Portland, Oregon’s Crystal Ballroom came alive Friday night as Yonder Mountain String Band brought their progressive bluegrass party to town. Nearly 20 years into the band’s existence, they continues to play dynamic shows, and bring a little something extra to each performance to keep fans on their toes.
First up was The Lil’ Smokies, an up-and-coming acoustic bluegrass quintet out of Missoula, Montana. Featuring Andy Dunnigan (dobro), Scott Parker (upright bass), Matt Cornette (banjo), Jake Simpson (fiddle) and Matt Rieger (guitar), The Lil’ Smokies have been hitting the road pretty hard, building up their fan base for about six years. The hard work has paid off. The band won the 2016 International Bluegrass Association (IBMA) Momentum Award for Best Band as well as the 2015 Telluride Bluegrass Festival band competition. They got the crowd moving, and a couple of well-placed covers punctuated their set, including Sturgill Simpson’s “Life of Sin” and a fun take on Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way.” Yonder Mountain’s Jake Jolliff came out midway through the set to add some of his scorching mandolin to the mix.
Yonder Mountain String Band’s first surprise came right out of the gate, as they welcomed Portland’s Asher Fulero to play keyboards for a good portion of the show. Fulero (Asher Fulero Band, Halo Refuser, Floydian Slips) was instrumental in helping Yonder pull off their highly successful Pink Floyd Animals tribute at last year’s Northwest String Summit, and the keys were a fun addition to Yonder’s string instruments. After taking their places, the band launched into Bruce Springsteen’s “It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City” which went into “Honestly” and back to “Saint” before morphing into Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.” Allie Kral set down her fiddle for that one and focused on delivering a powerful vocal performance.
Ben Kaufmann (bass), Dave Johnston (banjo), Adam Aijala (guitar), Allie Kral (fiddle) and Jake Jolliff (mandolin) keep things exciting by mixing together originals and cover songs from an immense catalog of songs. In addition to the Linda Ronstadt, Yonder also covered Waylon Jenning’s “I’ve Always Been Crazy,” The Grateful Dead’s “I Know You Rider,” Bill Monroe’s “Kentucky Mandolin,” the Talking Head’s “Girlfriend Is Better,” and ABBA’s “Take A Chance On Me.” That’s quite a range of songs, all given the Yonder Mountain treatment, and mixed in with original standouts like “Chasing My Tail,” “Pass This Way,” “Left Me In A Hole,” and “On The Run.”
Collaborations were a highlight of the night. In addition to Fulero contributing his talents on keys, The Lil’ Smokies Matt Cornette added a second banjo on a couple of tunes and Jake Simpson offered his fiddling skills on a string of tunes toward the end of the show. Fruition’s Jay Cobb Anderson even came out to help sing the Faces song “Ooh La La” to close out the show. When all was said and done, Yonder had played one non-stop set and an encore that added up to well over two and a half hours.
The party atmosphere and all of the special guests really brought to mind the Northwest String Summit, which takes place a few miles outside of Portland at Horning’s Hideout. Yonder Mountain String Band hosts this premier progressive bluegrass festival, which draws a wide variety of artists and fans to the idyllic hills of Oregon. This year is the 16th annual and takes place Thursday, July 13 through Sunday, July 16, 2017. Promoters were at the merch table offering discounted weekend passes, and it’s likely that a good number of Kinfolk left the Crystal Ballroom with tickets in hand.
Yonder Mountain String Band, Crystal Ballroom, Portland, Oregon, 9.24.17
Saint In The City* > Honestly* > Saint In The City* > You’re No Good*, Chasing My Tail, I’ve Always Been Crazy, Pass This Way** > EMD** > Pass This Way**, Another Day, Someday’s Reunion, I Know You Rider, Hole, Kentucky Mandolin*** > On The Run*** > Girlfriend Is Better*** > Take A Chance On Me*** > On The Run***
Encore: Travelin’ Prayer, Ooh La La****
* = Asher Fulero on keys
** = Matt Cornette
*** = Asher Fulero & Jake Simpson
**** = Asher Fulero & Jay Cobb Anderson
One Response
Quick note for the author, as mentioned by Jake Joliff in his intro to the song, it was not The Grateful Dead’s “I Know You Rider,” but rather, The Seldom Scene’s “I Know You Rider.”
Thanks for the review!