By JESSICA S. ZDEB

Contributing Writer

Guster is one of those bands. A band that floats along the periphery of popular music making their living opening for more popular acts at large arenas, headlining at clubs and theaters and putting out really good albums. The trio of Tufts grads, consisting of Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner on guitar and vocals and Brian Rosenworcel on hand drums, Guster has been steadily gaining popularity, moving from recording on their own label while still in college to a major label deal. With each album, Guster evolves into a better band, but they have stayed true to themselves with spontaneous live shows, quality arrangements and thoughtful lyrics.

While Guster has played at both Madison Square Gardens and the Fleet Center as the opener for Barenaked Ladies, they headlined their first “arena show” (read: Hockey rink) at the Whittemore Center at the University of New Hampshire last Friday to a crowd of about 2500.

Connecticut band The Zambonis warmed the crowd up with a set that consisted of songs pertaining entirely to, you guessed it, hockey. With lyrics like, “She’s the referee’s daughter, and I ougtha, and I oughta, She walks on Holy Water, and I oughta, and I oughta,” how could things go wrong. Well, uninventive drum beats and repetitive guitar riffs could spoil the fun, and did to some extent.

However, when the theme music from “The Price is Right” came on and Guster took the stage, the audience was right back into it. Opening with “What you Wish For,” the lead song on their latest album, the trio served up a thoroughly entertaining 105- minute set.

A definite highlight was “Bury Me” on which Rosenworcel became the centre of attention. Drumming is undoubtedly the visual highlight of Guster shows. Rosenworcel played all of Lost and Gone Forever without using a single drumstick, and at UNH he bounced around behind his impressive set-up of bongos, congas, shakers and other drums, at one point taping his hands to stay the blisters for a while. “Bury Me,” which incorporated bits of the “Beverly Hills Cop” theme and Van Halen’s “Jump” from Miller on the keyboard, featured Rosenworcel’s flashiest playing of the evening.