On The Rocks
I received my brand spankin’ new Guster live CD/DVD — Guster on Ice: Live From Portland Maine — this week. I haven’t had a chance to watch the DVD yet, but I have listened to the CD. Frankly, Guster would have to really really fuck up for me to not like something of there’s. And they do have a couple songs that are complete duds. (In the liner notes, there’s a blurb on each of their CDs. Under Lost and Gone Forever, it says, ‘Features the smash hit “Rainy Day.’” Ha ha!)
But the live show is a staple of the Guster experience so I actually enjoyed hearing the crowd erupt into cheers for the favorites and sing along and such, instead of just being annoyed by it, which it usually is the case on any other live CD.
My favorite tracks:
- Happier – I like the live renditions of this better anyway. This had a little extra electric guitar to it. Good crowd sing along.
- (Nothing But) Flowers – Finally I’ve got a quality recording of this. I heard them play this at Detroit TasteFest last summer and really liked it. You got it, you got it….
- Come Downstairs and Say Hello – Gave me chills. One of my favorites from Keep It Together. This version is almost 7 minutes long, but the way the song crescendos, it doesn’t feel too long. There’s plenty of time to savor the slow part at the beginning (raise those lighters), to get into the faster part with some funky new vocal stylings, and then Brian totally rocks on the hand percussion at the end.
- Demons – There is no doing this one wrong. I {heart} Guster. *sigh* A little extra/different electric guitar in this one, too.
- Airport Song – Extra rockin’ and good crowd sing along (“dirty, room so dirty!”), especially since it’s quiet in the beginning. This is Brian’s big hand percussion showcase, usually with strobe light, and I could totally picture him going crazy. You can’t hear ‘em, but I’m sure ping pong balls were thrown. I bet you can see ‘em on the DVD.
- Homecoming King – Not super spectacular, but one of my other favorites from KIT. Extra keyboard, extra harmonica, and extra funky.
- Fa Fa – Also gave me chills. With horns! They rock hard on this song.
Okay, and that was, like, half the disc. But it’s good! So good. Yum.
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2 Responses to “On The Rocks”
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May 29th, 2004 at 12:33 pm
Gooster! Yay!
I love Gooster and can’t wait to see them this summer with Ben Folds and Rufus.
So, a recommended purchase for me?
May 29th, 2004 at 4:20 pm
This is a must for any Guster aficionado.