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Reviews From 09-03-2003
Submitted to Guster.net by Anna

09-03-2003
The Orange Peel, Asheville, SC


Incredible, amazing, astounding, and did I say incredible? This was the second time I had seen Guster in concert (first time was in Greenville, SC in '02), and the show was a masterpiece of rich vocals, upbeat tunes, crisp, clean guitar riffs, a twinge of banjo, and, how could we forget, our beloved Brian, the god of drums, giving it his all. Blue Merle opened and put on a good performance. Opening with 'Happier', a great cut from 'Lost and Gone Forever', Gus kept the energy flowing throughout the night, playing old favorites such as 'Barrel of Gun', 'Airport Song' (during which many of us devoted fans pelted ping-pong balls at the stage), and new-hits-soon-to-be-beloved-classics such as 'Red Oyster Cult' (my favorite new song), 'Backyard' (we were the first to hear it live!), and 'Homecoming King'. Despite all the ecstatic folk-rock, Gus sprinkled some of their more "intellectual, deep" songs as Ryan put it through the show- 'X-ray Eyes', one of my very favorites of all time from Goldfly, and 'Come Downstairs and Say Hello'. The crowd all sang along and cheered our boys on, and it made for a great night. They encored and returned to play a few requests and songs they felt they couldn't part without sharing with us, like 'Diane' and 'Demons' by request (and a large poster waving in the front row). They closed the evening with an incredible rendition of 'Jesus On the Radio', unplugged, it was amazing! Afterwards I got to run out back and meet the band and Joe, the "extra guy" who isn't officially a member yet, he said he doesn't know whether or not to become one. I got my Goldfly CD signed and Ryan bestowed his most worthy autograph on my flame Converse shoes, hehe. All in all, it was one of the best shows I've ever seen, and I always think of it when I listen to them. Some bands sound ridiculous in concert, some bands can pull it off, and some bands don't just perform, they radiate all their life, energy, and passion for their music and surge it right into the audience. That's what our beloved Ryan, Adam, and Brian did, and it left a milestone in the minds and hearts of all who attended.