Goose Debuts Andrew Bird Cover In San Diego

By Scott Bernstein Aug 14, 2026 • 9:15 am PDT

Goose kicked off the West Coast-focused second leg of their summer tour last night with a concert at Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater in San Diego. The first set featured the Goose debut of “Capsized,” a cover of an Andrew Bird song.

The quartet — guitarist Rick Mitarotonda, drummer Cotter Ellis, bassist Trevor Weekz and multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach — came out swinging with an “Animal” opener. Goose showed little rust despite the five-week layoff as they worked through “Iguana Song” and drove “Drive” into “Capsized.”

Andrew Bird originally released “Capsized” on his 2016 studio album Are You Serious. Rick Mitarotonda handled lead vocals on the first-ever Goose performance of the Bill Withers-inspired song. The band remained faithful to Bird’s original until they tacked on a jam that featured Anspach on Clavinet before Mitarotonda led the way towards a massive peak.

The cover debut was followed by an expansive 17-minute “Borne” that gave way to “Silver Rising.” Goose wrapped the opening stanza with fan-favorite “Flodown.”

Goose began what would turn out to be a four-song second set with “Big Modern!,” the title track from their 2026 studio album. The 20-minute “Big Modern!” went unfinished, instead bleeding into an equally adventurous “Slow Ready.”

The foursome devoted the rest of the set to a masterful pairing of their original song “Thatch” and a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.” While the “Thatch” jam was mostly of the rock variety, Goose explored a blissful space in “Half-Step” before working through electronic and metal soundscapes. A “726” encore closed out the night.

The band continues the tour tonight at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and on Saturday at Frost Amphitheater in the Bay Area. Livestreams and replays of Goose’s entire summer tour are available with a nugs subscription.

Setlist (via ElGoose.net)

Set One: Animal, Iguana Song, Drive[1] > Capsized[2], Borne, Silver Rising, Flodown

Set Two: Big Modern![1] > Slow Ready, Thatch[3] > Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo[4]

Encore: 726

Coach’s Notes:

• [1] Unfinished.
• [2] Andrew Bird. FTP.
• [3] Unfinished. With Secret Agent Man and Dark Star teases from Rick.
• [4] Grateful Dead. Unfinished.