The crowd at the Crystal Bay Club came to the Yonder Mountain String Band shows April 23-24 ready to dance. Yonder did not let anybody down. They played two memorable nights of music. The upbeat performances provided something for every type of fan.
First and foremost the bluegrass quartet focused on delivering a lot of fast-moving, finger-picking classics. They started off the Wednesday show with old favorites such as “Darkness and Light” and “My Gal.” They kept a swift tempo through both performances but the sets were well organized and just when the enthused crowd started to get a bit too sweaty Yonder would slow down into an unhurried, feel-good tune like “Granny.”
They stretched out into beautiful versions of some slower tunes with signature Ben Kaufman vocals and got the crowd amped up with the locally inspired “Steep Grade, Sharp Curves.” Between their distinctive feature songs they mixed in some of the experimental improvisations that have been recently marking the evolution of their sound and keep the jam band crowd flocking back for more.
The quartet kept up a running commentary with the crowd. In between sessions of ripping into his mandolin, singing and scatting to bluegrass instrumentals Jeff Austin thanked everyone for being there and observed the loungey vibes the band gets playing at the casinos. On Thursday Adam Aijala looked up from his guitar and informed the attentive crowd that it was Jeff’s birthday. The occasion was celebrated with a rubber chicken passed up from the audience and a guest appearance by Anders Beck from Greensky Bluegrass Band with his dobro.
Through both shows the vocals were clean sounding and the pace was ideal. The Crown Room was absolutely packed and the audience was excited and appreciative of this intimate stop on the Yonder summer tour, which focuses mostly on larger venues and outdoor festivals.
The quartet kept up a running commentary with the crowd. In between sessions of ripping into his mandolin, singing and scatting to bluegrass instrumentals Jeff Austin thanked everyone for being there and observed the loungey vibes the band gets playing at the casinos. On Thursday Adam Aijala looked up from his guitar and informed the attentive crowd that it was Jeff’s birthday. The occasion was celebrated with a rubber chicken passed up from the audience and a guest appearance by Anders Beck from Greensky Bluegrass Band with his dobro.