Concert Review: Guster 11/5/05

There are certain things in life which words cannot begin to describe. It's a wonderful feeling when you hold something inside of you that is so spectacularly special that there is no possible way that you could convey its emotional resonance to those around you. Last night's Guster concert at Gettysburg College was one of those touchstones in life that has such significant meaning that I falter every time someone asks me to describe it.

The opening act for the show was Matt Pond PA, another band for whom I have a deep respect and admiration. Their sounds is natural and versatile, with instrument selection ranging from the cello to electric guitar. They played a well-chosen set last night but it was met with a lukewarm audience reaction. However, as a fan of the band, I was very pleased with the song selection and the performance in general. As they were wrapping up their set, a flicker of sadness crossed my mind, but was quickly swept aside with anticipation for what was to come.

Despite the fact that I held mammoth-sized expectations for Guster's performance, from the first time that Brian slammed on his drum set and the first chords came from Ryan's guitar I knew I was in for a truly remarkable experience. The band played with an urgent passion through the entire show (most particularly exhibited through the lead singer's actions and the drummer's penchant for playing without drumsticks) and the audience responded in an equally fervent manner. An impressive amount of the patrons knew the music by heart, and the chorus of delighted fans singing along with every word made the experience exponentially more magical. I was captivated from 'Careful' to 'Demons' and the hour and a half flew by and before I could regain my bearings, we were exiting the auditorium and on the way back to F&M.

Although my concert-going experience is relatively limited compared to my fellow music lovers, I cannot imagine a band putting on a performance that would surpass this in my mind. I was a devoted Guster fan before I travelled to Gettysburg College but I can now safely say that my passion for the band has reached an unhealthy level. The band has a new album coming out early from which they drew some material last night, and it uniformly sounded amazing. I'm anticipating the release with bated breath, but not quite as much as the next time I can see them live, because their material was clearly conceived for the stage.