Yonder Mountain switched up venues from the previous night, but still played an energetic, inventive set at the Fillmore on Wednesday. Photo by Marla Keown.
You know it’s a good jam band show when you look around and can’t tell if the blissed out smiles are from chemical concoctions or the ferocity of the music (well, except for that one guy in front of me; that was clearly chemicals).
played Wednesday night as part of a three-night run that kicked off Tuesday at the and ends at the Fillmore on Thursday.
Yonder brought bluegrass legends with them to the Fillmore. (essentially the Del McCoury band without Del), opened, and most of them hung around to jam with Yonder. Virtuoso violinist Darol Anger was also on hand, playing the entirety of the show with Yonder and bringing a distinct jazz edge to the material.
Yonder found a groove early in their first set on “Catch a Criminal,” with guitarist Adam Aijala playing a distinctly un-bluegrass solo at the break. Aijala then stepped up the mic to sing lead on “A Father’s Arms.”
The first set closed with an energetic romp on “If There’s Still Ramblin’ in the Rambler (Let Him Go),” which led into a fierce “Kentucky Mandolin,” with Anger and Travelin McCourys fiddle player Jason Carter engaging in a wild violin duel. The long instrumental wound back into “Ramblin’,” promising much tight jam craziness in the second set.
The second set was a memorable one. The band instantly kicked into high gear on “Little Rabbit,” with Austin and Anger playing off each other beautifully. It shouldn’t work, but Angor’s smooth violin and Austin’s staccato mandolin lines meshed perfectly.
After an excellent “Rain Still Falls,” dominated by Anger’s violin, Ronnie McCoury came on for the long instrumental jam “Polly Put the Kettle On,” with he and Austin working their mandolins together in a joyous jam.
Carter, banjo player Robbie McCoury and bassist Alan Bartram joined the band onstage as Austin exclaimed, “We’re going to start playing music and stop when they tell us to.”
The rock-oriented bluegrass that closed the set from that point showcased brilliant exploratory jams punctuated by song-oriented passages, starting with “Cuckoo’s Nest,” which was played over the melody to the fiddle tune “Red Haired Boy.”
This wound into “Snow on the Pines,” which featured instrumental duel jams between Carter and Anger, Ronnie McCoury and Austin, and Rob McCoury and Dave Johnston. A frenetic “Follow Me Down to the Riverside,” back into “Snow on the Pines,” and “Boatman’s Dance” closed the second set.
All the guests returned on the encore, “Steep Grade, Sharp Curves,” from the latest album “The Show.” While the song seems to echo the chord progression and vocal line of John Prine’s “Picture Show,” the lyrics reflect a distinct Yonder sensibility, and Anger and Ronnie McCoury both stepped up with solos.
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Candace Horgan is a Denver freelance writer/photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. When not writing and shooting, she plays guitar and violin in Denver band the defCATS.
is a Denver freelance photographer and regular contributor to Reverb.
