This past Friday, January 22nd, bluegrass giants Yonder Mountain String Band played to a packed house at The Canopy Club in Urbana, IL. The crowd was warmed up by Colorado’s own, Trout Streak Revival. TSR’s self-proclaimed brand of Mountain-bluegrass was a great way to set the mood for the beloved Yonder Mountain.
From the beginning of the first set, everyone in attendance knew they were in for a treat. The show started off with “Insult and an Elbow,” a single from their latest album Black Sheep. Further into the set, the fast paced Jesse Winchester cover “Nothing But A Breeze” popped up, displaying mandolinist Jake Jolliff on lead vocals. Rounding out the first set with the classic “Winds of Wyoming,” the band left the stage with the crowd still moving and shaking.
The second set began with the original and quick “Fastball.” The next song started a cover heavy theme, as the group dove into an eerie 18-minute long rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Dogs.” Later on in the set, the band covered was The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City,” followed by Linda Ronstadt’s classic “You’re No Good” featuring Allie Kral belting her heart out on vocals. Last but not least, the final song of the set was the monster original “Traffic Jam,” which sandwiched a cover of Smokey Robinson’s “I Second That Emotion.”
Thankfully, the group came back out for a two song encore to finish off the night. The first song was a blissful cover of Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side,” with founding member Dave Johnston singing as low as he possibly could. The final song of the evening was the favored original, “Another Day.” Until next time, Yonder!
Setlist: Yonder Mountain String Band at The Canopy Club, Urbana, IL – 1/22/16
Set 1: Insult And An Elbow> Ever Fallen In Love, Don’t Worry Happy Birthday, Nothing But A Breeze, Damned If The Right One Didn’t Go Wrong, Ripcord Blues, Had To Leave My Boots Behind, If It Hadn’t Been For Love, Years With Rose> Winds Of Wyoming
Set 2: Fastball> Dogs, High on a Hilltop, How ‘Bout You?, Eat In Go Deaf Eat Out Go Broke, Rambler’s Anthem, Summer In The City, You’re No Good> Traffic Jam> I Second That Emotion> Traffic Jam
Encore: Walk on the Wild Side, Another Day
All images by Rily Cochran, including this full gallery below:
