Goose’s Journey From SPAC Lawn to SPAC Stage
Peter Anspach, the keyboard player for the jam band Goose, watches a Phish concert from the SPAC lawn in 2013. Ten years later, he appears on the SPAC stage with Goose. Photos via Anspach’s Instagram account.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The jam band Goose played two nights at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SAPC) last weekend, marking the high point of a journey that took the band from the SPAC lawn to the SPAC stage.
In 2013, Goose keyboardist Peter Anspach attended a Phish concert at SPAC, camping out on the lawn with thousands of fellow fans. In a three-night run from July 5 to 7, Phish debuted their original song “Yarmouth Road” and presented rousing renditions of their hits “Tweezer” and “Character Zero.”
A decade later, when Goose took the SPAC stage for the first time, Anspach couldn’t help but celebrate the occasion.
“We’re so excited to be here,” Anspach said. “This place means a lot to us.” Later, when performing an encore, he added, “some of us have seen a lot of shows on that lawn right there and I’ll tell you what, it feels great to be on the stage. So thank you so much for making it happen. Hopefully we come back for multiple nights some time.”
His hopes came true last weekend, when Goose’s two-night stay included a blissful version of “Hungersite” and the second-ever performance of “Big Modern!,” a new original song.
Prior to the shows, several members of the band stopped by the Saratoga Spa Golf Course for “Goose on the Green,” a sold-out charity event that raised funds for Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga. The event was another indication of how much Saratoga has meant to the group.
“The band has a different kind of energy when they’re playing a venue like SPAC, which means so much to them personally,” said Ryan Storm, host of the Goose-focused podcast “Almost Always There.”
In 2018, more than a year before their breakthrough set at the Peach Music Festival, Goose opened for the Ryan Montbleau Band at Putnam Place in downtown Saratoga. At that show, they played songs such as “Elizabeth” (which was the opener for their SPAC show on September 6) and “Arcadia” (which is now one of their most popular tunes).
Five years later, after playing SPAC for the first time, Anspach wrote in a social media post that the venue “definitely lived up to the hype. Such a surreal experience playing with my best friends in one of the most influential venues I’ve ever been to.”
Goose has become one of many jam bands to make SPAC a regular stop on their summer and fall tours. The Dave Matthews Band has played SPAC 49 times. Phish has played there 24 times, most recently in August of last year. In 1985, the Grateful Dead famously drew the largest-ever SPAC crowd of more than 40,000 Deadheads.
In 2023, Goose’s first SPAC show was, at the time, the band’s largest-ever headlining performance. Hopefully, they’ll have many more opportunities to break the record.