After spending three days in Grand Rapids, MI, Colorado based bluegrass aficionados Yonder Mountain String Band appeared at The Intersection in support of their latest release, Black Sheep, last Wednesday, November 4, their last day in town.
Renowned for their unique brand of bluegrass dance music, labels like mountain disco and jam grass get thrown around casually when trying to tie down the sound of Yonder Mountain String Band. One thing is for sure, they will make you dance.
The first of two Yonder sets started at 9:15 PM sharp, and bassist Ben Kaufmann could not contain how “extraordinarily impressed” he was with Grand Rapids’ hospitality. “It has been unbelievable,” he said. “How about we return the favor with some shredding bluegrass, yea?”
Opening with a cover of Jimmy Buffett’s 2006 track “Nothin’ But A Breeze”, showcased the furious chops of founding guitarist Adam Aijala and newcomer Allie Kral on the fiddle.
Kral, along with mandolinist Jacob Jolliff, joined Yonder just over one year ago and together bring the band’s lineup into shape with that of a traditional bluegrass arrangement for the first time in the group’s 17 year existence.
From the wonderful take on a middle of the road approach of Buffett, the band dove straight to the endearing cautionary tale “Insult And An Elbow” from Black Sheep. Featuring melodic, bouncing mandolin work from Joliff and deep vocal harmonies from Aijala and Dave Johnston on the banjo, “Insult” has quickly become a crowd favorite.
Next, Aijala introduced “Rain Still Falls” off 2009’s The Show as a song he and Johnston wrote together. The live staple “I Finally Saw The Light,” gets a breath of fresh air with the addition of a fiddle to the mix, and Kral shines brightly as the instrument squeals.
Kral continued to shine in the spotlight as she took the lead on a smoky jazz rendition of Steel Drivers’ 2008 track “If It Hadn’t Been For Love.” Featuring accentuated melodic runs from Johnston and Joliff, alternatively, and intense percussive playing from Aijala and Kauffman, Kral’s voice was able to project off from the solid foundation and soar.
The band dipped deep into their catalogue for the next few tracks. “Maid Of The Canyon” made its first appearance on 2004’s Mountain Tracks Volume 3, the third of five live official album releases. Digging further still into 2001’s Town By Town the band pulled “Red Tail Lights” out of their bag of tricks. Featuring deep and sobering vocals from Johnston, he also put on a proper clinic for how to shred a banjo.
2005’s collaboration between Yonder and Benny Holloway on songs composed entirely by Holloway, Old Hands, did contain a song co-written with Johnston. That song, “Old Hands”, made its way into the set, as well as an epic rendition of the gospel-bluegrass fusion that is “Train Bound For Glory Land”. “Gloryland featured long, extended back and forth solos between each member onstage, featuring blistering precision throughout, and ending with an extended solo from Jolliff.
Yonder reached back the farthest yet in time for their set closer and third cover so far with Bruce Springsteen’s “It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City”. Kaufmann brought The Boss’ 1972 hit to life vocally and with an infectious bass line. An unstoppable banjo backbeat throughout the middle jam allowed Johnston to interject constant fills between displays of lighting fret work from Kral and Aijala, bringing an end to set one.
As they returned to the stage, Kaufmann recalled the band’s first appearance in the city of Grand Rapids, only a few months earlier at the storied Frederick Meijer Gardens with Railroad Earth. A torrential rainstorm immediately followed the end of the show, and the two bands got to know each other very well while huddling for shelter inside of Yonder’s tour bus.
Following the recap, they began the second set with an equally torrential bluegrass attack in “Part 1 (Lord Only Knows)” off of the most recent in the Mountain Tracks series, 2008’s Volume 5. Taking up the first 15 minutes of the set, “Part 1” featured dazzling ascending and descending guitar lines from Aijala while Kaufmann, Kral and Johnston took turns providing several measures of solos.
Dave Johnston, one of the original players in the conceptualization of Yonder Mountain String Band, exhibited impeccable examples of a true cornerstone sound. The least emotive and mobile, his laser like focus on the banjo-beat in each song is a major player in the bands’ infectiousness over the years. Even after the crowd erupts following a hell-fury picking solo or a low drawling chorus melody, Johnston remains stoic.
Transitioning directly from one Mountain Tracks Volume 5 track to another, “Looking Back Over My Shoulder” and then straight into the Old Hands track “Winds O’ Wyoming” saw Johnston shift gears from furious banjo licks to crooning titan over Aijala and Kral’s old country music styling.
Taking a short breather, one of the overall standout performances of the evening followed next with a rowdy 10 minute take on Dolly Parton’s 1973 country hit “Jolene”. The jam in the middle was the most cohesive and progressive of the evening. Instead of playing pack and forth at each other, each Yonder member built off of what each other was playing and the result was a truly special rendition of the classic song. Not to mention Allie Kral had the entire room at her disposal with her thunderous and emotional vocal performance.
Following the breathtaking performance of the Parton tune, Johnston revealed that he had lost a vulgarity contest between himself and Kaufman, and suggested he make up for it with “some fast bluegrass music.”
“Whitehouse Blues”, a bluegrass standard penned by Charlie Poole of the North Carolina Ramblers in 1926 and popularized by the father of contemporary bluegrass music, Bill Monroe in 1954, was a blazingly fast tune in which the band’s M.O. seemed to be finishing it as fast as possible in a stomping good time.
“Remind Me” had a very distinct blues funk feel to it, and almost punk rock sound to it behind Aijala’s vocals. Kral displayed an amazing sense of self-control as she dangled nuanced violin notes in front of some very melodic fret work from Aijala. Fast, but not blazing, smooth and in time with a larger rhythm. Another 10 minute extravaganza, the 2001 Röksopp tune saw a huge departure from its typical airy dance club vibe.
They continued with another cover, this time a standard bluegrass take on Bob Dylan’s 1962 “Yer No Good” before transitioning into another Bill Monroe bluegrass original, “Kentucky Mandolin”. Anything played prior in the evening by mandolinist Jacob Jolliff paled in comparison to the force of nature he wielded for this song. Overall, the song maintained a very “Devil Went Down To Georgia” feel to it, and Kaufmann’s extended bass break in the middle of Joliff’s two epic solo sections really brought the whole thing together in a very awesome manner.
The second set ended with a monster “Traffic Jam” sandwich featuring the late and legendary Ben E. King’s “Spanish Harlem” as the middle section. Johnston nearly broke from his stoic stage presence as he and Kral wildly challenged each other back and forth throughout the end of the set. The movement in Kral’s entire body-sweep of her bow a stark contrast to the barely smiling and rock solid movements of Johnston. If one hadn’t known better, it would appear he hardly moved at all. A closer inspection however reveals a finger picking power uncontested.
The band returned for a standalone encore of their original “Jail Song” before sending the small, yet appreciative all ages crowd home with a promise that they will return.
Opening the show was Chicago, IL bluegrass and country band the Henhouse Prowlers. Truly a unique group with an expansive catalogue even by bluegrass standards, the Henhouse Prowlers appropriate a strong blend of world music into the bluegrass scene. Featuring cover songs from as musically diverse areas as Uganda or Nigerian pop hit “Chop My Money” and even going as far to learn and harmonize in the native languages, the Henhouse Prowlers are serious about bringing bluegrass music to the masses.
In-Depth With Ben Wright, Spreading Bluegrass Around The World With The Henhouse Prowlers
The Henhouse Prowlers continue opening for Yonder Mountain String Band through their November 15 appearance at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA before bouncing around Illinois to finish the year.
Yonder Mountain String Band will follow the November 15 end of the Fall Tour with appearances at Strings And Sol, as well as a four night New Year’s Eve run at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO before kicking off a two month winter tour with special guests Trout Steak Revival.
Setlist: Yonder Mountain String Band at The Intersection, Lansing, MI – 11/4/15
Set One: Nothin But A Breeze > Insult, Rain Still Falls, Finally Saw The Light, Hadn’t Been For Love, Maid Of The Canyon, Red Tail Lights, Pockets > Gloryland > Saint In The City
Set Two: Part 1 > Looking Back > Winds Of WY, Jolene, Whitehouse Blues, Remind Me, Yer No Good dj, KY Mando, Traffic Jam > Spanish Harlem > T-Jam
Encore: Jail Song
