Guster Loses its Luster, but LaMontagne Shines

August 1, 2006

Recommended Beverage:
during this headliner, go with a few cheap beers and relive the college days

I don't own a Guster album, but there are a few songs on several of their albums that I really enjoy and I've heard they really jam out live, so I was surprised to find them somewhat irritating in concert at Wolf Trap. Their first few songs sounded so nauseatingly pop that one could easily forget they label themselves alternative. This jangly pop showed itself quite often throughout the night though at times their raw talent did shine through. They harmonized, added a few other instruments in certain songs from keyboard to trumpet, and by the last song before the encore, "Fa Fa," the percussionist went bongos on the congos.

Still, something about their show made me feel like I was at a huge frat party. Some seemingly long-time fans of this band that has toured incessantly for a good decade were scattered about, but the crowd largely consisted of folks barely out of college. Midway through the show, a few guys were dancing wildly on the lawn nearby and I was glad to see people so into the music when, moments later, those same guys got escorted out by security for public drunkenness. If it wasn't such a steaming hot night, I too might've taken to the bottle...

Clearly, I missed the boat and should've seen these guys years ago before some label inspired this overproduced sound. They were quite amusing at times, though. Their youngest member, Scooter, did jumping jacks through the whole break until the band returned for its encore. And at one point the singer did a rap from Revenge of the Nerds to see if the sign language interpreter could keep up.

What saved the night for me was the glowing performance by co-bill Ray LaMontagne. He performed a large sampling from his debut album Trouble and several songs from his upcoming second album, Till the Sun Turns Black, which sounded equally fantastic. One of the new songs had such a great country-rock beat that the sign interpreter and an older usher toward the lawn were dancing, totally lost in the music.

Backed by a full band, LaMontagne soared through his set of folk-rock-blues with that soulful, smoky voice that warms you through and through. It's no surprise he considers Otis Redding one of his influences; his music is also reminiscent of early Van Morrison. LaMontagne, a former shoe factory worker from Maine, is a joy to hear both on disc and live.

Opening band Rogue Wave, from San Francisco, was excellent as well, providing a good reminder of what alternative is supposed to sound like.