Photos by Jim Mimna
The Scene: Of the four nights of live music I was able to catch surrounding New Year’s Eve this year, the first night of 2015 with Yonder Mountain String Band and special guests was, indeed, the very best. On every level, this show took home the gold, and kicked off the New Year unforgettably. If anyone in the crowd this night was feeling the consequences of the prior evening’s celebrations, it did not show. What did show was the excitement of the Boulder Theater’s full house on the first of the new year as we celebrated the collective good vibes that reverberated throughout the room.
The lineup for this night would be original YMSB members Ben Kauffman, Dave Johnson, Adam Aijala, new additions Jake Joliff and Allie Kral, plus special guests that included Blues Traveler’s John Popper, country music singer/songwriter Shawn Camp and The Motet’s Joey Porter and Dave Watts. Needless to say, we were to expect the unexpected from this group of vastly different yet equally awesome and talented musicians.
Yonder Mountain String Band: The night kicked off really strong with Kral and her booming vocals on “All Aboard,” which led Kaufman to make a joke and proclaim that she, the lone woman, “had the biggest balls of anyone on stage.” The majority of the first set was jam-packed with YMSB classics, the first few of which were performed by Yonder on their own.
“Left Me in a Hole” was the start of some good ol’, classic YMSB, followed by a standard YMSB cover of “Hello City Limits” that was all traditional bluegrass, and no fuss. “Sometimes I’ve Won” and “Damned If The Right One” featuring Shawn Camp on guitar followed suit, with Kauffman’s infamous fast-talking vocals on the latter that brought the energy of the crowd to its first peak of many.
Specials guests were brought out next, with Joey Porter on keys, Dave Watts on drums and John Popper on, well, the harmonica, of course. With local Funk-masters Porter and Watts on stage, the boys pulled out some newer, unconventional tracks off of their album The Show. Kauffman handled lead vocals on “Complicated” as the sounds suddenly transitioned from the sweet sounds of string to the foot-stompin’ beats of some new Newgrass.
Now, you simply cannot have John Popper, icon of the 90’s grassroots scene, on stage with you and not let him do his thing. So, we were treated to Blues Traveler’s “Hook” with Popper blasting away on his harmonica and the rest of the gang keeping right up. This tune was probably expected by some, but was still a totally surprising, once-in-a-lifetime treat that will go down in YMSB history. One more classic Yonder track came next, in the form of “Pockets,” before switching back over to a The Show track, with Dave Johnson on his deep, lonesome vocals leading the group on “Fingerprint.”
Just like our John Popper situation, you cannot have nearly one third of Boulder’s own Motet on your stage and not get real funky. What came next lit the room on fire as the ensemble closed out the first set with a cover of The Dead’s “Shakedown Street.” Both YMSB and The Motet covered this tune at least once this past summer (July’s String Summit, September’s Mishawaka), so it was only natural that the ensemble perform this tune, together. The outcome was killer, and included not one but two solos from keyboardist Joey Porter, who was simply born to groove on his keys. With the first set at its close, there was so much anticipation for what would come next, and it would turn out even better than expected.
The second set opened with an upbeat cover of Bob Dylan’s “Spanish Harlem Incident,” followed by a cover of the bluegrass kings Flat & Scruggs’ “Polka On A Banjo.” From the start, it was clear that this next set would be less Yonder, and more of an improv from the entire ensemble, which would make for a terrifically well-rounded night of music.
Two Yonder classics, however, were performed during the second set, the first of which was the lengthy fan favorite “Honestly.” Shawn Camp then took over on vocals, and the rest of the evening would boast his immense talents as an established singer/songwriter. Camp led the group on “Would You Go With Me,” which was sandwiched between “Honestly” and “Criminal,” one of the most fitting and favorite of any Yonder tune played this evening. And “Criminal” wasn’t your everyday, average “Criminal,” but was played with some funk, and that included solos from Camp, Kral, Popper and Porter.
Cue John Popper part 2, with the second Blues Traveler song of the evening, “Hook,” that turned out to be somehow even more exciting than the first. This may have easily been the peak of the second set, though there was still gold to be found in “New Deal Train” and “Rain in Durango” with Shawn Camp back on vocals.
The most unexpected and exciting moment of the evening may have been when YMSB’s newest addition, mandolin prodigy Jake Joliff, took over vocals on yet another Yonder favorite, “I’ve Got a Name.” I don’t know about you, but this moment sure sealed the deal for me in terms of the who’s who in Yonder Mountain String Band.
In 2014 YMSB was a prime example of the saying, “the show must go on!” Having gone through quite the transition early in the year, the band has persevered, and thus gone on to create such incredible music paired with truly magical moments. With this thought, the show did go on, and the second set closed out with a take on The Talking Heads’ “Girlfriend is Better,” that would turn into a epic jam.
Kauffman and then by the crowd wished Happy Birthday to Dave Johnson and we were blessed to celebrate Johnson’s birthday alongside him with a three-part encore that really rounded out the the evening as the band dropped yet another insanely pleasing Bluegrass > Newgrass > Bluegrass sandwich. Camp took over vocals on Del McCoury’s “My Love Will Not Change.” Then another terrific ensemble rendition of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust,” followed by the one and only “Shady Grove,” performed by many and beloved by all.
Overall, there was no better place to be than at TheBoulder Theater on the first evening of our New Year. YMSB’s show was one of those shows that is simply unlike any other; an unforgettable, irreplaceable night of creativity and chemistry. Thank you to the band, Popper, Camp, Watts and Porter for kicking off 2015 the right way – the best is yet to come!
Yonder Mountain String Band – January 1st, 2015 – Boulder Theater
Set 1: All Aboard> Left Me in a Hole, Hello City Limits, Sometimes I’ve Won, Damned If The Right One Didn’t Go Wrong, Complicated, Run-Around, Pockets, Fingerprint, Shakedown Street
Set 2: Spanish Harlem Incident, Polka On The Banjo, Honestly, Would You Go With Me, Catch A Criminal, Hook, New Deal Train, Rain In Durango, I’ve Got A Name, Girlfriend Is Better
Encore: My Love Will Not Change, Ziggy Stardust, Shady Grove
Energy: A-
Musicianship: A
Sound: A
Stage Presence: B+
Set/Light Show: A-
Overall: A
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