Guster @ Cornell
So lets start from the beginning...
The opening act was Rufus Wainwright, who I hadn't really heard much from before, and I doubt I'll be going out to hear more from now. He wasn't bad, but just a little too whiny for my tastes. Or it could have been the minimilist stage act he has (either him on keyboard or him on acoustic guitar). It just wasn't enough to distract me from the overly wailing vocals. Also all his songs seemed to be at the exact same tempo, making it harder to really tell the differences in most of them. I know, he's probably better than this, but his performance in Barton doesn't leave me craving more.
Then came Guster. As usual they put on a great show. They have great stage presence and always seem to find a way to play to the audience. I'm not that big a fan of the new album (although I am coming around some, but it's still not nearly their best), but that doesn't matter when you see them live. Unlike some bands Guster tends not to just come up on stage and rattle off their hits just like they were playing them straight from the CD. Insted they find some way to make the songs new and different, while still staying familiar. Blend this in with their lively nature, interaction with the audience (they polled people for which song to play at one point), and obscure covers (they did a cover of a Belle & Sebastian song that about half the audience didn't know) and you get a fantastic show. A personal favorite of mine was thier encore. Insted of all going off stage for a few minutes, only to come back and play a coupel more songs, they just sent one of the band memebers off and then had the audience cheer him back on while the remaining memebers played some nice background chant music.
So as usual Guster put on an energetically humourously entertaining performance. So if you get the chance go out and catch a Guster show sometimes. Even if you're not a big fan of their music you can't beat watching the bare handed drummer bang away on the bongos and drums like a maniac.