I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for a while and it will not even come close to how great I think these guys are. I’ve been a fan of Guster for a long time. The first time I heard them they were opening for G. Love and Special Sauce at the Flynn Theatre in Burlington, VT. Since then I’ve seen them every chance I get, Montreal, Burlington, MiddleburyCollege, some I’m forgetting… and now in Dallas. Oh how the world goes round. The last time I saw them play was in 2007, so I was pretty pumped to reunite.

The show was at the House of Blues in Dallas. Jukebox the Ghost was opening, I had never heard of them. Typically, I research opening bands however I was lazy this go around. We arrived about an hour late, thinking we’d catch the last half of the opening act (typically I try to catch however we had some time restrictions) I was pleasantly surprised.   

It’s important for me to explain that before Jukebox the Ghost came on stage, we were waiting for the show to start and this guy comes running up to meet his friends (one of which I think was his brother). He had on a Jukebox the Ghost t-shirt (with autographs) and was extremely pumped up about the show. Pumped meaning he was already hooting, hollering and jumping up and down. He didn’t stop dancing and singing every lyric of the song. Indeed, I was standing next to their biggest fan!. He was so incredibly excited, it it was contagious! About halfway thru the show, the keyboardist in the band looked directly at them and gave them the “shot gun look” but in a great way. I think the keyboardists name was Ben… I kept hearing “I love you Jukebox the Ghost!”, “I love you Ben!”. I’m sure it made their night!

Jukebox the Ghost is an indie band and a great opener Guster. The group consists of a guitarist, pianist and drummer/maraca man. Their tunes make you find the beat to the music and before you know it you’re going to be tapping your head and dancing around. They are upbeat, light-hearted and happy. As I am not the best person at describing music, their live performance was greatness. They got you to feel the beat, move to the music and most importantly you can tell that they love what they do. They were playing with the crowd. To top it off, they write all their own music. For that they get a few more points in my book! The highlight of the show (for me) came about mid-way thru their performance. They explained that they recently played at SXSW and they had been looking for a place to stay. These four college students said they had room to take them in, turns out they’re four bad ass trumpet / trombone players. So what did the Jukebox the Ghost do? They invited them on stage to play with them at the House of Blues. You know it made their year! At the send of the set (about an hour or so), they met fans out in the lobby … and off the world’s biggest Jukebox the Ghost fan went!

Ok, Ok – I’m getting to it – Guster! It was wicked! WICKED! I found myself standing in the second row, so excited to be there! I wish I could relive it, minus the two stoned girls that kept hurling through our area. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen Guster. I really miss my New England bands sometimes but am so thankful that they make it down here. Guster originally met at Tufts in the ‘90’s however as it turns out they are not all from New England. Ryan Miller is from Richardson, Texas – right north of Dallas. Who knew?!

They came on stage and I immediately thought to myself, did I miss something? Joe? Joe? Where did you go? (I went home and did some snooping.) Turns out Joe Pisapai is touring with K.D. Lang (he cowrote and coproduced most of the album with Lang) and in turn we received Mr. Luke Reynolds. Mr. Luke Reynolds plays the banjo and a mean guitar among other things but most importantly – he is a Vermonter! (Insert super excited face here!) If you know me, you know this is a BIG deal. Yes, they announced this on stage. Yes, I was the only one cheering for the word “Vermont”. I’m very proud! 

Guster played an huge array of songs including songs from their newest album “Easy Wonderful” as well as a mix of songs from their past albums. They put on a heck of a show, playing their hearts out, joking with the crowd, reminiscing about attending RISD and calling out each other when they messed up during one of the final songs. They are upbeat, energetic and they have the capability of giving me goosebumps everytime (it’s the greatest feeling really). Brian can still kick some ass on those bongos which makes the crowd go wild everytime! As soon as they come on stage their just completely make you feel like you are one of their own. You become absorbed into the music, their stage presence and every note that is played by every instrument. At the end of the show, Guster made sure to come back out for an encore, which was much appreciated. They played for a good two hours, however I think everyone would agree when I say they should’ve played all night – they were on fire! Much love! 

Guster! Come back soon!

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