Woke up todaaaaaaaaaay to a Guster recording of their second daaaaaaaay performing at The Mishawaka Amphitheatre!
After a slightly rainy Night 1, Guster returned to the Mishawaka stage. While rain was in the forecast, the thunder gods granted Guster a beautiful sunny day to round out their two-night run, brimming with fans ready for the second and final round. The show started with one of the band’s newest songs, “Black Balloon”, a somber, stripped-down original that captivated the attention of the crowd with bated breaths eager to begin singing their favorite songs. As Ryan put it, “we thought we’d start there, we’re not gonna stay there…” And true to Ryan’s promise, the band then launched into a more familiar opener, “What You Wish For”, kickstarting the show in a more raucous fashion.
Guster did an exceptional job filling out the set list with an expansive blend of originals, showing the band’s capacity to structure two nights with a powerful catalogue that spans their 30+ year career. Impressively, they delivered their second night with only two repeat songs, paying pittance to those unlucky enough to have missed night one with offerings of the inspirational “Come Downstairs And Say Hello” and the algorithmic streaming favorite “Satellite”. Other highlights included a somewhat rare take on “Don’t Go”, a full-band rendition of “Hard Times”, an especially spirited version of “Airport Song” (complete with ping-pong throwing), and a callback to the first night when Guster responded to a fan request for “Ruby Falls”, promising to play the song the second night (which they did). The band even took another shot at the “Top Gun Anthem”, which they had technically played the night before but felt was a bit botched. If you’re wondering, they nailed it on night two.
As always, no highlights of a Guster show would be complete without mention of the improvised moments, which included a funny recounting of Ryan’s day hike on the “Young Gulch Trail”, some light-hearted banter about Ryan and Brian arguing over ownership of a Mishawaka t-shirt, and even a deviation from the setlist with a performance of Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy”, sung by the Thunder God himself in response to fans chanting during the encore break to “let Brian sing”. The encore also included a performance of “So Long”, one of the lesser played songs this tour but a longtime favorite off the band’s preeminent album, “Lost and Gone Forever”. Finally, the show closed with a rousing rendition of “This Could All Be Yours Someday”, which was punctuated by an epic rainfall as Guster played the last notes. A beautifully poetic end to the run.
Guster is not necessarily the first band that would come to mind when it comes to performing a two-night run, but that may not be fair. As previously stated, the band has a catalogue spanning three decades and eight studio albums, brimming with gems of melodious dexterity. It’s a true testament to their high-quality songwriting that a two-night run can contain almost four hours of original material that fans are eager to sing every single word to. No covers (well, almost). No self-serving extended jamming. Just a two-night clinic on catchy, accessible songwriting. Frankly, the band could have easily added a third night, and there would still be prime song choices available (“Fa Fa” and “Two Points For Honesty”, anyone?). Guster exemplifies everything that a career of peak songwriting can lead to, and their fans are evidence of the loyalty that such a career can cultivate. To still produce such strong material after so many years is an accomplishment that few artists can ever lay claim to, and Guster is one of the best among them.
Guster | 2023-08-02 |
The Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Bellvue, CO
-= One Set =-
01. (Intro)
02. Black Balloon
03. What You Wish For
04. Manifest Destiny
05. Long Night
06. (“Were Any Of You Here Last Night?” Banter)
07. Don’t Go
08. Hercules
09. Diane
10. Come Downstairs And Say Hello
11. Hard Times
12. (“The Young Gulch Trail” Improv/Banter)
13. Gangway
14. Never Coming Down
15. One Many Wrecking Machine
16. Airport Song
17. What You Call Love
18. (“Brian’s Shirt” Banter)
19. Ruby Falls
20. Careful[1]
21. Amsterdam
22. Happier
-= Encore =-
23. (Encore Break)
24. If It Makes You Happy (Sheryl Crow cover)
25. So Long
26. Satellite
27. This Could All Be Yours Someday
Show Notes: This was the second night of a two-night run at The Mishawaka. Esther Rose opened the show.
[1] The outro to “Careful” included the “Top Gun Anthem”.
Taper Notes: FOB DFC Mics setup around 20′ in front of stage and ~7′ in
the air PAS.
Thank you to Guster and the Mishawaka for being cool with taping/sharing shows. Go see live music and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes
LINK: https://archive.org/details/guster2023-08-02.StudioProjects.C4.MKII.cards.AUD.FLAC16bit
