As East Coast pop-rock quartet Guster puts the finishing touches on an as-yet-unnamed fifth album, the group prepares for a whirlwind tour set to rock the Orpheum Nov. 1 and leave Madison fans stunned.
Tuesday's show marks the fifth stop on the band's latest tour, which is sure to include an eclectic mix of brand-spankin'-new material, long-time fan favorites and catchy tunes from the band's last album. Whatever the band decides to play, the show is sure to be full of energy.
Adam Gardner, Guster's part-lead guitarist and part-lead vocalist, commented on the band's upcoming Madison tour stop in an e-mail interview with The Badger Herald last week.
"The [Midwest] has been good to us," Gardner said. "It seems to only get better every time we play there."
Guster's Midwestern concerts have evolved over the years as the band's local fan base expands. Be it a show in Madison, Milwaukee or Chicago, more and more fans familiar with Guster's reputation as a captivating, powerful presence on stage come ready and willing to provide the energy and lyric-screaming support that make a concert everything it can be. And with the Orpheum packed by the ever-growing Madisonian Guster following, the foursome will likely provide a very strong performance here in Badger Country.
The group's April show at the Eagles' Ballroom in Milwaukee certainly reflected the increased intensity provided by an ever-growing fan base. The enthusiastic, unrelenting crowd, undeniably filled with Guster super-fans new and old, was rewarded with two encores and a special acoustic-only rendition of "Jesus on the Radio" to cap the evening.
The tour this fall follows a second round of songwriting and recording that will come together with a first round, completed earlier this year, to form the complete new album. Though the release date is currently unknown, the album remains nameless and production is still not complete, the forthcoming release from a band whose past two discs have been exciting and intriguing is sure to be those things once again after two full years of fans craving new musical fodder.
Gardner said Guster enthusiasts can expect something different from the band's previous releases in the new album, adding that the group has gained experience from extensive touring and further practice with new instruments.
"[We] definitely pushed ourselves to experiment," Gardner said. "[We] have a few songs that rock harder than we've ever rocked. … It might scare people, but I love it."
The upcoming release follows 2003's Keep It Together, which itself set a new tone for the band with its experimentation and overall sound — and received a fair amount of radio play. The group dabbled with unexplored sounds, including a drum kit — in lieu of bongos — and the addition of a piano and bass.
Gardner also said Joe Pisapia, who joined the band as the fourth member during the production of Keep It Together, played a major part in the recording process for the first time since his introduction. According to Gardner, Pisapia was only involved in co-writing and performing "Jesus on the Radio" from the band's 2003 album.
"On this [new] record, all four of us wrote everything together," Gardner said. "The result is a more band-based sound."
As for the band's visit next week, Gardner also said University of Wisconsin students could do a little something to make Guster's visit to Madison more pleasant.
"What can the student body [do to be] more accommodating? Kegger!"
