Last Saturday night, Guster, the headlining band at this year's Spring Fair, played to a large and enthusiastic crowd assembled at the AC. The band The Bees opened with a short and varied set. Guster's live performance was well worth the $7 Hopkins students paid.
The set included a mix of songs from Guster's four albums. The band opened with "Demon" from their second album Goldfly. They also incorporated songs from their first album Parachute, most notably their hauntingly beautiful single, "Mona Lisa." Their new album Keep It Together was also well represented: they played powerful versions of "Amsterdam" and the "Red Oyster Cult," and had the crowd dancing to "Homecoming King" and "Careful."
The band managed to easily engage the crowd throughout the concert, joking about whether or not the band was too old to attend college parties, and about lead singer Ryan's parents, who were standing in the front row. Many students sang along with upbeat popular favorites such as "Fa Fa," "Either Way," and "Barrel of the Gun" from Guster's second and third albums. Throughout the set, the drummer Ryan switched between the bongo drums and a drum set. The vocals were sung mainly by Ryan, with help from Adam. New touring band member Joe provided the band with a fuller sound, and played a variety of instruments including the harmonica. The concert was rounded off with "Happier" from Lost and Gone Forever.
