Guster brought its Campus Consciousness Tour and biodiesel-powered tour bus to Union College in Schenectady on Friday. The show, loaded with Guster’s unique brand of infectious and inventive energy, also featured booths out in the lobby with band-sponsored causes. There was plenty of information about using alternative fuels, fighting global warming, and volunteering; plus, plenty of free Clif and Luna Bars were there for the taking.
The crowd, though, didn’t seem to care about any of it. They also completely tuned out opening act Luke Temple. Temple had some equipment problems, and though he tried to compensate for it by upping his energy, the tightly packed crowd of a few hundred was having none of it. The crowd’s noise almost completely drowned out the music—and not because they were cheering.
Guster fared a lot better musically, but only a little better with the audience. With a new album, Ganging Up on the Sun, slated for release in June but a few singles off of it already released, the band also flexed its longevity; the foursome played songs from each of their five albums, mixing and matching as the night went on.
From the first few intoxicating notes of “Demons,” a lot of older songs got mixed in, including “Barrel of a Gun,” “I Spy,” “Center of Attention,” and “Happier.” After a great rendition of “Airport Song,” a few fans whipped ping pong balls onto the stage—but only a few. The band also rewarded its long-standing fans by playing “Mona Lisa,” a popular song from its first album, Parachute. “We always play a Parachute song, for our old fans, so bear with us,” said lead singer Ryan Miller.
Whether intended by the band or not, Guster’s musical travels through time were the perfect complement to the lyrics of “One Man Wrecking Machine,” one of the new singles. The song reminds listeners how everything seemed like a crisis at a young age, and that just about everyone would go back to fix at least one thing—no matter how minor.
“Manifest Destiny,” the other new single, doesn’t stray far from the familiar Guster style or sound; neither of the singles does, in fact. It is an upbeat, catchy tune, and hearing it live is a must for any devoted Gusterrhoid.
There were plenty of songs from Keep it Together, their latest album, as well.
They capped their set by telling the crowd to boo as they left stage, and that they would only come out and play their encore when they felt totally humiliated.
Upon coming back out, the band also thanked Temple for “attempting to play,” before launching into a three-song encore that featured Goldfly mainstay “Great Escape.” The audience cheered loudly at the concert’s end, but it was too late; a rude, unsettled crowd had soured a musically satisfying show.
