Bluegrass Underground - McMinnville, TN (March 10, 2013)

written by Tom Clinge

The date was set. March 10^th. The venue, Bluegrass Underground. Yonder in a cave. Wait...Yonder in a cave? And it is being recorded to be later broadcasted on PBS?? Am I dreaming?!? Pinch me! The day had finally come! After all the anticipation for this day, I still did not feel prepared for this show. Let us rewind about 2 months ago…

After hearing that Yonder was playing at Bluegrass Underground in McMinnville, Tennessee, an underground venue in a cave that hosts several bluegrass legends such as Del McCoury, I knew that I had to be in attendance. For some reason or another, I became one of the people I have laughed at so many times. You know those people too, the people that check the website to buy tickets to see if they are still available every day but wait until the next paycheck to buy them. Then, BOOM! They were sold out, and I was without a ticket, begging anyone for a ticket at any price. Long story short, after ‘trolling’ Bluegrass Underground’s Facebook page for weeks, I finally found a person I did not know to sell me her tickets (Sharon if you read this, thank you so much.) Finally it was locked in; I was going to witness this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity to see my favorite band in a cave with only 650 other people.

The night before the show, my friend Lauren and I left Boone to drive through the night to Peggy’s house, about an hour away from the cave. Peggy and her husband Tim were extremely nice to us again, letting us crash at their place for a night (that turned into two). We arrived around 5:30am waking up Peggy for a quick chat before crashing for maybe three hours.

It was finally the morning of the show, but this Yonder-filled morning began different than all the rest - with the smell of sweet bacon as I opened my eyes! I thought I was dreaming when Peggy asked me if I wanted bacon and french toast for breakfast. Starting the day off right!

After finishing up our meals, it took us a while to decide when to leave because of day light savings time and driving into another time zone. Finally, our brilliant minds realized we should leave at noon to get to the venue about an hour and a half before the show started.

And we arrived! We made our way over near Yonder’s tour bus to meet Steve, Christy, Michael, and D’eric. Everyone exchanged hugs and then started talking about the tour up until now. Lauren, of course, had to hula hoop with Steve and Christy’s daughter in the lot, as she has to hula hoop any chance she gets. Steve had told all of us that Yonder would be the first of the four bands to play, the complete opposite from what I had expected. Later we found out this was because the venue had the first bands that brought in their equipment into the cave would get the later time slots; Yonder came from St. Louis, a six hour drive, after playing their two night run at the Pageant. Regardless of what I had expected, I was thrilled at the same time that I would not have to wait to finally see the boys come on stage. After we got our wristbands for the show, we packed up everything in our cars and started the hike to the entrance of the cave.

Oh, the excitement! We walked through the woods for a couple minutes until we came up to what looked like a small hole in the wall. Yep, this hole in the wall is where we would begin our adventure underground. Around it gathered about twenty other people waiting to be guided down to the stage. After ‘patiently’ waiting a few minutes, it was our time to make our way into the cave.

photo courtesy of Peggy Davis

photo courtesy of Eric Martin

I instantly started shooting a video so I could share just how surreal this venue was. I was in awe after my first steps in the cave as it was dimly lit with hidden lights behind rocks all around the cave. As we kept walking, it grew colder and colder as we went further below ground. A few hundred feet later appeared a small bright bluish-green pond with a waterfall that came from the roof of the cave. Simply beautiful, with huge stalactites (or what I liked to call icicle-looking things) that stretched down almost into the water; I seriously could not have dreamed of such a venue. After walking through a tight hall in the cave that everyone had to duck for (minus the slightly vertically challenged Peggy), Peggy had the idea to hide a ‘Hope for Lilli’ bracelet in the cave so Lilli could dance with us that afternoon. We found a cool rock fixture high up on the cave wall that Tim had to climb up to put the bracelet around. We sat and took pictures of the bracelet that was illuminated by the hidden lights around the walls of the cave before we decided to move on to the next room of the cave.

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E.M.

E.M.

We rounded one more tight turn in the cave and it suddenly grew louder and warmer. This room was completely opened up and was extremely well lit with a giant chandelier hanging from the middle of the room. This was sure enough the Volcano Room. We continued to walk down and around the hill that would eventually lead us to the stage. I stopped in my tracks once the stage appeared; jaw dropped, I was speechless that this cave was turned into such an amazing stage for bluegrass artists. And no, this was not Heaven, unless I just missed the pearly gates.

P.D.

P.D.

E.M.

Walking down to the seated area, we saw two more familiar faces, Kelli and Jamie, who had been in the cave for the sound check before we even arrived at the venue. Somehow they managed to save us all seats so all the Kinfolk that made the trip were all sitting together. After exploring the rest of the Volcano Room, we eventually returned to our seats, legs bouncing trying to be patient for Yonder to come onto the stage. Then a man came on stage with a microphone and I thought, “This is it. He’s going to introduce Yonder, its finally going to start!” But no, something else had to happen first.

What I thought was going to be a simple introduction to the band turned into a ten minute instructional speech that taught the audience how to properly applaud and laugh. Yes, that’s right; we had to be taught how to cheer for the bands because the concert was being recorded by PBS to be later broadcast on TV. Kind of ridiculous, but at the same time it was hysterical as the crowd practiced time and time again until we applauded the way we were supposed to. Finally, after all of the sponsors were recognized, Yonder was introduced and was brought onto the stage.

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The whole room applauded (the way we were taught!) as the band plugged in their instruments with ear to ear smiles, as it was clear they were more excited for this opportunity to play in a cave than all the Kinfolk waiting for them to start. You could tell this show was going to be different from the rest as Ben was wearing a classy button down shirt rather than a black t-shirt with a face on it, even though Jeff was still rocking his standard Dethklok shirt. The band thanked PBS and all the sponsors, while everyone was making sure they were all in tune, and I tried to sit still for my first ever seated Yonder Mountain String Band show.

Jeff concluded the band’s introduction speech and finally busted out the face-melting opening riff to “What the Night Brings” and I nearly sprung out of my seat. Peggy shook me with a bigger smile than mine reminding me that this was one of the songs she wanted to hear today. All the Kinfolk were filled with silly grins as we realized this would probably be the only time our favorite band would play at this venue. Halfway through the song I found myself dancing in my seat, shaking my legs and flailing my arms like I normally would, and I wondered if I was the only one having troubles sitting still. Looking behind me, I saw Kelli trying to sit on her hands but still jumping off her seat shaking her head with a smirk. I was so thankful that I was not the black sheep of the crowd who could not contain himself. Still amazed, I kept looking all around the room and I eventually spotted in the back corner where we entered the Volcano Room a person dancing without a care in the world as he stood laughing by himself. I squinted my eyes and then realized…THAT’S STRAY!!! I couldn’t help myself as I belted out a loud quick laugh as I pointed Stray out to everyone else. I turned to Peggy and told asked her if she wanted to wander over there after the song because it looked more fun than trying to bottle up our enjoyment. The song ended and Peggy, Kelli, D’eric, Lauren and I all left our spots and headed to the area Stray was in.

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We snuck behind Stray to surprise him with a load of hugs, since we had been waiting on his arrival since before we entered the cave. Everyone exchanged smiles and laughs just before Ben introduced and started the next song, “Sometimes I’ve Won.” Granted I’ve heard this song many times live, but it’s been a while since I heard it last, and it was a good one. It was during this song after we moved from the seated area when I realized how amazing the acoustics were in the cave; no matter where you were in the cave, the band sounded better than the recorded soundboards that can be bought online. Simply amazing.

Before the next song began, Adam joked, “I’m glad I got my insurance policy raised” as he looked up at a rock cliff directly above his head. “My wife was glad.” Then Adam led the band into a new song I’ve never heard live, “Lonesome Letter.” I’ve seen this song on set lists but have slacked at actually listening to those shows to hear what it was. The opening verse already put a swing in my step and by the chorus I fell in love with the song. Davey J was getting extra jazzy on the Stealth; Jeff’s solo was spot on with only subpar facial expressions. Before I knew it, the new song that I just fell in love with ended with me wanting it to go on for another few minutes.

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Next to come was a “Ragdoll.” This had me strumming my air mandolin (that I bring to every show) for the whole song. Unfortunately, this was not a Ragdoll that was jammed on for almost ten minutes, which was understandable, seeing that the band only had a 45 minute time slot. Regardless, it sounded great and looked amazing with color changing LED lights behind the stage that gave the image of the cave walls shifting their shape. The song ended and Yonder tuned their instruments for the next song, which gave Jeff time to talk. After recalling how he was and still is a PBS kid always watching the station every day, he shouted “Let’s rock some music, why not” and then stepped back with a power stance ready to start picking. Funny thing was no one else was ready, which left Jeff awkwardly standing in his power stance looking around for someone to count down the song.

Adam started tapping his foot, “one, two, three” and the band exploded into “All The Time.” The fast pace of the song must have had some effect on Jeff because his previously subpar facial expressions during his solos crossed sides and as he turned into the crazy face changing freak that we all love so much. I already thought the guys were playing fantastic, but this sparked the fire. I thought for a second Dave’s strings were going to melt off. You could tell the band was really into it when the crowd roared (not the way we were taught) after everyone exchanged solos and shared grins.

E.M.

E.M.

E.M.

Next to come was another song Peggy wanted to hear, “Don’t Worry Happy Birthday.” In a way, it was Yonder singing happy birthday to her as it was her birthday just two days prior to this; she was definitely the happiest person in the room at that point. After Davey J finished his song, Adam led into Ben’s “She Smiles Like You’ve Been A Friend.” I feel like I stole the happiest person in the room award from Peggy when they started this tune as I’ve been waiting for it since before Yonder made it a part of their tour repertoire. Having listened to several versions of this song by only Adam and Ben, I was interested how Jeff and Dave would be incorporated in the song. As expected, they worked out all of the jams and solos to the point of perfection.

E.M.

E.M.

E.M.

As the band was tuning up for the next song, I noticed a little tease of the intro. “Just the Same?” I wondered. Adam played some other guitar licks, “Dawns?” Sure enough, it was “Just the Same”. Halfway through the song, a crew member of Bluegrass Underground approached us while we were dancing in the isle and told us to move because we have been in the camera shot the whole show. Cool! I’m going to be on TV! But wait this long and then tell us to move? As we all moved up the hill to the back of the cave, I looked down to notice Stray still in the same spot dancing, still not a care in the world. Apparently everyone had to move except Stray, or maybe he just didn’t get the memo. Before we knew it the song was over and Yonder unplugged their instruments as they said their thanks and left the stage. It was over without even a warning that was their last song. We waited for them to come back for an encore; it never came.

 

E.M.

E.M.

We all stood there wondering what to do next before finally deciding to leave the cave for some fresh air. Leaving the cave for the first time was painful from seeing the sun after being underground for over an hour. After a while we decided to head back in to catch the Infamous Stringdusters, who were to take the stage in five minutes.

We stood in our new place that was designated for us for the Stringdusters show. I remembered the last time I saw the Stringdusters, which was last Cabin Fever Tour when they opened for Yonder and how I had so much fun during the opener I forgot I went to the concert to see Yonder. This show was similar to that. The Infamous Stringdusters absolutely blew everyone’s minds with their extended psychedelic jams that had the room hollarin’ for more.

After the Stringdusters’ show, Michael, D’eric, Kelli, Jamie, Stray, Steve and Christy all decided to start their travels back to their homes. We all said our goodbyes in the cave just before walking out with Michael and D'eric for some fresh air. Shortly after Michael and D’eric walked off, D’eric made his way back. We stood confused wondering if he was coming back for the rest of the show even though Michael was his ride back to Atlanta. No, he was just returning my poster to me which I almost lost after the show (for the second Yonder show in a row). After asking if he wanted to stay for the rest of the show, Tim became the miracle man and offered to drive D’eric back to Atlanta the next day. Everyone was amazed by such an offer seeing as Tim had no reason to travel to Atlanta the next day. I tip my hat off to you Tim for being such an amazing person to others. And so it was decided; D’eric would stay the rest of the concert with us.

Lauren, D’eric and I sat all the way in the back near the roof of the cave after the North Mississippi All-Stars show, waiting for The Wood Brothers while Peggy and Tim talked to members of the Stringdusters and to Scotty, the best merchandise guy Yonder could ever ask for. This was only the second time I’ve seen The Wood Brothers and it was even better than the first time a few years ago. They played the only encore of the four bands that played and before you knew it, the entire concert was done.

After leaving the cave, we stopped by Yonder’s tour bus to say hello and goodbye to Jeff as he was standing outside eating strawberries. We thanked him for such an awesome time and then hit the road for Peggy’s. After getting dinner, Lauren was convinced to stay one more night at Peggy and Tim’s house rather than driving through the night again. We all stayed up to the early hours of the morning with a case of beer, sharing stories. The last bottle was finished and the day had officially come to an end.

The next morning was a slow start, for me at least, as we gathered all our belongings and cleaned up our mess. We thanked Tim for everything he and Peggy had done for us the past couple days and told him to tell Peggy the same. Lauren and I got in her car and hit the road for one last long ride back to Boone, which I slept for most of. I couldn’t thank everyone enough for making this Yonder show the coolest experience of my life. I know I’ll be crossing my fingers that we will all be able to experience this again sometime in the future. Until then, we’ll just wait patiently for September to come to watch this show broadcast on PBS.

Written by Tom Clinge; photos by Peggy Davis and Eric Martin