The Mystic Theatre is a venue that I've wanted to visit for some time, and it didn't disappoint. It was a lovely room and had great sound. One bad thing was that Scotty had the tiniest of spaces to sell merch, but he made it work, because he's cool like that.
The vibe in this place was really good, and when Yonder came out and opened with "2 Hits", the crowd just started bouncing. It just got better and better with "Ain't No Way of Knowing", "Polly Put the Kettle On", and "Shady Grove". This was starting out as a really amazing and high energy show. They played "Freeborn Man" (with nothing sandwiched in the middle - different, but good), then "Easy Come Easy Gone" (haven't heard this song in probably a year). After an especially rockin' "Fingerprint", we got "Harder They Come". Of course this is when Tim was gone getting drinks, but he still managed to hear it. He was having a hard time getting back to his spot until someone said, "It's OK, he's with all those ladies up front" and let him through. How great. They played Todd Snider's "Good News Blues" next, which was a real treat. We had only heard them play this one time before, and it was with Todd during their fall tour '08. Great song. Then Ben quickly told us about being on a lot of cough medicine lately, and BAM - into "Fastball". Funny. "Illinois Rain" finished out the first set.
After a nice little set break, my mom came down to the front row for the first few songs. It worked out so perfectly, because they opened with "Dawn's Early Light" - one of my absolute favorites. It's one of Tim's favorites too, and looking over at him I saw the biggest grin across his face. A couple songs later we got "Blue Collar Blues", and everyone in the band got a $2 bill from Samantha. Fun. Dave put it in his G-string. On his banjo. The boys played great tonight, but something was missing. Adam was obviously sick and didn't sing one song. Not one. Oh well, he was saving it up for the next couple nights in San Francisco. He still played like the rock star he is.
As this set went on, we got such treats as "Yes She Do No She Don't", "Reuben and Cherise" (again! I can't believe how much we have gotten this recently!), and "Whipping Post" (love love love Yonder's version of this song). The set ended with one of the best "Riverside" sandwiches ever. EVER. The full sandwich was "Angel"> "Riverside"> "Robots"> "Angel". This Riverside was powerful. The emotions just came through full force. It was an amazing thing to see, and I'm glad Jeff has such a constructive outlet.
The crowd went wild when the band left the stage, we just couldn't believe the awesome show we had just been a part of. You never know what you'll get with this band, but it's always good... and sometimes it's really really good. They came back out for their encore, and ripped into an always fun "Let Me Fall". Way to rock our socks off, boys.
Written by Dorothy St.Claire
| Yonder Mountain String Band 4/21/11 Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, CA Click below to preview tracks from this show DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW |
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