Photos by Mitch Kline
The Scene: Saturday night, perfect Colorado weather, and a diverse, mini festival lineup at the greatest venue on the planet.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band: The New Orleans Jazz historians opened the evening with a steamy hour long set of originals. I couldn’t help but imagine Preservation Hall tearing it up late night at their namesake home venue. I’ll do everything I can to catch these guys when they’re in town.
Drive-By Truckers: Of the three bands on the bill, I was most looking forward to the Drive-By Truckers’ set. The Georgia rockers covered a wide swath of the band’s extensive material, going back and forth between Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley songs. Highlights for me included “Lookout Mountain,” “The Living Bubba,” and solid takes on “Zip City” and “Let There Be Rock” to close out the set. Overall, their set was enjoyable, but it felt a bit disjointed and I kept waiting for members of Preservation Hall Jazz Band to join the band for at least a song or two.
Drive-By Truckers August 20, 2016 Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Surrender Under Protest, Darkened Flags, 3 Dimes Down, Lookout Mountain, Filthy and Fried, The Righteous Path, Made Up English Oceans, Aftermath USA, One Of These Days, That Man I Shot, Ramon Casiano, Sink Hole, Kinky Hypocrite, The Bitch Is Back, Shit Shots Count, What It Means, Once They Banned Imagine, The Living Bubba, Zip City, Let There Be Rock
Yonder Mountain String Band: The last time I saw Yonder Mountain String Band was two summers ago, headlining a bill with Greensky Bluegrass. They had recently lost founding member Jeff Austin, and appeared to be struggling to find their groove. Admittedly, I had sort of written off the band after that night. That was a mistake! I was very pleasantly surprised by Yonder’s headlining set Saturday night. This band is tight! And let me just say, Allie Kral and Jake Joliff are the best things things to happen to Yonder Mountain String Band.
The band exchanged licks throughout the set, with Jake leading the way and shredding nearly everything in his path. I noticed his band mates looking on in awe multiple times, with Ben Kaufmann calling him “The Shreddah” at one point. Highlights include three different sandwiches, all with spirited jams and interaction between everyone in the band, as well as a cover of Dusty Springfield’s “Preacher Man” with Allie Kral on vocals and Preservation Hall Jazz Band joining in on horns. Colorado Bluegrass fans, get back on the Yonder Mountain String Band train! Let’s pack Red Rocks for this band next time! They deserve it and you’ll be stoked!
Yonder Mountain String Band – August 20, 2016 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Casualty > Pockets > Casualty, Winds of Wyoming, Preacher Man (w/ Preservation Hall), Bad Taste, On The Run > Annalee > On The Run, Alison, Sister Golden Hair, Rambler’s Anthem > Kentucky Mando > Rambler’s Anthem
Encore: Girlfriend Is Better (Talking Heads)
Energy: B
Musicianship: A
Sound: B+
Stage Presence: B+
Set/Light Show: B
Overall: B+
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