Photos by Jim Mimna
The Scene: The crowd at the Boulder Theater was slow to arrive and slow to get rolling on New Year’s day, but Yonder Mountain String Band’s fans (known as “Kinfolk”) were committed to all four nights of their run at the Boulder Theater. Bluegrass fans were very excited for night three with Jerry Douglas, and also the night dedicated to 80’s songs, which led to some fun and surprising covers. Not many folks took the band’s suggestion to dress up, and in fact, only half the band dressed up in 80’s clothes (although Jerry Douglas was rocking a Slash-like wig and costume)! But the Kinfolk were lining the rail by 8:30 with a 9:00 pm showtime, and the rest of the venue slowly filled in as the band got started.
Yonder Mountain String Band (w/ Jerry Douglas): As the band got started a little after nine PM, the crowd looked like they had a great night the night before and needed a little kickstart, which Ben Kaufmann noted early on. The band opened with a strong cover of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation,” which Allie Kraal—one of Yonder’s two new band members—absolutely killed on vocals. The band then stepped into a series of their own songs, letting each of the players take solos and get warmed up. As a sign of the playfulness of the evening, they even took one of their own songs, “Troubled Mind,” slipped into a cover of The Misfits’ “20 Eyes,” and then back to “Troubled Mind.”
Jake Joliff, the other relatively new band member, stepped up to sing “I’m Not Saying,” a Gordon Lightfoot cover. Joliff has a great voice, though it was a bit lost in the mix, and his mandolin picking was absolutely stellar, which he showed with a great solo in this song. The band dug deep for interesting 80’s covers, which added some fun surprises to the night including the next song: “Clean Sheets” by The Descendants. This was new to many in the audience, but how can you argue with the Adam Aijala singing the line, “Those sheets are dirty and so are you?” Finally, an iconic cover got the crowd energized for the first time all night: “Who Can It Be Now?” by Men at Work. It’s really, really hard to not sing along loudly with that song. The band had a great time with this one, jamming it out and having a blast on stage. Then “All Aboard” into “New Dusty Miller” saw everyone take great solos, including Jerry Douglas, before the band stepped aside for a set break.
Some of the crowd disappeared at set break not to return (not surprisingly, the day after New Year’s Eve celebrations likely kept most folks out until the wee hours that morning), but those of us who stuck around for set two were happy for some extra dance space and ready for more. The highlights of this set were in the 80’s covers where the band continued to dig deep. They kicked off with three high energy 80’s covers: “Crazy Train,” the Tommy Tutone classic “8675309/Jenny,” and Dave Johnston singing The Vaselines’ “Son of a Gun.” With these songs it felt like the show hit its stride and Jerry Douglass felt like another member of the band as he stepped up to take incredible solos and even lead the rest of the band in one of his classic songs, “Look Out for Hope.” He nodded to each Yonder member to take their own solos, and had some great back and forth with Adam and Ben.
Two more covers reminded us of some of the musical highlights of the 80’s: Allie got the crowd all riled up with “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (which she was dressed perfectly to sing). Then the band pulled out a comfortable cover for them, “Girlfriend is Better” by The Talking Heads, so they were very comfortable jamming it out. Meanwhile Ben dug up a song that he said might expend all of the currency the band had built-up with its loyal fanbase: “I Don’t Want to Hear It, Aw You’re Full of Shit!” The crowd loved this dash of Punk in the second set before the band closed out the set with some fast-picking Bluegrass.
The encore offered a Yonder classic with “Complicated,” and the Folk / Blues gem “White Freightliner Blues” by Townes Van Zandt. Allie’s silly fast fiddle reminded us she is more than vocals, and the entire band reminded us why they can hold the attention of the Boulder Theater four nights in a row.
Energy: B
Musicianship: A+
Sound: A-
Stage Presence: B
Set/Light Show: B+
Overall: B+
+ There are no comments
Add yours