress Of Organos’ At Resonance

Goose brought out Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger and keyboardist Joel Cummins during their second Saturday night set at the Resonance Music Festival in Garrettsville, Ohio. Jake and Joel added to a memorable 20-minute “The Empress Of Organos,” the penultimate song Goose played at the final Resonance festival.

Resonance first hosted the Connecticut-based band in 2018, long before they reached the headliner status the group enjoys now. The then quartet played three sets over the course of the weekend at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio September 20 – 22, 2018. Goose returned the following summer for three additional performances during the only iteration of Resonance held at Cooper’s Lake in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Last summer’s festival was supposed to be held at Woodlands Nature Reserve in Charleston, South Carolina but was canceled along with other events at the venue by local officials.

Goose and Resonance returned to Ohio this past weekend for Resonance Music & Arts Festival 2023 – “The Last Dance” at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville. The quintet treated attendees to two sets each on Friday and Saturday nights. Umphrey’s McGee also played Resonance on Saturday leading to the first time a member of UM took the stage with Goose.

The band — guitarist Rick Mitarotonda, keyboardist/guitarist Peter Anspach, drummer Ben Atkind, bassist Trevor Weekz and percussionist Jeff Arevalo — followed a “Flopener” (“Flodown”) with “Butterflies” from Anspach’s Great Blue outfit. Mitarotonda then led Goose through The Band classic “The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show” and an expansive “fast version” of “Echo Of A Rose.” The five-piece closed the first set by linking fan favorites “Earthling Or Alien?” and “Hot Tea.”

Goose kicked off their final Resonance festival set with the beloved “So Ready.” The adventurous 15-minute “So Ready” came ahead of Shenanigans Nite Club gem “Spirit Of The Dark Horse” featuring Rick’s auto-tuned vocals. Next up was the band’s first “Dancing In The Moonlight” cover since March 3, 2022. Goose had gone 112 shows between versions of King Harvest’s 1972 hit. Anspach then helmed a “White Lights” that encapsulated “Loose Ends” before the quintet delivered a short-but-impactful “Bob Don.”

Jake Cinninger and Joel Cummins came out after “Bob Don” and took up positions on the stage. “Hell yeah!” Anspach exclaimed as the seven musicians launched into Goose original “The Empress Of Organos.” The song was the perfect choice for a collaboration with Cummins laying into electric piano and Cinninger uncorking one lick after another with his signature metal-heavy tone. Jake and Rick engaged in a back-and-forth leading into the first verse. Cinninger found the ideal spots to throw in riffs throughout the 20-minute version.

Cummins on electric piano and Anspach on piano connected for a memorable call-and-response where the first “Organos” jam typically lies. The keyboardists urged each other to impressive heights to the delight of Resonance attendees. It was then time for Jake Cinninger and Rick Mitarotonda to shred with what seemed like a thousand notes played in the span of a few minutes. After the shred session, Goose and their guests explored a metal-tinged Middle Eastern-infused jam space before connecting on a euphoric progression to return to the composed section of “The Empress Of Organos.” Anspach can be heard alerting Jake and Joel “big D” as the final chord hit. “Those guys are the shit,” Peter told the crowd before thanking Cinninger and Cummins. Goose went at it alone to wrap their time at Resonance with a particularly intense “Madhuvan.”

Watch the last 10 minutes of the Goose/Jake and Joel collab via fan-shot video here:

Listen to official audio of Goose’s Saturday night show at Resonance below:

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Setlist (via El Göose.net)

Set One: Flodown[1], Butterflies, The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show[2], Echo of a Rose[3], Earthling or Alien?, Hot Tea

Set Two: So Ready, Spirit Of The Dark Horse > Dancing In The Moonlight[4], White Lights -> Loose Ends -> White Lights, Bob Don, The Empress Of Organos[5], Madhuvan

Notes:

• [1] Flopener.
• [2] The Band.
• [3] Fast version.
• [4] King Harvest.
• [5] With Jake Cinninger on guitar and Joel Cummins on keys.