I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2025] Guster

Back in March, we saw the We All Have Eras Tour and we loved it.  It seemed weird to get tickets to the same show a few months later when they announced the second wave of the tour.  But it was almost a year later!

This made my 12th time seeing Guster and every Guster show is a good time.  Although the last time we saw Guster at the Fillmore, we didn’t love the crowd so much (we were also close to the bar…boo).  But this time we landed squarely in the middle of  the floor and had a great view (for the most part) and the crowd around us was cool (for the most part).

The show was like last time, a that there would be a narrator telling us what was going on with the band.  Dave Butler (who also plays drums with Marco Benevento and has played live with Guster since 2015) was the evening’s narrator. [This also means I’ve seen Dave Butler play 13 times].

The sets and “Acts” were the same, possibly a little smoother and, as they said on Instagram–there were laughs in different spots.

They opened the show with a chalk board showing a dorm room at Tufts.  Ryan and Adam met at Tufts.  They each played in bands in high school  (Adam from outside of Morristown, NJ!).  (Ryan’s band was called The Silents, Adam’s was Royal Flush).  They didn’t have bands in common, so they wrote their own song: “Parachute.”  Then they needed a name.  How about Gus?  Sounds good.  They were all set to be the Indigo Boys, two guys with great harmonies and acoustic guitars.  Then a goofy guy, Brian, who carried bongos showed up (his early band was called Toejamb) and soon they were a trio busking in Harvard Square.

Then came two songs that were different from last time [Happy Frappy instead of Fall in Two and X-Ray Eyes (the first time we’ve seen them play it) instead of Demons].  Although I was happy to hear songs for the first time, this was also something of a greatest hist show, so of course it was great to hear Airport Song and Barrel of a Gun (again).

Their story is more interesting than just a band progressing.  They went from acoustic guitars and bongos to a full on band with drumsticks and bass.  They were approached by Steve Lillywhite to produce an album.

Then Luke Reynolds came out with a giant head of Joe Pisapia and a name tag that said JOE.  He was a multitalented multi-instrumentalist and wrote “Jesus on the Radio” (which Luke and Ryan sang together).  Then Joe joined the band for real (played by Luke).

The other setlist changes from last time were “Hang On” instead of “One Man Wrecking Machine” and “Manifest Destiny” instead of The Captain.

Like last time, as they prepped for their next album an evil producer came out (a hilarious skit with a devil puppet that was even funnier than last time), which cause division in  the band.  Joe left and the band kind of broke up.

This gave The Thundergod a chance to sing his own song of woe (and man, I hope these tours are recorded, because this song is great).

After a fifteen minute intermission they started playing songs from Easy Wonderful.  It was around this time that the guy next to me started singing very loudly which was really annoying.  But he only seemed to know this album, so it didn’t last too long.  For this setlist the band played Architects and Engineers, my wife’s favorite song, which they didn’t play last time (last time they played a song that was only on the bonus edition).

When Joe left the band (to play with k.d. lang) and he recommended the only guy who could replace him–Luke Reynolds (Luke removed the big glasses he had on and said, “hey everyone, it’s me, Luke!) and he sang a song of praise for himself.  Luke was in the band Blue Merle who had a minor hit in 2005 with Burning in the Sun (which sounds a bit like Dave Matthews).

Another change was Long Night instead of Gangway.

For “Doin It By Myself” Ryan changed his shoes and came out into the crowd (he missed us by a few rows of people).  After some love for Dave (the Dave Appreciation Society).  Then they played a couple of songs from the new album.  I was hoping they’d play a few more songs from the new album, since the album wasn’t even out last time.  But they only played two and one was different from last time.

So they played seven different songs out of 27 from last time.  Which is cool–it shows that it wasn’t the same exact show.

The band broke with chronology to rock us out with “Come Downstairs and Say Hello” with the some great bongo banging.

They went off stage for 47 seconds for an encore (during which time they played Fly Eagles Fly.  Philly fans are psycho about the Eagles and will often shout Go Birds at any time of the year.  But since they were in the playoffs and were playing in two days, the fans were a little crazy.  So it was kind of funny that they played this song and made everyone go nuts.  Speaking of Eagles fans, my wife will quickly point out that a family (with little kids) in Eagle jerseys pushed their way forward effectively pushing the tall people who were were looking between closer together, making Set II much harder to see.

On the screen was a notice that there would be a Dumpster Show at this coordinate (which presumably was the Fillmore because the crew pushed out a cardboard dumpster which they sat in front of and played “Happier.”  Then Dave came out with a melodica and then ended with a rocking, acoustic, campfire version of “Amsterdam.”

I thought this show was even more fun than the last time, but my wife felt that something seemed off about the night, but she did enjoy it.

I’m curious if they will play an Ooh La La tour, because I’d love to hear more songs from it!

I also wonder if Guster will overtake Phish (17 shows) in the number of times I’ve seen a band.

3/26/2024–Fillmore Philadelphia	3/26/2024–Red Bank  ERAs Tour	4/6/ 2023–White Eagle Hall	8/10/2022–Wellmont
Sketch 1: Dorm Room Parachute ¶ [3] (Ryan & Adam only)	Sketch 1: Dorm Room Parachute ¶ [2] (Ryan & Adam only)	What You Wish For ≅ [3]	Careful © [3]
Sketch 2: Enter Brian Happy Frappy ¶ [2]	Sketch 2: Enter Brian Fall in Two ¶	Architects & Engineers ω [3]	Terrified £ [3]
Sketch 3: Harvard Square X Ray Eyes ℵ	Sketch 3: Harvard Square Demons ℵ [8]	Red Oyster Cult © [3]	Diane © [3]
Airport Song ℵ [9]	Airport Song ℵ [8]	Ramona © [7]	Hercules  ω [3]
Sketch 4: Lillywhite What You Wish For ≅ [5]	Sketch 4: Lillywhite What You Wish For ≅ [4]	One Man Wrecking Machine ⊗ [2] (first since 2015)	Hang On ⊗ [4]
I Spy ≅ [7]	I Spy ≅ [6]	Manifest Destiny ⊗ [6]	Barrel of a Gun ≅ [7]
Barrel of a Gun ≅ [9]	Barrel of a Gun ≅ [8]	I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today © [1]	Backyard © [3]
Sketch 5: Tour Bus Jesus on the Radio (Acoustic) © [5]	Sketch 5: Tour Bus Jesus on the Radio (Acoustic) © [4]	All the Way Up to Heaven ≅ [3]	Satellite (House PA goes out at the end of the song due to power outage.) ⊗ [8]
Sketch 6: Joe Joins the Band Diane © [4]	Sketch 6: Joe Joins the Band Diane © [3]	Satellite ⊗ [9]	Jesus on the Radio (Acoustic) © [3]
Careful © [5]	Careful © [4]	Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [7]	Hard Times (Acoustic) £ [2]
(Nothing but) Flowers (Talking Heads cover)  [2]	(Nothing but) Flowers (Talking Heads cover)	Look Alive £ [3]	Parachute (Acoustic) ¶
Hang On ⊗ [6]	One Man Wrecking Machine ⊗ [3]	Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [9]	Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [6]
Manifest Destiny ⊗ [6]	Satellite ⊗ [8]	Do You Love Me ω [7]	Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [8]
Satellite ⊗ [9]	The Captain ⊗ [5]	Never Coming Down € [4]	Lazy Love € [3]
Sketch 7: Evil Producer Thunder Song [2]	Sketch 7: Evil Producer Thunder Song	When You Go Quiet £ (bonus track)	The New Underground ⊗
Act 2 Do You Love Me ω [8]	Act 2 Do You Love Me ω [7]	Mexican Restaurant Penis TV Improv Jam to Bon Jovi’s Livin On A Prayer	Lightning Rod ⊗ [2]
Sketch 8: Joe Leaves the Band Architects and Engineers ω [4]	Sketch 8: Joe Leaves the Band This Could All be Yours ω [6]	Airport Song ℵ [7]	What You Call Love (with 11 year old Sam on bagpipes) ω [4]
Luke Reynolds is the Man song	Luke Reynolds is the Man song	Happier ≅ [5]	I Spy ≅ [5]
This Could All be Yours ω [6]	Lost at Sea ω [bonus track]	Hard Times (with Karina Rykman) £ [3]	Don’t Go £
Long Night € [5]	Gangway € [3]	Psycho Killer (with Karina Rykman band) [Talking Heads cover]	Ramona © [6]
Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [9]	Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [8]	Groove is in the Heart (with Karina Rykman band) [Deee-Lite]	The Captain ⊗ [4]
Sketch 9: Dave Gets Mad/Appreciated Dave Song Don’t Go £ [3]	Sketch 9: Dave Gets Mad/Appreciated Don’t Go £ [2]	encore	Demons ℵ [7]
Terrified £ [6]	Terrified £ [5]	Mona Lisa ¶ [3]	encore
Sketch 10: COVID When We Were Stars Ø	Sketch 10: COVID Keep Going  Ø	Bury Me ¶	Do You Love Me ω [6]
Black Balloon Ø [2]	Black Balloon Ø	Terrified £ [4]
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [11]	Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [10]	encore 2
Encore: Dumpster Set	Encore: Camp Fire Set	Hang On ⊗ [5]
Happier ≅ [6]	Happier ≅ [5]
Amsterdam © [5]	Amsterdam © [4]

 

3/23/2019–Fillmore	1/11/2019–Free at Noon	11/1/2018–White Eagle Hall
Diane © [2]	Hard Times £	Long Night € [4]
The Captain ⊗ [3]	Ramona © [5]	Happier ≅ [4]
Terrified £ [2]	Mind Kontrol £ [2]	What You Call Love ω [3]
Airport Song ℵ [6]	Manifest Destiny ⊗ [5]	I Spy (haven’t heard since 2004) ≅ [2]
Gangway € [2]	Terrified £	Endlessly € [2]
Hello Mister Sun (w/horns) £ [2]	Look Alive £	Airport Song ℵ [5]
Overexcited (w/horns) £ [2]	Satellite ⊗ [6]	Hello Mr. Sun (new) £
Stay with Me Jesus ω [3]	Overexcited £	Stay With Me Jesus ω [2]
Satellite ⊗ [7]	encore	Doin’ It By Myself € [4]
Doin’ It By Myself (w/horns) € [5]	I Spy (not broadcast) acoustic ≅ [3]	improv Levi’s bar mitzvah
Look Alive £ [2]		Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [6]
Backyard (w/strings} © [2]	** from the new album	Do You Love Me ω [5]
Amsterdam © [3]		Rocketship (never before) ℵ
Window (w/strings & showed the original music video) ¶		Manifest Destiny ⊗ [4]
LOST AND GONE FOREVER 20th ANNIVERSARY SET		Amsterdam (not since 2004) © [2]
What You Wish For ≅ [2]		Ruby Falls ⊗ [2]
Barrel of a Gun ≅ [6]		Ramona © [4]
Either Way (w/strings) ≅		Satellite ⊗ [5]
Fa Fa (w/horns & Stephen on flute) ≅ [3]		Barrel of a Gun ≅ [5]
I Spy ≅ [4]		improv-“False encore” song
Center of Attention ≅ [2]		This Could All be Yours ω [5]
All the Way Up to Heaven (not since 2004) ≅ [2]		“encore“
Happier ≅ [5]		Mind Kontrol (new) £
So Long (w/strings) ≅		Two Points for Honesty ≅ [3]
Two Points for Honesty (w/strings) ≅ [4]		Demons ℵ [6]
Rainy Day (w/strings)		2nd encore
encore		Jesus on the Radio (acoustic, no mics) © [2]
Rocketship (w/strings) ℵ [2]
Hang On ⊗ [3]
Great Escape ℵ
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [7]

 

6/16/2016–Fillmore	11/21/2015–Wellmont	4/24/2015–TLA
What You Wish For ≅	Ramona © [2]	Demons ℵ [3]
Satellite ⊗ [4]	Satellite ⊗ [3]	Center of Attention ≅
Doin’ It By Myself € [3]	Simple Machine € [2]	Doin’ It By Myself €
Barrel of a Gun ≅ [4]	Happier ≅ [3]	The Beginning of the End ⊗
Ramona © [3]	Hercules ω [2]	Ramona ©
Never Coming Down € [3]	Careful / “Chariots of Fire” © [2]	Gangway €
Architects & Engineers ω [2]	Doin’ It By Myself € [2]	Endlessly €
Lightning Rod ⊗ [2]	The Captain ⊗ [2]	Stay with Me Jesus ω
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [5]	Kid Dreams €	Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [3]
Do You Love Me ω [4]	Homecoming King © [2]	Do You Love Me ω [2]
Dear Valentine ⊗	Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [4]	(Everything I Do) I Do It for You [Bryan Adams cover]
That’s No Way to Get to Heaven ω	Do You Love Me ω [3]	Hang On ⊗ [2]
Red Oyster Cult © [2]	Never Coming Down € [2]	Lazy Love €
Mona Lisa ¶ [2]	Demons ℵ [4]	Hercules (with Kishi Bashi) ω
Manifest Destiny ⊗[3]	Two Points for Honesty ≅ [2]	Satellite (with Kishi Bashi) ⊗ [2]
Simple Machine € [3]	Happy Frappy ¶	Simple Machine €
Airport Song ℵ [4]	Ruby Falls ⊗	Never Coming Down €
Kid Dreams €[2]	Lazy Love € [2]	Two Points for Honesty ≅
Demons ℵ [5]	Barrel of a Gun≅ [3]	Diane ©
This Could All Be Yours ω [4]	This Could All Be Yours ω [3]	Careful ©
encore “Improv”	“encore” (“Zombie Jews”)	This Could All Be Yours ω [2]
Long Night € [3]	Long Night € [2]	“encore”
Bad Bad World ω	One Man Wrecking Machine ⊗	Long Night €
What You Call Love ω [2]	Manifest Destiny ⊗ [2]	Manifest Destiny ⊗
Fa Fa ≅ [2]	Airport Song ℵ [3]	What You Call Love ω
encore “boooo”	Careless Whisper [George Michael cover]	Happier ≅ [2]
Jesus on the Radio ©

 

	7/20/2013–PNC Bank Center	7/5/2004–Starland
	The Captain ⊗	Happier ≅
	Architects & Engineers ω	I Spy ≅
	Homecoming King ©	Airport Song ℵ
	Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [2]	Demons ℵ
	Do You Love Me ω	Amsterdam ©
	Airport Song ℵ [2]	Come Downstairs and Say Hello ©
	Hang On ⊗	Barrel of a Gun ≅
	Demons ℵ [2]	Mona Lisa ¶
	Satellite ⊗	Red Oyster Cult ©
	Barrel of a Gun (with Ed Robertson) ≅ [2]	California Dreamin’ [Beach Boys cover]
	This Could All Be Yours ω	Fa Fa ≅
		Jam (with Ben Folds)
		Backyard (with Ben Folds) ©
		All the Way Up to Heaven ≅

Ø Oh La La (2024)                              -7/10
£ Look Alive (2019)                            -2/10
€ Evermotion (2015)                          -3/11
ω Easy Wonderful (2010)                -4/12
⊗ Ganging Up on the Sun (2006) -2/12
© Keep It Together (2003)              -3/13
≅ Lost and Gone Forever (1999)   —
ℵ Goldfly (1997)                                    -5/11
¶ Parachute (1995)                              -6/11

 

Parachute

1. “Love for Me”
2. “Eden”
3. “Scars & Stitches”
4. “The Prize”
5. “Dissolve”
6. “Cocoon”

Goldfly

1. “Perfect”
2. “Medicine”
3. “Grin”
4. “Getting Even”
5. “Melanie” (unlisted bonus track)

Keep It Together

1. “Keep It Together”
2. “Long Way Down”
3. “Two at a Time” (hidden track)

Ganging Up on the Sun

1. “C’mon” – 3:51
2. “Empire State” – 4:59

Easy Wonderful

1. “On the Ocean”
2. “This Is How It Feels to Have a Broken Heart”
3. “Jesus and Mary”
4. “Do What You Want”

Evermotion

1. “Expectation”
2. “It Is Just What It Is”
3. “Farewell”

Look Alive

1. “Summertime”
2. “Not for Nothing”