The Most Underrated Band in America: Guster

Photo Credit: guster.com

It bothers me how many people are missing out on what I dub the “Guster Experience.”

I’ve known of Guster for a while, but I wasn’t hooked until I saw them perform live at the DMB Caravan two years ago in Atlantic City. Since then, I’ve been enamored. 

Front man Ryan Miller was hilarious, and his high-pitched voice aesthetically complimented co-front man Adam Gardner’s deep and more hollow sound. Not to mention drummer Brian Rosenworcel, who played his bongos with his bare hands.

You can’t describe Guster’s music as simply happy or sad. Their songs are layered like an onion and never at one extreme. You have to almost literally peel through their albums to get in touch with what subtle implications they are trying to convey.

But nonetheless, their music is a mastered marriage of both feminine and masculine qualities—something many bands cannot achieve without entering into the realms of “too-much-pop.” Perhaps this is a result of the harmonious clash between Miller and Gardner’s voices.

I love Guster, and you should too. So start listening to them now… or else.

"One Man Wrecking Machine"

"The Captain"

"Demons"

"Manifest Destiny"

"Diane"

"Satellite"

"Keep It Together"

"Fa Fa"

"Happier"

"Either Way"

My Weekend: Global Festival 2012

Photo Credit: joonbug.com

This weekend I joined 59,999 other spectators in the Central Park sensation known as Global Festival, a free concert promoting the elimination of global poverty.

I may have missed K’naan’s and Band of Horses’ acts, but they were the least of my concerns. The Black Keys, Foo Fighters and Neil Young and Crazy Horse absolutely blew me away. Let’s take a step back and start at the beginning.

I walked through the gated path to the sound of John Legend covering John Lennon’s “Imagine.” I knew they said there were going to be special guests, but Legend was far more than just simply “special.” His soul monsooned with each and every word, capitulating what Global Citizen deserved with a song so appropriately chosen.

Among other special guests were Olivia Wilde and Selena Gomez. I don’t know why they were there. Their ignorant ramblings on “women’s inequity in India” and the likes were a distraction to what the show was largely about. Speaking as a woman myself, Olivia Wilde is a beautiful face and she should remain that way; the stereotypical liberal jargon vomiting from her mouth annoys me, as does Disney star’s Selena Gomez. Is that too harsh? I don’t really care.  

My first ultimate surprise of the night was the Black Keys. I knew they were an amazing band, but I really didn’t expect a live show like the one they executed this weekend. It will never cease to astound me how a band composed of only two musicians, a guitarist and a drummer, can sound like a full out blues band (despite their newly formed backing band, of course). Not to mention I was very pleased that they didn’t just reiterate El Camino all night, as I personally favor their older material. But regardless my favorite song of the night was "Little Black Submarines". There is nothing like getting tricked by a slow song’s lull, only to be cascaded into a stunning guitar riff by no other than Dan Auerbach.

Speaking of, anyone else suddenly in love with him after watching him perform live?

Next were the Foo Fighters, who met up to my expectations perfectly. I didn’t expect anything less from Dave Grohl and his motley crew. Who did shocked me, however, was drummer Taylor Hawkins. Though not the band’s main dude (that’s Grohl), Hawkins mastered his drumming, creating an exhilarating and frantic ambiance for rock fans everywhere. Sadly, the band announced this would be their last show (at least for a while), but it’s pretty cool to say that I saw the Foo Fighters’ last live gig. “Learn To Fly” was definitely my favorite there.

Ending the night was Neil Young and Crazy Horse. It disappoints me that my fellow concertgoers disliked his set for the sole reason that they knew far too few of the songs he played. But he’s Neil Young, he can rock out to whatever he wants to and would still remain godly. And that is an understatement. For example, check out his Americana album, who else could possibly pull that off? Sure, I was disappointed I didn’t hear “Heart of Gold,” “Everybody Knows This is No Where,” or even “Ohio,” but what I did hear was an awesome jam session from one of the purest of rock stars. That is something that angers me about Global Festival that others were pleased about.

When I go to a concert, I want to hear something I can’t find online or in an album. I want to hear impromptu solos, wild strings of improvised musical politics. That is where Neil Young did not disappoint me. While the Black Keys and the Foo Fighters tried to rush through each song, aiming to play as much as possible, Young lead each track as if it were a whole production. To my peers, he wasn’t great, but he was by far my favorite.

Unfortunately I left for this, but listening on YouTube of him and all predecessor bands perform “Rocking in the Free World” is phenomenal.

I had good times at Global Citizen Festival, and I hope to see another show at Central Park soon. There is nothing like sharing a great big open field with people who love the same music as you.

Here are some pictures I took at the event. I know they're far away, trust me I know. But it was the best I could get.

Grohl, Young and Auerbach. Photo Credit: neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.com

Dan Auerbach

John Legend