Just like a true “ERAS Tour,” Guster’s two and a half hour double-header at The Fillmore included everything from set and wardrobe changes, comedy, a “costume counter,” and reflections on the ups and downs of life as a musician. While the show was all about the band’s career from the college dorm room to today, they were also celebrating their most recent album Oh La La which they released last year. The deluxe version, Oh La Luxe, was just released the same day of the show too!
Guster took their fans through the whole timeline of the band, starting all the way back when Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner met at Tufts University and named their new college band “Gus” (which was soon changed to “Guster” during a Harvard Square busking trip) and went all the way through to present day. They even did as much as having guitarist Luke Reynolds dressed up as founding member Joe Pisapia for the first half, until they got to the point in time when Pisapia left the band and Reynolds joined (this switch occurred in 2010). Little skits and narrations were designed as the introduction or transitions before jumping to the next album in their discography. While the whole night was mostly humorous and lighthearted, they managed to include the more serious bits in a fun way to give everyone the full picture of Guster’s life as a band.
Guster | photo by Ellen C Miller for WXPN
The first set ended naturally with a crowd E-A-G-L-E-S chant, followed up with Guster’s hit “Satellite.” Which was followed by them performing “Thunder God” and showed us the darker, uncertain times that Guster faced after being dropped by Warner Bros. No need to worry, though! Their second set kicked off big with “Do You Love Me” from their 2010 album, Easy Wonderful, that was followed by Miller taking his walk through the crowd during “Do it by Myself” (from the 2015 album, Evermotion). The rise of the second half continued with their 2019 song “Don’t Go” before we hit the 2020 era. They were able to pick right back up quickly with their Red Rocks headlining gig in the summer of 2021 and finished the set strong with “Come Downstairs and Say Hello” (off their 2013 album, Keep it Together) that had the room singing with them.
Guster | photo by Ellen C Miller for WXPN
The crowd was appropriately occupied during the pre-encore break with a countdown clock and the Eagles fight song blaring over the speakers. The fight song and Eagles Chant seemed to work, because when the band came back to stage to close the night with “Happier” and “Amsterdam,” Miller had swapped his Dallas shirt for an Eagles shirt (go birds!). Check out a full gallery of photos from the concert below.