It was already that time again. Yonder’s annual Kinfolk celebration in Chicago. This weekend is special for us because it gives thanks to those of us who work hard to promote the band when they come to our town, and generally spread the gospel of Yonder to anyone who will listen.
These shows were at the House of Blues in Chicago, which is a beautiful venue with great sound. They also have a “pass the line” feature, where if you spend $15 on food or merchandise, you can get in before the regular line. I think this is a genius idea, since people need to eat before a show anyway. The first night I had chicken fried chicken with potatoes and country gravy… so delish!
Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett
Besides for seeing Yonder and getting a meet and greet in, we also got to see so many of our wonderful Kinfolk friends. We have met some of the most kind and genuine and fun people through Yonder, and we always look forward to getting a huge group of us together for a show. And that’s just what we had. A huge group of awesome Kinfolk.
Theresa, Dorothy, and Jen
Dorothy and Lauren
Max and Lauren love each other!
Dorothy and Carin
Reunited and it feels so good!
We got our rail spots and didn’t have to wait long for the crowd to start rushing in on us. After an hour or so of smushed waiting, the lights dimmed, the curtains parted, and the show began. The show started with New Horizons and 40 Miles From Denver, which are always crowd pleasers. Then we got This Lonesome Heart – one of my favorites. Nice. We also got a sweet Darkness and Light “via the Kinfolk request line”. They closed the first set with a yummy Honestly> Keep on Going> After Midnight> Keep on Going> Honestly sandwich. We hadn’t heard Keep on Going since Tulsa in February, and it meshed so nicely with Honestly wrapped around it.
The second set started with a killer On the Run that got everyone jumping. That’s one song that will just never get old. We also got an Old Plank Road, which doesn’t happen very often. Damned if the Right One Didn’t Go Wrong and Spanish Harlem Incident are both favorites of the ladies, and they definitely got us dancing and swinging our hips.
During the show, there was a girl with an incredibly creepy baby doll. It had it’s eyes jabbed out and was just one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen at a show. She kept pumping it up in the air and it was definitely bothering some people, including the band. But, whatever, people do weird things and that’s ok as long as it doesn’t interfere with others. Unfortunately, it did start to interfere with those of us up front and at one point in the second set someone took it and threw it on stage. I don’t advocate throwing things on stage, but Kevin grabbed it and we didn’t have to deal with it the rest of the night. Now the girl, that’s another story. Once her baby was gone, she decided to elbow, push, and sneak her way into Jen’s rail spot, between Theresa and me. We tried asking her to move, letting her know we’d been there all night, but we just got elbows. So, she got squeezed out. She was yelling and getting violent when someone grabbed her hat and threw it. Then she started throwing punches. Now, why would someone want to cause so much trouble at a Yonder show? There’s plenty of space for everyone to have fun and be respectful. And all of this during my favorite part of Snow on the Pines, sheesh!
Overall, the first night was great; a few goodies thrown in the setlist and a lot of crowd favorites. The crowd was mostly respectful and fun, with a few extreme exceptions. We were exhausted – ready for pizza and sleep.
Yonder Mountain String Band
11/5/10 Downtown, Chicago, IL
Saturday was the Kinfolk meet and greet. We didn’t need to eat at the House of Blues to get in early, but we decided to eat there anyway so that we could visit more with our friends. We were so excited that Pearhead and Amanda had made the last minute choice to come to Saturday’s show, and we were able to get Amanda into the meet and greet so the band could meet her due-in-5-weeks son, Oliver.
A handful of us were in line to go up to the balcony for the meet and greet, and one of the staff members decided to let us up. After a few minutes they told us they weren’t ready and scooted us into one of the opera boxes. We hung in there for a little while, joking around and having fun, when Dave, Jeff, and Adam joined us. “Is this where we’re supposed to be?” They were a little confused, but the staff soon led us back to the main balcony area. The rest of the Kinfolk came up, as well as Ben, and our celebration was under way.
I thought this was the best meet and greet I’d attended in the four years I’d been a part of it. It was very relaxed and the Yonder guys seemed to be in good spirits. Dave and I joked around about good old Des Moines, and I followed Amanda around, making sure to get those good shots of her with the boys. This was also the first time we’d done a group shot at the meet and greet. We’ve been doing group photos since Aly took control of Kinfolk Coordination, and it’s such a good idea to get all of us together.
Jen, Adam, and Dorothy
Gettin it started!
Amanda and Adam
Marci, Adam, and Dorothy Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
What exactly is going on here?! Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Adam and Theresa Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett
Amanda to Dave:
"You're partially responsible for this"
Dave:
"That's a weird thing to say"
Sheila and Dave Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Jeff feels baby Oliver kick!
Jeff and Amanda Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Dorothy, Jeff, and Chelsea
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Jeff and Theresa Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett
Zach, Alyssa, Jeff, and Steve Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett
Amanda and Ben
Ben and Dorothy
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Ben, Theresa, and Steve Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Ben and Lora Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett
Boone, Zoe, Patrick, & Jennifer Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Rick and Melissa Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Katie, Jason, Jeff, and John Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Katie and Jason Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Jeff and John gettin the party started! Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
As the meet and greet wrapped up, we went down and grabbed our rail spots again. This time, it was pretty tricky to keep our space right off the bat. There were folks from outside who wanted our space and argued that they were there before us. It all worked out in the end, and we all had plenty of room.
This second night started off with a high-energy Sideshow Blues followed by one of my favorites, Lord Only Knows. I love love love this song, but I always want it to go into Bolton Stretch. Oh well, it’s always great, no matter what. We got a real treat during this first set, though, two new songs that they just started playing on this tour. I’d seen the songs on some setlists, and heard some talk about them, but I try not to listen to a new song until I can see it live. I’m so glad I waited. Dave’s new song, Ripcord Blues was amazing - the best boogie-woogie bass line and just a really cool and different sounding song. Kevin even stepped out from his post and watched the audience get down. Following Ripcord Blues was Jeff’s new song, What the Night Brings. This was also a really good new song, but it didn’t get the same huge reaction as Dave’s.
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Carin and Annie having a great time
Not only did we get some great new stuff, we got some great old stuff. A lot of bluegrass and a lot of songs from the Bluegrassholes days. One of my all-time favorite songs that Yonder plays is Coming On Strong, which I requested on Phantasy Tour, and they played it! I was in complete bliss. They finished off the first set with a fiery hot Ruby. Nice.
Tim, Max, and Lora Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett
Dorothy and Colin Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett
The second set continued with a lot of older songs and rare gems such as Red Rocking Chair, Country Boy Rock and Roll, and Going Up (another one of my absolute favorite songs). They closed the second set with a raging Angel> Piece of Mind> King Ebenezer> Piece of Mind> Angel. Can’t find one thing wrong with that!
"I feel young again!" ~Max
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
The boys left the stage, and as we cheered for the encore I just thought of how lucky we all are that we get to do this so much and that we have so many wonderful friends that we share these experiences with. It’s the best feeling in the world to look down the rail and see all my friends smiling, singing along, and having the time of their life. The band came back on stage and had a little last minute discussion about the encore. There was some laughing and head nodding, and then they busted into Rambler. This is definitely a crowd favorite, but to those of us who have seen the band dozens and dozens of times, it’s not one that we necessarily hope to get. It didn’t take us long to realize that they had a lot more in store for us than Rambler. The entire encore was If There’s Still Ramblin’ in the Rambler (let him go)> Wind’s on Fire> Rag Mama (a crowd request)> Granny Woncha Smoke Some> Suspicious Minds> Reuben & Cherise> If There’s Still Ramblin’ in the Rambler (let him go). Now that’s an encore.
Photo courtesy of Aly Constine
I can't find one thing wrong with Max!
Every Yonder show we attend just reinforces our obsession. Thanks to the band and all the Kinfolk for making this weekend one of the best, and we’ll see you again very soon.
Written by Dorothy St.Claire
Yonder Mountain String Band
11/6/10 Downtown, Chicago, IL
Dorothy once again you captured it all and did an awesome job...thanks for all you do
ReplyDeleteAmazing job Dorothy! I feel like I was there (wish I was). Hope to see you soon!
ReplyDelete