Getting Killed Again… Geese at Arizona Financial Theatre

Geese are one of the most talked-about bands right now, and it seems as if everybody has an opinion on them. 

I caught their set at Outside Lands this past August, and it was one of my favorite sets of the weekend. Many argue that Geese, the Brooklyn-based band, appeared out of nowhere and are a psyop. I think that couldn’t be further from the mark, especially considering the crowd’s energy that they cultivate at their live shows.

“The band the world won’t stop talking about”

– Rolling Stone

I tried to catch them last year in Phoenix, but the show was at Crescent Ballroom, which holds roughly 500 people, and resale tickets were $300+. Almost a year later, their Phoenix show was at Arizona Financial Theatre, which holds 5,000. Those numbers alone show how popular they’ve gotten in the last year.

While I shot the first three songs from the photo pit, I could feel the ground shaking underneath me. I have never felt that kind of energy at Arizona Financial Theatre. The entire barricade was screaming every lyric, and it seemed like they meant every word of “Getting Killed.”

As the show went on, the crowd got more and more rowdy. Mosh pits broke out in every corner of the standing room pit since the venue was mainly seated. After my three songs in the photo pit, I went to my seat, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t getting fomo. The band flew through their setlist, mostly songs from Getting Killed and a few from 3D Country. My main complaint was that there wasn’t a single song from Projector, but you can’t win them all, especially considering that record is from 2021.

The main thing I took away from this show was that this band is for everyone. Sitting directly in front of me was a man in his 70s or 80s, attending the show alone. He looked around at the crowd in awe at almost every song, like he was seeing the past. A couple of rows down was a group of men in their 50s who were equally surprised by this crowd. There were plenty of teenagers and people in their twenties, but it proves that any generation can appreciate what this band is creating.

Cameron Winter put out Live at Carnegie Hall the same night as the show. Driving home, I was listening to it; I wished there were live versions of some Geese records.

A year ago, I couldn’t get into a Geese show. Now I’ve seen them twice, and I’m already hoping for a third. You can argue about the hype all you want, but once you see their live show, you might be able to understand where all of the praise is coming from.

Be sure to catch them on the “Getting Killed Again Tour.” Purchase tickets here: https://geeseband.com/tour/.