We headed to Kansas City after waking up in Peoria after a really great show (and a HUGE pizza). The drive kind of wore me out, so by the time we got to the venue I was ready for the VIP treatment. We had originally bought GA tickets for this show, but our friends talked us into upgrading. Thank goodness we did! We had our own viewing area and free water. Free water makes me super happy.
Mountain Sprout was the first band of the night, and my first opportunity to use my new telephoto zoom lens. My oh my. They were really good.
More and more people were filling up the VIP section, and by the time Split Lip Rayfield came on, it was completely packed. We could see people just jumping the rail to get into VIP and there was no security around to pull them back out. As the night wore on, VIP became a madhouse of wooks jumping the rail, pushing people around, and spilling their drinks on everyone. Oh well. From what I hear, it was still better than trying to be on the GA rail. And of course, we held on to our spots.
I think this was my favorite Split Lip show in a long time. The song choices, the energy, the sound - it was all fantastic. Jeff came out and played "Crazy", which everyone loved. By the time Yonder came out, the crowd was wild and ready for the main event. And the boys didn't disappoint as they dove right in and opened with "Looking Back Over My Shoulder". That was all it took, and we all found ourselves immediately caught in the waves of a spectacular show.
They immediately flipped us upside down by going from "Looking Back Over My Shoulder" to "Old Plank Road". This was so unexpected and awesome, and just watching the band, it was obvious they were having a good time. "Ripcord Blues" was next, and I don't think we will ever get tired of this tune. It's so much fun to dance to. They gave us another Sherif Saga song with "Sometimes I've Won", then let Adam take the reigns with "Honestly". Honestly, I love this song. Then what did they play? Oh just an awesome little "Freeborn Man"> "Wheel Hoss"> "Freeborn Man". I just love this! "Freeborn Man" just feels empty without "Wheel Hoss", and they do it so well! I love a little traditional bluegrass injection in my Yonder shows. Then we got another Sherif Saga song - "Mother's Only Son", followed by a smokin' hot "Girlfriend is Better"> "Over the Waterfall" to close out the first set. Amazing.
When the smoke and lights came on for the second set, we were ready. The VIP area was cleared slightly by one of the only passes security made through the crowd, checking wristbands, but as soon as he was gone, it filled right back up. As the boys grabbed their instruments and started fiddling around, I could guess what was coming... "Well I get up every morning at the crack of dawn...". Opening the second set with "Blue Collar Blues", all I can say is that I love their job, too. "Fine Excuses" came next, followed by a pounding "Fingerprint". For a while we heard "Fingerprint" almost every night. Now that we don't hear it so much, it was really enjoyable. I especially love Adam's distorted solo. As the distortion from "Fingerprint" faded, Ben turned up his own distortion as they went into "Nothin' But Nothin'". I guess this was the heavy part of the show.
After a small breather, Adam and Ben sung us another Sherif Saga song, "Jail Song". What a great song. Good job, Ben - you sure can write a song. I guess they weren't done with the distortion, because next was "Sidewalk Stars". I think we hear this song too much to really appreciate it as much as we should, but Colin said it best, "I like 'Sidewalk Stars' the most when it's followed by 'Ain't Been Myself in Years'". And it was. I mean, how do people write such amazing songs?! Kudos to you, Burle.
"Kentucky Mandolin" came next, and was followed by a killer "Piece of Mind"> "On the Run"> "High Cross Junction"> "On the Run"> "Piece of Mind". Wow. It was just an amazing way to wrap up an incredible show. There were so many curve balls thrown in this show and they really kept us on our toes. And like I've said previously, they play their butts off in the Midwest.
The Yonder boys came back out to loads of applause and got right on the encore with "Sangaree". What?! I couldn't believe it. Then some wook decided it was a good idea to jump on stage (Dave side), and it took Kevin and an additional security guard to bring him down. As the next verse of the song came up, Jeff used the opportunity to express his opinions of the rowdy young man, "My wife's got a shovel (Sangaree), my son's got a lot of ecstasy (Sangaree), he took it at the Yonder Mountain String Band concert (Sangaree), decided to come up on stage (Sangaree), then he got his ass whooped (Sangaree), and then he fell down on the stairs (Sangaree), and tomorrow morning (Sangaree), he's gonna feel like an asshole (Sangaree). Oh babe (Sangaree), hey douche bag (Sangaree), enjoy your glowstick (Sangaree), hope you had a good time!" Nice. The show ended with a nice fast "Redbird". I must say, we all definitely had a good time.
This was a great show and we shared it with many great Kinfolk friends, including our friends Brian and Tina from Missouri. Tragically, Brian was taken from us on August 22nd. Our Kinfolk family has lost a really great guy - we will miss you, Dizzy.
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| Dizzy & Josh |
Written by Dorothy St.Claire
| Yonder Mountain String Band 8/17/11 Crossroads, Kansas City, MO Click below to preview tracks from this show DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW |
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