Search - Guster :: Guster on Ice: Live from Portland, Maine

A View From The Outside

Bill Houle | San Diego, CA | 09/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had liked "Barrel Of A Gun", but never knew who did it. I loved "Careful" and knew the artist, but assumed they were your typical teenie-bopper throwaway and didn't give them much of a chance. Then, while flipping channels I happened upon an AUSTIN CITY LIMITS episode that had a band with great melodies, good stage presence, and a truly mesmerizing percussionist that played cymbals and snare using only his taped and blistered hands. And, unlike some of the performers at the MTV Awards, they could actually sing! When the credits rolled, I was surprised to hear that I had been watching Guster. That sold me on the spot.



I'm not normally a live album person unless I'm already a huge fan of the performers. So for me to buy "Guster On Ice" was quite a leap. But I figured that I liked them live on AUSTIN, so what the heck...



It was not a purchase that I have regretted. The DVD is entertaining, but you should treat it just as a bonus and instead look at it as if you are buying a pricey Greatest Hits CD. I bought it for that very reason: because it had the 2 aforementioned songs that I already knew and liked. But every other, from Come Downstairs to Fa-Fa is excellent. The CD is now in my car changer, and I can't stop playing it. Every time I get to the end of Track #13, I go back to #1. At this point, I've forgotten what other 4 discs I have in there!



If you need further proof, this is the first such purchase on Amazon that I have felt the need to write a review for. Guster needs to be heard."

Excellent release

alex bushman | Michigan | 06/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, at first I was kind of put off by the price and the PA, but I really like Guster, so I picked it up and I've got to say it's a very reasonable price for this. Each piece, the cd and dvd, are terrific in and of themselves and could've been sold separately for twice as much. And I feel that the PA was somewhat unnecessary considering the fact that the advisory comes from banter the band does in segments outside of the actual feature concert footage and doesn't detail explicit sex, or violence, but is mild profanity. At any rate, the concert film delivers. It mixes concert footage of the band without footage of them backstage, before a concert, at a radio performance, sliding around on ice outside, and tons of relevant crowd shots filled with reactions and candid behavior aplenty. Also included is a short film by a fan who followed them for week when they were touring to support the Barenaked Ladies. This provides the other portion that could possibly be the reason for the PA, but everything is covered, so I don't understand it. There's also a section where you meet Joe, the unofficial fourth member who was added for the tours of Keep it Together. He plays his guitar and sings his songs for you, and he's excellent at playing the guitar, not a very good singer, though. You also see him lead a jam with the band riffing in Chips Ahoy cookies and some music videos for two of Keep It Together's most famous songs pretty much wrap up the extras. Oh, there's a segment with the ridiculous inflated Cowboy who runs around in their video for Amsterdam and during the concert. That's it for the DVD. It gives you what you need to know about the band. As for the CD, it's excellent as well, containing every hit that the band released, but lets be honest, the perfect Guster concert recording would be them performing every song they've ever released. That will never happen, so here's the next best thing. Some of the songs sound fresher live, the "Airport Song" lacks the scratchiness of the violins and sound of ping pong balls at the end, which I love, but it also sounds more dramatic now. Whereas, on the record it sounds like macabre joke. If you watch the DV, the crowd throws ping pong balls onstage during it. CRAZY. "Come Downstairs and Say Hello" shows the mood change in the song, it's great. Above all else on this release, it's nice to see Brian "Thunder god" Rosenworcel in action with the bongos and to hear the group speak in a candid way Great stuff."

Awesome Package

Meir Weinberg | Sharon, MA. USA | 05/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've loved Guster since their Goldfly days back in the mid to late 90's. It's about time they came out with a live album following their awesome Keep It Together album last summer. Very smart how they not only made a DVD, but included a CD so you can listen to it on the road etc and not be restricted to needing a DVD player. The DVD disc is awesome and has great background footage and extras. It's not your usual live concert that just goes straight through the show, but has unique clips and transitions between songs. For those of you who are not familiar with Guster, go listen and buy all 4 of their studio albums as well as this live one. They are 3 great guys, with a great sense of humor, who make amazing music, and do it simply for the love of music and their fans and don't hyperfocus on money as so many other musicians do.
My only complaint is that the CD doesn't have more songs on it, and it would have been cool if the CD had some extra songs that arent on the DVD, but it's ok. I was also surprised to find that some Guster classics such as "Window" and "Medicine" aren't on the DVD/CD. Oh well. Guster, for the next live one, put more songs on."