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Guster, Georgia Theatre, 10/16/07

by Mary Catherine Brutz
10/18/2007

Silence fell over the crowd. The Georgia Theatre was so quiet that the sweat dripping off the band’s bodies could be heard landing on the stage.

After over 100 minutes of continuous playing Tuesday night, Guster came out for an encore which was perhaps the highlight of the evening.

They performed “Jesus on the Radio,” completely unplugged: no amps, no microphones, nothing. The crowd’s eruption at the end signaled their complete satisfaction with that song and the concert as a whole.

The Georgia Theatre was packed with an eclectic crowd ranging from high school students to some middle-aged people who probably aren’t feeling their best at work today. With over 91,000 friends on MySpace, it’s no wonder Guster was able to attract such a massive audience on a Tuesday night.

This band definitely puts on a memorable live performance, including voice alterations and colored balls shooting across the air.

Tuesday night they played songs off of their last four albums. The crowd was especially responsive to “Amsterdam” and “Homecoming King,” which hasn’t been performed in years, according to band member Ryan Miller.

Joe Pisapia, who joined Guster in 2003, has added a lot more variety to the band’s performance by playing the keyboard, harmonica and guitar as well as providing back-up vocals.

Guster creates a wide range of music with varying tempos and melodies, yet their songs are easy to sing to and often stick in your head with you want them to or not. Their music is so approachable that even people who aren’t familiar with the group could have a great time at one of their shows.

The performance in Athens Tuesday night was one of the last on their tour promoting their new album, Satellite : EP which was released in April of this year.

When the tour ends, the band will have a break for a few months before they embark on the “Ships and Dip III” cruise with Barenaked Ladies at the end of January.

Even though they barreled straight through their setlist, hardly taking any breaks, Miller did stop to say, “Athens is f***ing fantastic! Everyone here just wants to give you a hug.”