Guster knows how to put on a
concert, and it certainly likes to have fun. The band smiles and laughs and
adds quirky humor while playing with real ease. The sweetness was on display
when the alternative rock band performed a sold out show on Thursday night
at Anthology.
Rochester’s The Demos kicked off the evening and was loaded down
with tunes that got the crowd going early. The quintet continues to impress
with its clear, purist vision of CBGB-era rock ‘n’ roll.
Guster walked onstage to its usual
game show theme music and began the set with the B-side “G Major.” With
cleverly political lyrics, the song was a folksy start for Guster’s
first concert of 2018. “I Spy” from the landmark album “Lost and Gone Forever”
followed it, and later, the band brought in some audience participation for
“Airport Song” — which featured vocals from guitarist Adam Gardner and a
dynamic percussion solo by “Thundergod” Brian Rosenworcel.
Related
One of the charms to a Guster
concert is that so many people who show up know every word of the band’s tunes.
Fan favorites, like “Barrel of a Gun” and “Satellite,” were massive
sing-a-longs. And a strength of the band is the
group’s reinvention of some of its repertoire in concert, which is a result of
its evolution from acoustic trio to quartet to a quintet on tour.
A highlight of the Thursday’s show was the lo-fi “Never
Coming Down,” which incorporated some smart trumpet and trombone interplay
between Gardner and Rosenworcel. Likewise “Keep It
Together,” the final number of the night, added the depth of psychedelic
keyboards to the vocals of front man and guitarist Ryan Miller — who has one of
the finest voices in rock.
Miller and Guster can on occasion
baffle you with some of their smarty-pants dialogue, but even if you don’t
always understand the highbrow humor, you’ll always find yourself pulling for
the band because of its good vibes. Guster might not
be the biggest act in rock, but few artists connect with their audience in the
way that it does.
This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2018.
