My Two Night Run with Yonder Mountain String Band

I knew that these were the last two shows I was going to see in the United States for a year. I had to make these two count the most. June 25th and the 26th. I would be going on a little mini tour of one of my favorite bands the Yonder Mountain String Band. The first show was at Penns Peak in PA. I have been here once for a RRE earth show in January. The venue is perfect. It is like a huge ski lodge. I was pumped to see YMSB there.

There were many thoughts racing through my mind before the YMSB show on 6.25.2009. My parents had told me that Farrah Fawcett died that day. Now, I did not really know who she was. I heard her name and I remember what she was famous for. This was some big news; however, the mother of all news was about it hit. Michael Jackson has been reported to have died. This was big news. HUGE news. My boy Stack was coming to the show with me, so I was sitting around waiting for him to give me a call from the train station. He finally calls me around 7 o'clock that he is here. Now, the show starts at 8 o'clock, so there is no way that we were going to make it on time.

I picked up Stack and started off towards PA. We drove as fast as we could to get to the show. My stupid ass GPS gave us the scenic route to the venue, so we were probably 15 minutes later because of that damn computer. This would not be the last time that I would be pissed at my GPS. We got to the venue finally around 9 o'clock. I was hoping we would only have missed a couple of songs. I mean what kind of band really gets on at the exact show time? I asked someone waiting outside of the venue how long has the band been on. He told me that they have been on for about an hour. Shit. We started to walk in and I could not believe my ears. They were of course playing a Michael Jackson song. This is the only bluegrass band that I know that will even attempt to play a Michael Jackson song. It was the end of "Gonna be Startin' Something." The whole place was going nuts during this song obviously. Jeff Austin was doing all kinds of Michael Jackson moves on stage. He was also wearing the white glove that Michael Jackson always wore too. They ended the first set with only one more song which was the Ramblin'. We got there and caught two songs and it was set break. Just Great.

Set II: Started off with 'My Gal' which is a song I enjoy thoroughly. What I have noticed about Yonder shows is that the crowd is a lot more wild than at normal bluegrass shows. The crowd is way younger and just way more rowdier. The band definitely feeds off of this energy which makes them play tremendously. Of course the crowd favorite was soon next which is '2 Hits and the Joint Turned Brown.'

Now this song is always good, but sometimes Jeff can get carried away. One of the reasons I love this band is because the band is always interacting with the crowd. In between every single song one of the band members is talking to the crowd. I love that. But what comes with that is that sometimes the most eccentric one of them all, Jeff, can get carried away. Sometimes I can do without Jeff's antics on stage.

Oh well. This song is a crowd pleaser.

All of a sudden Jeff started to sing the lyrics to Ring of Fire which was interesting. I don't think the band expected this. This went right back into 2 Hits. At the end, you could tell that Ben had no idea that they were going to go into Ring of Fire because he made a comment on how it was nice to go down to the fire which he was not expecting. 'Sideshow Blues' came next after a couple of songs. I was in the bathroom when they started to play this and I was in a rush to get out of there. This is absolutely one of my favorite songs that the band plays. I fell in love with it during the first show I ever saw of the band at Bonnaroo 2004. Some of my favorite lyrics of all time in this song and Jeff sings it very well. Right after 'Sideshow' another one of my favorite covers was played.

I remember turning to Stack during the middle of the set and tell him that something is missing with this band right now. There are four members in the band and one thing was missing. Dave Johnston, the banjo player, was real low. The banjo player was not turned up loud enough. You could barely here it. The banjo is an essential instrument for a bluegrass band and it was not loud enough this night. I was disappointed that this was the case. Dave is a phenomenal player and the band was definitely missing something because I could not hear him. This would not be the case tomorrow night in Bridgeport.

'I am the Slime' by Frank Zappa. Now, who would ever think that a bluegrass band could cover Zappa? It is totally insane when they play this cover. Jeff was really out there during this song. He was getting really animated singing the lyrics and making hand gestures throughout the whole song. I do not think the crowd knew what song this was and who it was by. They ended the second set with the ultimate chase song with 'On the Run.' I love this song because the story is so good. The main character slept with the sheriff's wife, so that is why he is on the run. The lyrics are great and the music that goes with is right on up there. This songs always gets the crowd stomping. It a hoedown when Yonder comes to town. This ended the second set with the whole crowd wanting more. We were stomping on the floor as hard as we could. You could actually stomp and feel the floor vibrate a little.

They came out to a roar from the crowd. They started the encore with the first part of 'On the Run.' The song is called 'Lord Only Knows.' There are a couple of songs that describe the chase with the character and the sheriff. It is truly an adventurous tale. One more song before the night was up which was 'Steam Powered Aeroplane.' This is a John Hartford tune and is a great way to end the night. Just a perfect light song for us to all go out of the venue thinking about.

I was at this show for half of it and I still had a hell of a time. It was definitely still worth it to make the drive out there. This band continually grows and their playing is phenomenal. Now all Stack and I had to do was drive to CT to catch the boys one more time and we were both stoked to be doing so.

6.26.2009

Around 1 o' clock in the afternoon Stack and I left his parents' place to head to CT. We flew through PA and NJ until we got to the GW bridge. It was so ridiculous the traffic that we sat in. It must have been two hours to get over the bridge; however, it did not end there. We pretty much sat in traffic all the way up to Bridgeport. Fridays in the summer going up 95 could possibly be the worst thing ever. It is bumper to bumper traffic all the way. Not only were we in traffic, but a torrential thunderstorm rolled through the area. Hail started to come down and we could barely see out of our window. It was really intense and took us an extra 2 hours just to get to Bridgeport. We finally ended up in CT around 7, an hour before the show. We were meeting Whitey and Maggie at this show. Two of my good friends from college. Whitey and I have seen some shows together that will never be forgotten.

First thing that I noticed at this show was that that banjo was up. You could here the twang of the banjo playing. Already noticeably better with that banjo noise. The first half of this show was good, but I was still thinking about last nights set 2, so I was anxious for some hot pickin' bluegrass. I started to feel it during Sidewalk Stars. One of their singles from their newest album.

All of a sudden you could feel a change of vibe from the show. An energy shift as you will. Jeff started to narrate some kind of story. It started off with someone in Bridgeport, CT being waking up not knowing where they were. This part ended with him realizing that he was in a jail cell. After that the band broke into a song. At the end of the song, Jeff jumped right into the story again. I think at this point everyone started to realize what was going on. Jeff usually always talks between songs, so we did not think it was anything unusual. He continued his story and this time he talked about a woman coming to bail him out of jail. The guy in jail is in love with this hot looking woman who is coming to bail him out. After they get out Jeff actually says that they are heading towards New Jersey. Of course being from NJ I shout out and yell. Jeff made a look like no person should be broadcasting that kind of information. They break into the song after this part of the story. The next part if my favorite part of the story. Jeff talks about how the guy has to dump the woman because he cannot handle her or deal with her. But as he was driving to NJ he has a revelation of how he loves this woman. He turns around and quickly goes back to her and they go into the best song of the first set. They get right into "They Love Each Other." OH MAN!!! I could not believe it. I had a smile that was ear to ear. I love it when any band covers the Dead, but this song is great. The whole place was getting down with this song. YMSB had the everyone grooving hard to "They Love Each Other." They continued this Narration in between each song till the end of the first set. It was one of the coolest things I have ever heard. The songs fit in with the narration and it was just perfect. This was done for the last six songs. It was something new. Something that I have never heard before. It was definitely something that will make me remember this show forever.

Set II: This set was real solid. Just a great set through. Highlights for me was Steep Grade, If you're ever in Oklahoma, and Raleigh & Spencer. I want to get to the more important part of this show which was the encore. The band finally came back out to a roar of cheers from the crowd. It was a small crowd, but we had the energy. We definitely gave them the respect they deserved. They decided to play unplugged at the front of the stage. The entire crowd got real close to the front of the stage and tried to get as quiet as possible. Of course there were some assholes screaming just making fools of themselves. It was really disappointing. The band was trying to do something special for us that night in CT. The band were trying to tell us to be quiet and wishing sometimes for those people to leave. They played 5 songs for the encore unplugged. It was truly amazing. They kept on wanting to give us more. Jeff was telling someone in the back only one more, really only one more. The band had some good friends in the crowd this night because they dedicated one song to a couple. It was the couple's 5 year wedding anniversary. You could definitely tell there was a love feeling with all the songs they were choosing to play that night. All in all a great show too.

It was a great two night run with Yonder Mountain String Band. The last shows that I will see in a year and I would not want to end it any other way. I was happy to spend my last shows with Yonder. It was also great to spend it with my boys Stack, Whitey and Maggie.

Hot Buttered Rum String Band @ Mexicali Blues 6.18.2009

I have been jonesing for some bluegrass since my Del Fest cut short and thank the lord that the Hot Buttered Rum boys booked a date close by in Jersey.  As soon as I saw that they announced this show I immediately purchased myself a ticket.  I saw these guys on the most recent NYE out in CO.  I was thoroughly impressed.  They have just recently fused themselves with a drummer.  I first saw this incarnation out in CO.  I was really impressed how they sounded.  Their mandolin player just recently left and I was used to him.  Zac left the band for his own reasons and he sure would be missed.  They were a straight up kick ass bluegrass band.  They have morphed the drums into that hootin' and hollerin' bluegrass very well.

I have seen HBR four times over the years.  There has been one steady characteristic that has really cemented the love that I have for this band.  All of the members can be seen chatting away with fans before, middle, and after the show.  The second time I saw them up in Saratoga Springs the band was explaining how their Veggie Oil bus works during set break.  They are hanging out with the fans like they not even the band.  It is awesome to see them walking amongst the crowd.  This time was no different.

The venue had the tables out for dinner towards the back, but their still was very little room to dance.  Their was only about 2o to 30 people actually up dancing in the front of the stage, so our small space felt wide open.  This is the perfect band to see in such an intimate setting.  You feel so close to them right next to the stage.  You see their emotions and feel their energy from the stage.  It is like a wave and it makes me grin from ear to ear.  I am not too versed in HBR songs, but I will try my best.  The band started about 9:30 PM.    

It is different trying to listen to them with drums.  It is kind of strange for any bluegrass band to be playing with drums.  I saw Yonder with Fishman on drums and it took me a while to get used to the drums.  They opened up with a couple of their original songs.  I think they were warming up for what came next.  I don't know what it is but Paul Simon sounds real good as a bluegrass cover.  The Rum boys started to play "Gumboots."  One of my favorite Simon songs off of one of my favorite albums of all time, Graceland.  I was up big time for that song.  They added their own little twist to the song, which made it more enjoyable.  I heard another bluegrass band named Cabinet a couple months ago play another Simon song off of that same album.  That too was enjoyable.  Next song was another cover and quite possibly the best cover any band can do.  "Up on Cripple Creek!!"  Any band that covers The Band are definitely high up on my list.  From here on the crowd was getting rowdy and the band was definitely feeding off of our energy.  I am not sure what the last song of the first set was called, but it had something to do with a desert.  This song was so different than anything I heard Butter play before.  It was a lot more spacey song and they jammed a little with it.  This was definitely the highlight of the first set for me.  The banjo player get so emotional when he sings.  He was singing this song and it actually felt like we were in the desert as he was describing the song with the lyrics.  This ended the first set and I was in need of a little hoedown rest.

The set break was a typical one like usual.  Some of the Hobos were at this show, so I went over by them to chat with them.  I haven't seen them since the last Railroad Earth show I been to which was about 4 months ago.  It was good to catch up as much as we could.  I was hanging out in front of the stage waiting for the set to start when I saw the guitar player, Nat, on stage looking for something on the ground.  I guess someone he knew came up to the stage and shook his hand and started to say how he really enjoyed the new setup with the drums.  Nat responded, "Yea.  It is amazing how I am more free now with the drums.  There is more space for me even though we added all of this equipment.  In the band before the drums I had to constantly be playing and could not take a rest.  Now, I can take a rest and no one notices."  I thought to myself, the drums do disguise many things with the other instruments.  The conversation ended and I stayed standing by the stage just minding my own business.  

Nat came over to me and asked me, " Can I send you out on a mission?"  

I said, "Yea, I am up to it.  I can do it."

He said, "I need you to find two matchsticks for my guitar string."

I know really understanding what that was said, "OK, what should I ask for."

He responded, "I would start asking for matches from anyone."

I said, "OK."  I then took off on my mission from the guitar player.  I could not believe that a member of the band came up to me and asked me to go on a mission for him.  That is what I mean about how this band is equal with everyone.  Well anyway I went outside to the smokers to ask for some matches.  I asked a couple of friendly folks out side to no avail.  I decided to run to my car to see if any matches were there.  I looked around and found something I thought it was better than the matches.  It was a blow pop.  I though the stick would be perfect for being a guitar pin.  I ripped the loli pop part off and headed inside to let Nat know that I completed my mission.  I saw him on the way back from it must have been the bathroom and held it up in the air and gave it to him.  

"Yes," I thought to myself.  I was pretty happy for myself.  I am pretty sure he said something to the effect that will work.  Thanks.  I walked off, got a beer, and waited for the second set.  

They got on and started with a couple of soft and slower songs.  It wasn't until three songs into the second set where the whole place started to freak out.  "Loose Lucy," was what the boys was gearing up to.  The familiar notes gave it away and I was ecstatic.  This is one of my favorite Dead tunes that I rarely hear.  The crowd was singing along and the band was getting into it.  The fiddle player was singing and he was getting into it.  He was belting out the part, "I say thank you, For A Real Good Time!"  It was sooo good to hear that song being played.  I was up front singing right back to the band showing them how much I was enjoying myself.  

Now, they ended "Loose Lucy" and went into a straight up bass solo.  The only person that was up on stage was the bass player who getting down with his instrument.  When does that ever happen especially at a bluegrass show.  It was a rarity to see.  The rest of this show was good with the crowd getting their boogey on.  I really love the banjo player in this band because he reminds me of Andy of Railroad Earth.  He plays all different kinds of instruments.  He is usually playing the banjo, but also plays the flute and the steel pedal guitar.  This allows for bands to sound so different with the just the change of an instrument.  Makes a band very flexible in what they can do.  HBR can do a lot because of the diversity of the band.  Just adding the drums makes it way more different.  I am happy to see this.  I really enjoy my Butter with drums now.  It is a different sound, but good.  A little more rock feel.  I do love the old school bluegrass they were, but change is sometimes good.  I think they can only get better.  I am looking forward to seeing them again.

I was real glad to catch this band one last time before I go away for a long time.  Bluegrass was what I needed since I haven't caught a bluegrass show in a long time.  The Encore I  recognized from past shows.  "Bit by Bit," is a song I heard before.  A nice song to send the show.  I was so lucky to see these guys and then Yonder in a week.  I am ending my concert going to straight bluegrass before I head on my adventure.  I would not have it any other way.  

Phish @ Camden 6.7.09

Thank god my friend Dan had an extra ticket to this show.  Thank god I got to see Phish more than once in 2009.  I wanted to go to those other 2 Jones Beach shows, but just could not make it.  So I took my friends extra ticket to the Camden show and I am so glad that I went.  Dan, Stack and I headed out to Camden from Ridgewood.  We were all gitty with anticipation for what the boys were going to throw at us tonight.  We talked about the past Jones Beach shows and what we liked and what we didn't like.  We also talked about what we wanted to hear at Camden.  Dan said he wanted a "Chalkdust" or a "David Bowie."  I wanted a "Wedge" or a "Mango Song."  Of course this was all done with a couple of road sodas being drank hastily before this show.

This was the first time ever to this venue down in Camden.  I have heard some amazing things about the place and Phish has always brought the heat to South Jersey.  I know that the venue has changed names three times that I know of.  The E Centre to the Tweeter Center and now the Susquehana Bank Center.  It is a shame that all these beautiful venues get their names to changed to after some kind of corporation with a boring name.  Anyways, I was excited to be here for the first time.  The Philly skyline could be seen at most angles from the venue.  It was gearing up to be a wonderful night.

The three of us got in the venue and we waited for the band to get on.  The band starts with one of our requests for that nights show.  "Chalkdust Torture," is blasting from the stage.  "Can I live while I'm Young," is what I am trying to do.  That is why I travel so far to see this band.  Just trying to live my life.  Now I was very impressed with the Jones Beach show from 6.2, but I was not blown away.  I will soon find out that after this show I will just be wanting more and going to see as many more shows as I can.

Next two songs from the show are songs that are fun to just get down to.  "Fee," and "Wolfman's."  The Wolfman's was better this show than the show that I went to about 5 days earlier.  I feel like I have seen Wolfman's at every Phish show I have been to.  But this song is always great to hear.  I do really enjoy it.  "Guyute" was next and a classic to hear live.  

Lets just say that the end of this set was out of control.  "Lizards" and "Wedge."  I mean Lizards I was not even thinking about at all.  Did not even think it was possible that this could be played live. This is one of my favorite songs and the place just was going nuts.  And then my prediction for that show which was "The Wedge."  Man I love this song and I was so happy to hear this song.  I love getting the rarities at any shows especially at Phish shows.  To close this set the boys ended with Tube into First Tube.  WOW!!  This was the perfect ender for the first set.  The first part was funky.  The second part was just rocking.  Two separate totally different parts, but when put together it is perfect. 

The second set opened up with a funky beat.  I was not sure of the song until after the show, but this song was just what needed to happen to open up the second set.  It was funky and just what the doctor needed.  The middle of the set was good, solid, but the Tweezer that ended the show was just stellar.  It was real good to hear this song again live.  One of my first songs that I fell in love with and so good to hear again.  I think they played it real well.  And a great way to end the second set.

Now here comes the reason where I think that Phish is NOW BACK for REAL.   They opened up the encore with this new song called Joy.  Trey talked before they played the song and announced what the song was.  Now I was hoping that this was not the only encore song.  It was a good song, but not one for the encore.  Then they went into Bouncing.  I was real nervous during this song.  I thought they were going to end the encore with this song and I was going to be royally PISSED.  I was real nervous as it closed down to the end of the song.  Then I heard the first notes to Antelope.  I was soooooo relieved.  OK so three song encore.  YES, pretty solid.  AND Antelope was on fire.  The boys were playing it top notch.  I was very happy to hear this song to end this show.  BUT, it wasn't over.  Of course the always Reprise for Tweezer was played to close the show.  I was fully blown away of this 4 song encore.  This is when I realized that the boyz are back.  They are ready to bring fire and play hard.  This actually left me wanting for more.  This wanted me to go on tour with the band.  I have not felt like that in a long time.  It was really good to see this show

Phish @ Jones Beach 6.2.2009

I have had a  bittersweet feeling about Phish reuniting again ever since I heard the news of them getting back together.  Sweet because I will now again be able to see one of my favorite live bands of all time.  I will be able to go to the large venues that I miss because no other band can play them.  I will be able to enjoy the community that Phish creates at their shows.  Bitter because I put that part of my life away.  I come to the fact that Phish was done and was never coming back.  I was very upset when they announced that they would be breaking up, but I got over it.  I finally accepted the fact that I would never be able to see Phish again and I was alright with that.  I was on to new and different things.

So 5 years have passed and PHISH is back.  I was locked out of all the the lotteries to get any Phish tickets.  Thankfully, they announced another day at Jones Beach, so I was able to purchase tickets.  

It has been 5 years since June of 2004 since I have last seen Phish.  I was pumped to be able to go see them after so many years.  It will be good to see Trey on stage with the boys.  Not his lame ass Trey band.  I was excited to see Trey in his natural surroundings.  See him in that familiar setting again.  The drive from Jersey to Jones Beach sucked.  2 hours of way too much traffic.  Such a pain in da ass to get to Jones Beach during rush hour, but I finally parked around 6:15 by my boys car.

A week before Stack and I almost got killed in a tornado down at Del Fest, but that is a story for another day.  Today is suppose to be all about Phish.  We drank a couple of beers as we waited to enter the infamous Jones Beach Amphitheater.  This is such a beautiful venue and a perfect place for Phish to bring back the magic after 5 years.  We started to walk in around 8:00 and the band still was not on.  The sun was starting to set.  The phans were smiling as we entered either from the rainbow that was out earlier or because one of the best live bands back again.  

We walked in as they started with "Runaway Jim."  Stack and I were walking throughout the whole venue trying to find our seats.  The place was packed.  Everyone was all over the place.  All the aisles were filled up with people dancing away.  I have not experienced this kind of concert in years where seats just did not matter.  We were still walking through all the bodies as "Foam" came on.  Man this is the perfect song trying to navigate through a sea of people.  As we walked it felt like the foam was getting thicker.  And it just keeps getting harder.  We were trying to walk up to our seats through a ton of people, so we ended up just stopping and turning around and watching this band that we all came to see.  Next highlight for me was "Cities." One of my favorite covers that Phish does.  I was so glad to see this song live for the first time.  Wish they jammed it out a little more, but I still enjoyed myself.  Next highlight of the first set was "Reba" and then "Possum."  "Reba" has to be one of the most intricately performed songs that the band does.  I wanted to hear how the band would pull this off.  This was the one song that the boys really jammed on.  They really surrendered to the flow and let it all hang out during "Reba."   Next song, "Possum," is just a fun song that I personally love to hear live.  A fast paced song that got the place going.  They closed out the set with 2 soft songs, but still good to hear.  

Now, the start of the second set was the old school Phish that I am used to hearing.  The start of the set starts out with Mike's Song > Simple > Wolfman's Brother > Weekapaug.  The boys really came out of the gates on the fire for the second set.  The highlight for me was "Simple."  The whole place was going nuts during it.  We were close to the top of a tier and everyone was dancing and twirling during "Simple."  The energy during just this song was just off the chain.  This new song called "Kill Devil Falls," I really enjoyed and seems like it has much potential.  A more old school sounding song like more classic rock.  It had a more blues tone to it.  I thought it was a cover at first.  Trey was doing a little banter before this song which I enjoyed.  I love when artists conversate with the crowd.  It is why I love Yonder so much.  And "Loving Cup," was the perfect way to end the second set.  And we fall down drunk.  

Overall, I was very happy to see Phish again live.  I do enjoy that they played a ton of songs during the show; however, I would like to see some songs jammed out a little more.  I would have loved to hear "Cities" jammed a little bit more and the start of the second set could have spanned over 45 minutes or an hour, not 30 minutes.  I am excited to see what they do from here and see their progression now.  I see a lot of people calling this era Phish 3.0 and it fits.  They are different from anything they have played before.  Right now I am just excited that they are back and I can see them live.