Guster 'excited and nervous' about Little 500 concert

Spring weather blessed Bloomington just in time for the annually anticipated Little 500 week of festivities. With the rising temperature comes Guster, the Little 500 kickoff band which opens at the IU Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.\nGuster is followed by a much smaller audience and less publicity than the chart-topping performer Nelly, who opened the week last April. The college-age audience has created a reliable and intimate following for the band, whose spring tour consists almost entirely of college performances.\n"It's more in the spirit of fun," said Adam Gardner, singer and guitarist for Guster. "We're excited and nervous to open (for Little 500). Yes, we've played in Bloomington before, but not on this level. The Midwest in general has been pretty good to us."\nGuster performed about seven years ago at a fraternity on campus and at "some coffeehouse that probably doesn't exist anymore," Gardner said.\nJeff Klein, the Assistant House Director at the IU Auditorium, said tickets for Tuesday night's performance have sold pretty quickly. IU, in conjunction with Ticketmaster, has sold between 1,200 and 1,300 tickets so far, Klein said, who estimates that the final turnout will total about 1,800 people. "(This) is great. It's a rarity to sell out, even with Broadway shows -- it gives everyone who wants to go a chance to get great seats," he said.\nThe show Tuesday night will be "a good combination of old and new," Gardner said. In all of Guster's records the sound differs greatly, he said, and that includes the band's new songs as well.\n"In previous records we tried to capture what we were doing live and add to it. Now we are going to make these songs speak as songs and not limit each other to what three people can play with a few acoustic guitars," Gardner said.\nA band known for their relentless touring schedule, Guster hasn't toured for the past year. Instead, the band has undergone a rigorous writing and recording schedule dedicated to their fourth studio-produced album that will hit the record stores at the end of the summer.\n"Our writing has improved and matured," Gardner said. "The arrangements are more complex. If it's getting worse, then what's the point? We're always psyched about our new songs…It's tough for people to hear new songs if they don't have the record. I hear that."\nGuster plans to play four or five songs from the band's unreleased album in tomorrow night's show. At the band's first rehearsal before their tour started Thursday, Gardner jokingly admitted, "We were a little rusty. We couldn't remember how to play anything old," he laughed after a day in the recording studio and a week without sleep. "It's just been crazy. We'll be ready (for Bloomington)," he said.\nDespite Guster's seemingly anonymous reputation on MTV and the like, the band's repertoire is quite impressive. In addition to playing in shows with Bob Dylan, George Clinton and Ziggy Marley, Guster has also worked with producer Steve Lillywhite, who has worked with the Dave Matthews Band and U2.\n"Guster obviously appeals to a different type of crowd than Nelly," Klein said. "People who know Guster and the music have shown lots of interest. The excitement they (Guster) bring to the stage is like none other."\nSarah Askin, a sophomore who has tickets to the Guster show, is excited to see the band.\n"I've never seen them before," she said. "Nelly's cool, but I'm much more excited about Guster coming. They're not as well known, but more chill."\nGuster will be performing Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the IU Auditorium, 1211 E. 7th Street, with Flickerstick opening. Tickets are $25 and are available through the IU Auditorium box office, 855-1103.