It doesn’t matter the venue or the town; you’d be hard-pressed to find a hotter ticket right now than Geese. With the release of their new album Getting Killed (REVIEW), the NYC rockers have seemingly stumbled onto that rare mix of factors that has made them an overnight sensation. Have they been road-dogging and cultivating a loyal following for a handful of years now? Yes. But anyone who caught them before the release of Getting Killed can attest to their evolution from a scrappy band with serious potential to a band on the cusp of being huge. This electric feeling was in the air when the band brought their current tour to Portland, Oregon for a seriously sold-out show at the Wonder Ballroom on Sunday, October 26th. For those in attendance, there was a palpable sense that this 700+ capacity room is likely the smallest we will see them in for the foreseeable future.
Packed to the gills with a crowd that looked like avid Pitchfork readers, the Wonder Ballroom erupted in massive applause as Geese took the stage and launched straight into “Husbands” with its moody, gradual pressure build of heightened vocals and sneaky guitar work. “Cobra” was a blissful excursion with Cameron Winter’s transcendent vocals working in sync with a blast of Max Bassin’s drums and Emily Green’s slicing guitar. The band would largely stick to material off Getting Killed for much of the set, which seemed to be exactly what the crowd was clamoring for based on the fact that they rejoiced at the start of every song. Given such a strong reaction and the fact that the audience seemed to know every single word to the songs, it almost felt like you were watching a greatest hits set at times, until you remembered the album is only one month old. Anyone questioning the impact of this band on our current moment needs to see them live to realize how much people love them (if you can score a ticket). For his part, Winter maintained his stoic New York City cool, mumbling a few lines of gratitude to the crowd between tunes but mostly staying focused on the performance.
Whereas the Geese of a few years ago had a loose, almost jammy rock and roll sound, the show in Portland captured a band that has tapped into something larger and more grandiose. This was heard on the frenetic art-punk breakout “Getting Killed,” with its swerving guitars that were almost proggy at times showcasing the band’s evolution and complexity. With Winter at the helm, his talented bandmates built fluid and energetic soundscapes, like on the thick, funky groove of “Islands of Men” and the bombastic and fuzzy psych-rock of “100 Horses” that went into overdrive with its expansive sound. “2122” was another standout with its swaggering, 70s rock and roll bravado that put Bassin’s towering drums (this kid can play!) in the spotlight before the band dropped a dirty cover of The Stooges’ visceral classic “Loose.” They kept momentum high when they descended into a beautifully chaotic mess of guitars and drums on “3D Country” with its tripped-out, free-flowing vocals. “Cowboy Nudes” was one of the lighter moments of the set, with its anthemic chorus keeping the audience jumping up and down. “Au pays du cocaine” also sucked the audience in with Winter’s enchanting, weirdly melodic wail. “Bow Down” was a parade of glam-rock glory that saw the band create a sound so gyrational and huge it could have won over an arena with its complex, hypnotic rhythm.
By the end of the show, it was hard to imagine a scenario in which this band didn’t graduate to larger venues. At the Wonder Ballroom, they checked every box required to deliver an exceptional rock performance, and did so with the audience in the palm of their hand for the entirety of it all. While major pop and hip-hop acts are often seen performing in front of a wall of cell phone cameras, that wasn’t the case for Geese’s performance in Portland, where most of the audience was transfixed and sucked into the moment enough to savor it purely. Between this observation and the sheer level of enthusiasm, there was something refreshing to it all. Geese seemed to have figured out the exact formula for happiness in live performance as they continued to reach new heights throughout the set, driving the audience into a fever dream and leaving them elated at the possibilities that lie ahead for this band.
All photos by Greg Homolka
