Back To The Nest: Goose Rocks Hometown High School In Connecticut With Surprise Concert

Goose went back to their old school on Wednesday. The quintet delivered a pair of surprise performances yesterday for students and faculty respectively at Wilton High School in Wilton, Connecticut.

Goose features WHS alums guitarist Rick Mitarotonda (Class of 2009), keyboardist/guitarist Peter Anspach (Class Of 2011) and bassist Trevor Weekz (Class Of 2007). The band is rounded out by multi-instrumentalist Jeff Arevalo and new drummer Cotter Ellis.

Both sets were played on campus at the David F. Klune Center for the Arts as part of Wilton High School’s Festival of Arts and Lanuages. Goose first took the stage on Wednesday afternoon in front of students and then returned in the evening to perform for teachers and other staff.

Goose went heavy on beloved staples yesterday afternoon including “Arcadia,” “Creatures,” “Yeti” and “Hot Tea.” The setlist also featured an “Animal” opener, the recently debuted original “Give It Time” and a cover of Post Malone’s “Circles.”

The five-piece delivered a performance for facility in the evening that showed off the diversity of their material. Goose’s 11-song second set was chock full of originals debuted in 2022 beginning with the “Thatch” opener and continuing with “Silver Rising,” “California Magic,” “Red Bird,” “Hungersite,” “Everything Must Go” and “Dripfield.”

A surprise came towards the middle of the set when the group dusted off their take on the “Ghostbusters” theme. The Ray Parker Jr. cover was last played on October 27, 2018 — a span of 365 shows. Later, a pairing of favorites “This Old Sea” and “The Empress Of Organos” brought the evening to a close.

Watch a fan-shot video of Goose performing at WHS and other media from the day:

Setlist (via ElGoose.net)

Set One: Animal, Arcadia, Give It Time, Creatures, Circles, Yeti, Hot Tea

Set Two: Thatch, Silver Rising, California Magic, Echo of a Rose[1], Red Bird, Hungersite, Ghostbusters, Everything Must Go, Dripfield, This Old Sea, The Empress Of Organos

[1] – Fast Version

Show Notes: This was a special performance for the school’s Festival of Arts and Languages – Rick, Peter, and Trevor all graduated from WHS. The first set was performed in the afternoon for students and the second was in the evening for faculty. Ghostbusters was played for the first time since October 27, 2018 (365 shows).