Rufus Wainwright, Guster, Ben Folds

Amphitheatre at Station Square, Pittsburgh, PA.....

I think it was technically still the Chevrolet Amphitheater at the time. I believe it was the last night of their tour. Guster played first, then Ben Folds, and finally Rufus.

Earlier that evening, I was at a WYEP fundraiser with singer/songwriter Phil Roy. When it was over, he asked me what live music was happening and when I mentioned this show, he said, "I know Guster and their crew, let's go see them!" (He had co-written three songs with Ryan Miller for their Goldfly album.) I told him that I didn't have tickets to the show, but I know people from the promoter. We decided to try our luck and see what we could do using only our connections and communication skills.

Sure enough, I was able to talk our way into the venue. Once in, we were able to find Guster's sound engineer and Phil was able to get us backstage. Phil went over to hang out with Guster and I went to meet Rufus Wainwright. As I was making my way backstage, I bumped into my WYEP colleague Rosemary Welsch because, of course I did (she's a fan of the family Wainwright). 

Rufus was performing while we were trying to connect with Guster sound guy, so I saw his performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which inevitably makesme think of the late, great Jeff Buckley. (Other songs performed by Wainwright that night included "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," "11:11," "One Man Guy," "April Fools," and "La Complainte de la Butte.") I had met Buckley in 1994 when he visited my old radio station, WHTG in New Jersey. Buckley had just finished an interview on the air when I showed up (specifically to meet him), and he was gathering his belongings to depart when I approached him to say hello. He had to awkwardly shift his gear (including a boombox that he had adorably brought with him to record his own interview) in order to shake my hand. Due to the stuff he was carrying, he ended up extending his left hand to shake.

So it was a bit ominous and mind-blowing when I approached Rufus to introduce myself, he was also carrying some stuff and he extended his left hand to shake my hand. I didn't mention the coincidence to Rufus, but internally I was saying, "Rufus, please stay away from rivers, man...."

I caught the performances sporadically. Among the song that Ben Folds played were "Zak and Sara," "Rockin' the Suburbs," "Army," "Gone," "Evaporated," "Mt. Motherfucker," "The Ascent of Stan," "Fair," and a version of George Michael's "Careless Whisper." (During "Mt. Motherfucker," Guster joined Folds onstage and they all started changing which instruments they played; Folds did some guitar as well as drums! Folds exclaimed at one point, "My God, those Guster boys know how to rock!")

Guster's setlist:

  • What You Wish For
  • Careful
  • Keep It Together
  • Amsterdam
  • Happier
  • Fa Fa
  • Ramona
  • Mona Lisa
  • I Spy
  • Come Downstairs and Say Hello
  • Demons
  • Backyard
  • All the Way Up to Heaven 

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