Geese
Metro Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Wednesday, February 11th
Although their music contains identifiable traces of rock canon bands from Radiohead and Can to Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, New York City’s Geese finally transcended their influences and landed on a unique sonic identity to call their own on last year’s thrilling fourth LP Getting Killed.
That factor, coupled with the quartet’s sharpest songwriting to date, has caused critics and music fans to lavish excessive praise on them, which has resulted in Geese — somewhat improbably, for a left-of-centre indie outfit — becoming the buzziest band in recent memory, complete with a recent Saturday Night Live appearance and name drops from the likes of Nick Cave and A$AP Rocky.
It’s a lot to live up to, and the packed crowd at tonight’s uncomfortably hot and stuffy show, which sold out within minutes, is practically ready to blow like the proverbial bomb in a car before Geese even play a single note of music.
The lyrics “Yeah, there’s a horse on my back / And I may be stomped flat / But my loneliness is gone” from opener “Husbands” almost reads like a direct address to the crowd, who cheer and scream with an almost over-the-top fervour that lets Geese know that they’ve won the gold trophy even though the race has barely begun.
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To their credit, Geese — Cameron Winter (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Emily Green (guitar), Dominic DiGesu (bass), Max Bassin (drums), and touring keyboardist Sam Revaz — seem completely unfazed by the rabid hero’s welcome they receive, keeping the banter to a minimum and looking content to simply get down to the business of being a very good rock band playing some very good rock songs.
@zerodollarman WOW! Geese in Sydney last night ❤️❤️❤️ it looooed like SUCH a fab show…. And a few 3D Country deep cuts were played!!! Just monumental. ❤️❤️❤️ Cameron Winter sounds beautiful as always ❤️❤️❤️ LOVE GEESE! 🎥: aaron.torres0209 via insta #cameronwinter #geeseband #fyp #indiemusic #livemusic
Winter, who most of the time sounds like Julian Casablancas doing a spot-on Thom Yorke impression, is the captivating eye of the storm, his commanding, acrobatic voice able to ride the Stones-y swing of “I See Myself” — the catalyst for one of many enthusiastic singalongs — or scream through the unhinged punk bombast of “Trinidad”.
The highlights are many, including the tightly wound funk of “100 Horses” and “Bow Down”, the bittersweet “Au Pays du Cocaine”, and the pummelling “2122”, which has Led Zeppelin baked into its DNA and is the dog whistle for an almighty mosh pit to break out among the many beer-chugging dude-bros in attendance.
It doesn’t all gel — the unmemorable “Tomorrow’s Crusades” could’ve happily been sacrificed to make room for Getting Killed highlight “Cobra” — but the highs are very high, and the lows next to non-existent.
It’s encouraging to see a somewhat challenging guitar-based band generate the kind of rabid excitement that can pack an ecstatic, sweaty crowd into a room to get weird and wild together, with Geese confidently delivering on the hype.
Whether that hype eventually dies down or Geese go on to play even bigger venues — the likely next step for them — tonight the band prove that they’ve got the ability to thrive and continue making interesting art regardless of the outcome.
Check out Geese’s remaining Australian tour dates here.
