The first time I saw Guster, the three members of the group, Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller and Brian Rosenworcel, were busking in a vacant storefront in Harvard Square. Two young college students singing harmony, earnestly playing their guitars, flanking a very energetic bongo player. I put a few bucks into the guitar case.
Since then, I've seen them with full orchestras in many cities, flown to see them at Red Rocks, and most recently stood in a sea of thousands at the On The Ocean festival the band curates and hosts each year in Portland, Maine. They have released nine albums and several live recordings, and always finds new ways to weave amazing sonic landscapes, tell meaningful stories and deeply engage with its fan base. But I have always felt Guster was a band made for the Tiny Desk, for the NPR Music audience. From that dirty little storefront in Cambridge to the best little venue in the world.
When Miller, Gardner and Rosenworcel finally made it to the Tiny Desk, Guster put on a show that featured old songs and new. They opened with "Manifest Destiny," an anthem dedicated to packing it all up and running away. The Washington DC Gay Men's Chorus provided beautiful harmonies on "Empire State." From Guster's most recent album, Ooh La La, "The Elevator" is a goodbye song that carries different meanings whether you think of it as a morning farewell to a small child or mourning a lost parent. Either way, "I'll miss you when I'm gone" is the message.
Watching this performance was an immensely euphoric, almost surreal moment. At one moment, Ryan and Adam once again played their guitars flanking Brian, and I got a flash of those same three earnest young men I saw on that summer day in Cambridge, Mass. A little older, but as wonderful as ever.
SET LIST
- "Manifest Destiny"
- "Empire State"
- "Satellite"
- "The Elevator"
MUSICIANS
- Ryan Miller: vocals, guitar, harmonica, bass, piano
- Adam Gardner: bass, guitar, vocals
- Brian Rosenworcel: drums, percussion
- Luke Reynolds: guitar, Mellotron, bass, piano, background vocals
- Dave Butler: drums, piano
- Jamie Hillis: background vocals
- Zac Barger: background vocals
- Gabriel Lopez: background vocals
- Dana Nearing: background vocals
- Michael Smith: background vocals
- Javon Byram: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene, Sofia Seidel
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistant: Dora Levite
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Tiny Desk Team: Maia Stern, Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Maansi Srivastava
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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