Yonder Mountain String Band at the Varsity

There’s two sides to being a jam band. For one, every musician needs be a talented improvisational artist. And two, they treat every show like a party. Yonder Mountain String Band achieves both with a laid back ease they bring  from the mountains of Colorado.

The first thing I noticed walking into The Varsity on Feb. 9 was the crowd’s diversity. An eclectic mix of dreaded jam lovers, cowboy hats, and what I can only describe as decedents of Paul Bunyon. Nonetheless, the blissful feeling of good music warms the soul and unites the crowd.

Yonder’s bassist, Ben Kaufmann, did not play at the show because his wife had a baby boy. So Travis Book from the Infamous Stringdusters filled his spot. Book was no regular substitute, the brotherly love shared between the quintet on stage could have fooled anyone into thinking he was the actual bassist.

His bass solos were outstanding, particularly in “Kentucky Mandolin.” Not to mention his singing was phenomenal. I  hope that everyone  left that night  and gave Infamous Stringdusters a listen.

Yonder played two amazing sets filled with some classics like “No Expectations” and “Left Me in a Hole,” which had the audience tossing back their heads and singing the harmonies.

Listen to “Left Me in a Hole” on Grooveshark
http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf

They also played their covers of Grateful Dead’s “New Speedway Boogie” and Talking Head’s “Girlfriend is Better.”

And of course, the audience refused to leave once the two sets were over until they received their encore. Reemerging like heroes, they busted out “Steam Powered Aeroplane.”

Jeff Austin, mandolin/vocals, kept the crowd laughing between songs while cracking jokes about Book and providing the audience with excuses to not go to work in the morning.

Imitating the next morning and a phone call to our bosses, he gave us this scenario:

“I don’t know what happened… *cough* I woke up and…. *cough* I don’t think I can come in.”
“Okay”
“And then you crack open a fresh morning beer, and you pop in your old ‘Ren and Stumpy’ VHS, you fire up your favorite sour diesel.  And you think man, my dog is so soft.  ‘Ren and Stimpy’ is awesome.  This couch is awesome.  Thank you Yonder Mountain String Band!”

But seriously, thank you Yonder Mountain String Band.

Don’t forget to check out our interview with the band, here