Coming up the coast from a classic gig in South
Carolina, Yonder Mountain String Band guitarist
Adam Aijala, mandolinist Jeff Austin, banjoist Dave Johnston, and bassist Ben
Kaufmann brought their high-energy bluegrass extravaganza to a sold-out crowd at the State Theater in Falls
Church, Virginia Friday
night.
Showing no signs of fatigue from a marathon
fall tour, YMSB kicked off a lady-friendly first set with an exceptional “My Gal,” followed by “Romance Blues”,
and other tumbleweed sentiments such as “Amanda Rose,” “Hill Country Girl,” and
“Must Have Had Your Reasons.” The set was replete with band-to-audience
banter -- most notably Jeff Austin’s testament to their growing fan base,
acknowledging that this was the first time they had filled the venue to
capacity. The band played two sets, closing the first 64 minutes with a cover
of the Dillard’s “Ruby” going into YMSB original “Follow Me Down to the
Riverside” and back into “Ruby:” a.k.a. “Rubyside.”
Confirming fan discussions about Yonder’s love for the State
Theater, the band exploded out of their 15-minute break with a second set that clocked
in at a staggering 94 minutes. Rather
than “explore” a few tunes, as mountain men often do, the drum-less quartet
brought out 16 songs that blew away the room.
After opening with John
Hartford’s “Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie,” YMSB original “20 Eyes” made a formidable early appearance -- but
many of the highlights came in the form of covers YMSB has clearly made its own.
Mandolinist and singer Jeff Austin
made an airy reference to the collapse of the financial market right before a
themed segue from Frank Zappa’s “I’m the Slime” into John Hartford’s “Granny Wontcha Smoke Some Marijauna.” The set closed with the powerful commingling
of YMSB’s own “New Horizons” into Talking Heads‘s “Girlfriend is
Better” back into “New Horizons.”
The show closed with the dual encore of old time jams “Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down” and
“Yes She Do-No She Don’t” for a total of 28 songs, clocking in at 158
minutes of progressive bluegrass.
Yonder will continue their North American domination (including
two dates with Jon Fishman in New York
City and Philadelphia) through
New Year’s Eve in Denver, Colorado with
Widespread Panic.
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