Guster Rocks Out at Harvard

Take Harvard's Gordon track, cover it with brown construction paper, add lights, a small stage, a few fences for kicks, and you've got Guster.

The three former Jumbos who make up the acoustic rock group Guster rocked Cambridge on Sunday night, playing to the extensive crowd at Harvard's Gordon Track and Tennis Center. The trio, which originally met during their freshman orientation at Tufts University and played their first gig at Hotung Cafe, made no secret of their roots, at one point proclaiming that "we're from that other school in Medford!" -- automatically triggering cheers from the Tufts students speckled throughout the crowd.

The concert represented the kick off performance for Harvard's Undergraduate Council Concert Committee. Although the committee originally tried for bigger names like the well-known Outkast, such performers ultimately exceeded the price range of $80,000 to $100,000. Guster front man Ryan Miller cleverly pointed this out during the opening set, laughing as he read through clippings from the Harvard Crimson that stated Guster was a cheap band the Harvard campus had "settled upon."

The crowd responded with chuckles as Guster commenced to prove their doubters wrong, lighting up the night with their alternative rock beats and jams. Guster opened with the upbeat number 'What You Wish For,' a piece off of its album Lost and Gone Forever. Guitarist/singer Miller's high vocals harmonized with the voice of fellow singer Adam Gardner, and the light strains of their mellow acoustic guitars floated through the air as the band slowly seduced the audience with such favorites as "Demons," "Barrel of a Gun," "Airport Song," and their new, frequently-played single, "Amsterdam."

Each song stood uniquely on its own, played with compassion, zeal, and emotion. By the end of Guster's set, the crowd was singing along with every number, often clapping out the beats. The group lived up to its hype with the right mix of high-tempo, on-tune rockers, and proved that while the band may not have the fame of some more highly-priced comrades, it certainly knows how to rock.

The group's signature bongo-style percussion set rocked center stage, innovatively beat by percussionist Brian Rosenworcel, who grooved in a chimpanzee-like fashion. His efforts created a modern-jam feel that exhorted energy from the laid-back, contented crowd, intertwining layers of percussion rhythm and bringing a unique depth to the music.

The fact that a weakly-promoted band like Guster has such a following is fairly impressive in and of itself. Rather than sign on with a major label that could afford to serious promotion, Guster has relied on a strategy of grassroots fan support and relentless touring, which has landed it with a loyal, abundant fan base. Most of the crowd claimed familiarity with songs that never made it to the radio, many of which were obscure tunes off of earlier albums, and the band relied entirely on material from its past three albums -- playing absolutely no covers during the impressive show.

Lead vocalist Ryan Miller demonstrated his share of quirks throughout the show and Guster gleamed with pride for its Boston roots, enticing the crowd with laughs and stories. Miller did his best to bond with the crowd, alluding to playing outside the 'T' and dining at Harvard's pizza shop, Pinocchio's. The home-town connections went over well, generating cheers from the audience, and Miller's tangents helped to humanize the band.

The opening act, singer Kathleen Edwards, was a mix between Dido and Beth Orton. Though entertaining, she performed nothing original that could ease the audience's yearning to see Guster. At one point during her set, Edwards noted that the audience looked like "dead corpses," -- not a bad observation, yet when noted by the performer, the show can't be going that well. Most of the crowd stood, with arms at sides, waiting for the Edwards to finally take her leave.

Before Guster's concluding song of Fa-Fa, Miller joked that "if you clap really hard, we'll come back out in a minute." He and his fellow musicians did well in translating their upbeat, jam music to the crowd at the Gordon Track, fully energizing themselves onstage and proving that local, 'cheap' music is the way to go.