Add to the list… #19

October 1999: TRAX, Charlottesville VA
April 2000: Newcomb Hall, Charlottesville VA
Summer 2000: Norva Theatre, Norfolk VA
April 2001: The Tabernacle, Atlanta GA
April 2002: Mad Bowl, Charlottesville VA
September 2002: Browns Island, Richmond VA
May 2003: Rutgers University, Piscataway NJ
August 2003: Recher Theatre, Towson MD
September 2003: Performing Arts Center, Charlottesville VA
October 2003: 930 Club, Washington DC
December 2003: Starland Ballroom, Sayreville NJ
December 31 2003: House of Blues, Chicago IL
April 2004: Univ of Richmond, Richmond VA
June 2004: Wolf Trap, Vienna VA
May 2005: Univ of Maryland, College Park MD
November 2005: Sonar Lounge, Baltimore MD
September 2006: Austin City Limits Festival
April 2007: Stubb’s BBQ, Austin TX
April 2009: Stubb’s BBQ, Austin TX

And in case you’re wondering, no, it doesn’t get old to see the same band 19 times. :) I can’t believe it had been two years since I last saw them. They’ve definitely perfected the quality of their live performances. Not that the shows back in the way weren’t of high quality - it’s just that now they’ve developed a much fuller and diverse sound, with much more instrumentation and harmonies and precision. In any case, Guster rocked as they always do, with Ryan was at his best with jokes and banter and Brian was crazy on the bongos. But probably the best highlight of the night (other than ending their set with “Demons“) was the “surprise” appearance of Ben Kweller - he performed “I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today” (apparently they co-wrote the song) and covered Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” (in a very precise fashion) with the band. I quoted surprise because I sort-of actually already knew Ben Kweller was going to show up. Earlier in the day I discovered Guster’s Twitter account, and the last update they had stated that @benkweller was going to jam with them. Gotta love technology.

BTW, Say It Ain’t So was awesome. Pretty random for Guster to cover Weezer, but who cares. :)

I wish Guster would come around to Austin more often. At recent paces, Spoon’s going to catch up to them really soon - I found out today that they’re doing back-to-back-to-back shows (i.e. 3 shows in a row) at Stubb’s in July! I guess it’s not a bad thing if Spoon overtakes Guster for number of shows, but I never really thought it was possible until I actually compiled Spoon’s list. If it happens, it happens!