There is a wide a swath of responses one elicits as a result of seeing a live concert. After seeing New England indie band Guster this past weekend, the most immediate response is one of reverence and awe. Not so much for their musicianship, though that deserves mention and will a few sentences later. No, this reverence and awe is that in the early 1990s a trio of college kids in the Boston suburbs founded a band that 30+ years later is still making new music. And more importantly the band is still intact. No founding member has left yet or left to release their own solo work. Sure, frontman Ryan Miller has done a lot of film soundtrack work and co-founder Adam Gardner does a lot with his non-profit, but neither has used that as muses to steer them away from Guster. Which leads us to 2024: eight studio albums removed from their debut record, Guster is still here and still playing to adoring fans.

The story of that journey is the basis for the band’s current We Also Have Eras tour, a cheekily titled paean to pop phenom Taylor Swift but more importantly a nod to the band’s arc and evolution as a band. From coffeehouse acoustic rock in a dorm room to busking in Harvard Square to meeting famed producer Steve Lilywhite backstage at Irving Plaza in New York City, those early formative years is unraveled in a series of skits and sketches that makes this concert experience more musical comedy than say a music showcase.

Guster has always had an element of silly in their live set but the Eras tour brings it so frequently it almost bordered on distracting. Not that those in attendance cared much. In fact they ate it up. Guster’s founding triumvirate of Ryan Miller (vocals, guitar, bass, piano), Brian Rosenworcel (drums, percussion) and Adam Gardner (vocals, guitar, bass, trumpet) have gone on record as saying that their Eras tour is as much for the fans as it is for themselves. The most evident example of that was the band’s handmade Costume Change Counter scoreboard, which by night’s end neared the 30s.

In two hours and twenty minutes the band showcased each of their albums and did so in a manner that was self-effacing, candid and at times, quite satisfying. Multi-instrumentalist Luke Reynolds and keys/percussion player Dave Butler enhanced the set immensely and offered the band a dexterity that was strangely reminiscent of Local Natives and/or Dr. Dog. Never once was a band member consigned to just one instrument.

That sense of musical fluidity among band members was showcased most immediately in the serene ballad “Ruby Falls” where Gardner added sonorous trumpet or “This Could All Be Yours” where Gardner added some sweetly affecting slide guitar. A song earlier Gardner returned to his trumpet for the placid “Lost at Sea,” a song the band had only performed live three times prior.

The band seemed to find their groove most notably while showcasing their 2015 album Evermotion. Both the languid “Kid Dreams” and the shimmering “Endlessly” had a glossy sheen that was equal parts impressive and indelible. That sense of immediacy and urgency returned as the band showcased their upcoming album Ooh La La. Midtempo cut “Keep Going” was nuanced and winning and in some ways might serve as a mission statement for the band and it’s humble dorm room roots. On the contrary the spartan and supple “Black Balloon” (no, not the Goo Goo Dolls ubiqutious hit) showcased Miller’s penchant for clever storytelling and sterling songwriting. The evening ended with the band performing acoustic and in the round in what was deemed a “campfire singalong” set of late 90s cut “Happier” and mid 2000’s cut “Amsterdam.”

For all the jocular moments the evening’s most winning moment might have been the intermission. While house music played the likes of Yo La Tengo and Fleetwood Mac, the band rattled off a 15-minute slide show presentation thanking many of the pivotal players of the band’s 30+ year history. Liner notes often do much of that work but in a live setting that kind of recognition often gets pushed to the side or shared in moments when an instrument breaks.

That sense of appreciation for others who have helped them was a profound moment in the band’s latter moments of the show’s second act. Former drum tech and now keys player Dave Butler was lauded by frontman Ryan Miller for taking the time to learn nearly 60 Guster songs over the course of just a couple years. As Miller noted: “You started off playing only a couple of songs with us. Look how far you’ve come.” But that profound admiration and sincerity is what ultimately made the band’s penchant for silliness worth it.

Has Guster performed a better evening of live music? Absolutely. There’s no denying or debating that. Heck, this writer can think of at least three occasions he’s witnessed Guster showcase their inherent talent. But perhaps that wasn’t the purpose of this Eras tour performance. In the end this was a tongue-in-cheek, self-depricating celebration of a band still making music on their own terms and both them and their fans still loving every minute of it.