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Guster
Guster
August 4, 2000 @ FleetBoston Pavilion
 Coming ashore in true Guster style, the three zany boys from Medford got
down to business quickly for the biggest show of their careers — a
sell-out at the (former) crown jewel of Boston’s waterfront, Harborli- uh,
the FleetBoston pavilion. “Thundergod” Brian Rosenworcel laid down the
tribal law as his hands danced through the floating vocal dualities of “I
Spy” which snuck scratchily into an accelerated and crumbly “Great
Escape.” The suggested overtones of “What You Wish For” belied the
relatively spare arrangements and six-handed set-up of the band (which was
often supported by lyric-perfect audience serenades) and as Ryan Miller
watched his high notes float away in songs like “Either Way,” Adam Gardner
kept things on the down-low with his down-tuned six-string and huskier
vocals. Were few smokers in the crowd, the pre-warned power ballad was met
with glow sticks, bike lights and glowing cell phones instead of the
typical lighters and when guest Dan Myers joined the trio with his brass
and electronic ivories, the Guster faithful took out their Guster kazoos
and hummed along. And they were rewarded with a rare jump back to
Parachute with a key-drenched “Scars and Stitches.” Though the band is
known for their “folk rock” and “jam” sides, “Two of Us” was easily dance
mix-able and the appropriately watery “Airport Song” simply rocked, with
Brian throwing his hands down like a hirsute Gabrielle Reese. After a
mumbly “X-Ray Eyes” developed into a slow can-can, the regimental rolls of
“Happier” led into a mandolin-y “Two Points for Honesty” and a thunderous
“Bury Me” which put the set to bed until the scrappy songwriters returned
with members of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe to close with a cover of
“Celebration” which was very Kool indeed.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 2000 M. S. Robinson, ARR
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