There’s something beautifully weird about watching Guster as the lights come on around the harbor. Like, it shouldn’t work — this quirky little college rock band from Massachusetts playing songs about elevators and Ramona while sailboats drift by and a crab cake vendor yells over the fence — but it does. It works perfectly. Baltimore’s always had that rough-around-the-edges charm, and Guster’s always leaned into being just left-of-center. Put the two together and you’ve got the makings of something quietly electric (as seen recently at Pier Six Pavilion when the band opened Barenaked Ladies).
By the time Guster walked on stage on June 8, you could smell popcorn and Old Bay and the cheap cologne of the guy in front of you who was definitely here for Barenaked Ladies but found himself nodding along to Guster like he’d just remembered he used to love them.
They opened with “I Spy,” and just like that, we were off. No buildup, no fanfare. Just those jangly guitars and that sideways-smiling wit. The mix was warm, the harmonies tight, and Ryan Miller had that loose-limbed, chatty energy that makes him feel more like your favorite substitute teacher than a frontman. (The cool one, the one who rolled in with a beard and a battered copy of The Stranger and somehow made Hamlet make sense.)
Watch Guster perform “I Spy” live on YouTube:
And yeah — Ryan talked. Between songs, during songs, probably while tuning. But not in a look-at-me way. It was more like he couldn’t help it, like his brain was bouncing around between thoughts and the mic just happened to be in front of him. It made everything feel casual, off-the-cuff, like we were sitting around a campfire instead of folding chairs bolted to a concrete pier.
Guster slid into “Satellite” next, and something about that melody always hits different live. It’s not flashy, not built to show off. But it glides. It floats. And when they got to the chorus, you could feel the crowd shift — a kind of collective exhale, like we’d all finally settled in.
Then came “The Elevator,” still as sneakily sad as ever. Guster’s always had that way of hiding real heartbreak under breezy melodies, like they’re daring you to look closer. And people were definitely listening — phones stayed in pockets, conversations quieted down. Even the teenagers a few rows ahead stopped giggling long enough to watch.
And then came “Come Downstairs and Say Hello,” and holy hell — this one still kills me. It starts off like a note taped to your fridge and ends up sounding like an existential crisis wrapped in a hug. The drums (Brian Rosenworcel, still going hard with his hands) kicked in like a thunderclap, and by the time it reached that big finish — “I’m not afraid of getting older!” –people were on their feet. Not in a wild, screaming way. More like they couldn’t stay seated. Like the song just lifted them.
Watch Guster perform “Come Downstairs and Say Hello” live at Red Rocks on YouTube:
Guster followed it with “Do You Love Me,” which always makes me feel like I’m in some indie coming-of-age movie that got 4 stars in Rolling Stone but bombed at the box office. It’s got that clumsy joy to it. That awkward dancing energy. A song about yearning that doesn’t feel heavy.
“Doin’ It By Myself” came roaring in after that, and that’s when it started to feel less like a support set and more like a full-blown moment. The whole band locked in. Ryan was pacing like a preacher, Luke Reynolds was making his guitar growl, and people were dancing. Like real dancing. Not just polite swaying, but actual movement. Barefoot on the lawn, spilled beer on the pavement, big goofy grins. That kind.
“Ramona” cooled things down just enough to give people a breather. That one’s like a Polaroid — slightly faded, a little sentimental, and maybe a little warped around the edges. It never tries too hard. It just is. It floats in and lands softly. You almost forget it’s playing, and then you realize your mouth’s been singing along the whole time.
Then came “Terrified.” And wow… I’ve seen them play this one before, but something about the way Ryan delivered it tonight felt different. Like he meant every shaky syllable. “I was terrified… I would never get to say what I wanted to…” It hit. You could feel it in your ribs. Not because the notes were perfect, but because they weren’t. There was this slight crack in his voice — maybe from the night before, maybe from holding something in too long — and that’s what made it land. A few people near me wiped their eyes without being too dramatic about it.
They closed their set with “Barrel of a Gun,” and if there was ever a perfect closer, this was it. That song moves. It’s got snap, it’s got swagger, it’s got enough rhythm to trick your feet into forgetting they’ve been standing for an hour. And Ryan? He leaned into it like he was fronting a punk band. Wailing into the mic, hair in his face, grinning like a kid who just stole a second piece of birthday cake. The percussion went nuts. The crowd lost it. The band finished tight, loud, and without apology.
And then — no encore, no overplayed goodbyes — they waved, grinned, and walked off. Like they knew they didn’t have to prove anything.
Setlist
1. I Spy
2. Satellite
3. The Elevator
4. Come Downstairs and say Hello
5. Do You Love Me
6. Doin’ It By Myself
7. Ramona
8. Terrified
9. Barrel of a Gun
Visit Guster’s website for more music!
Here are some photos of Guster performing live at Pier Six Pavilion on June 8, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Michael Sprouse/ Odd Rocker Photography.
