Lawrence! Yes! In my opinion, these are some of the best shows of the year. But, they're bittersweet. They're also the end of the Yonder year... until New Years.
The drive to Lawrence was rainy, and by the time we got into town, it was dumping rain. We stayed at the Eldridge, across the street from Liberty Hall, which was super convenient AND let us keep watch on the line. It didn't take long before we saw a couple of people with umbrellas waiting in line, so a few of us made our way down. Luckily, it was Josh, Anitra, and Wesley. For the couple hour wait for the doors to open, we took turns holding our place in line and going to Free State to warm up. When we finally got inside, we all realized just how cold and wet we were. Let's just say that the lip of the stage was covered in soaking wet hats, coats, scarves, and sweaters. These were not fun to put on at the end of the show... but that was hours away.
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| Photo Courtesy of Theresa Bramlett |
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| Whitney, Cathy, and Garrett ~ excited for the show! |
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| Steve, Lori, Stephenie, Theresa, and Michael |
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| Annie and Colin ~ Twinsies! |
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| Chris and Jen |
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| Theresa and Lori giving Scotty more of their money |
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| Wisco Joe |
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| John, Jessica, and Emily ~ 1 year show anniversary! |
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| Heather and Lori Photo courtesy of Stephenie Gardner |
Sometimes Liberty Hall puts up a rail, and sometimes they don't. This time, there was no rail and we got to stand right against the stage. I love this, but it also makes for less rail space and there were so many of us that our group took up basically the whole rail and went back a couple rows deep. I had planned on going Adam side for this show, but we ended up Dave side again... which was fine by me. He was still riding his hot streak from the past couple nights.
They opened with "Sidewalk Stars" (Anitra called it!), which I think makes for a kind of slow start to a show. Maybe I've seen it too many times, but this song is not one that gets me riled up and excited. Next was "Steep Grade", a song I didn't care for for the first few years I saw Yonder, and now I just love. Weird. "Maid of the Canyon" was next, and it was nice to hear since we hadn't gotten it in quite a while. Then the madness began. The rest of this set was so great, I couldn't have asked for anything more. "California Cottonfields", "Walking Shoes", "Ripcord Blues", "Darling One", "Jail Song", "Ain't No Way of Knowing", "Over the Waterfall", "Years with Rose"... all in one set? Yes, please.
This first set got us all super excited for the rest of the weekend. How can this band be so great every time we see them?
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| Peter, Theresa, and Colin |
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| Junkyard and Annie |
The second set started with one of my favorites: "Let Me Fall". Oh man. I wasn't expecting that. Overall, this was a great set, but I enjoyed the first one more. Honestly, my favorite part of the whole show was the last song of the encore: "Going to the Races". They even threw in the alternate chorus. Before they played it, the band was discussing what to play and I saw Adam say, "Something fast". Thanks, Adam.
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| What do you say we do it again tomorrow?! |
| Yonder Mountain String Band 11/12/10 Liberty Hall, Lawrence, KS Click below to preview tracks from this show DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW |
Day last. How did we get there so fast? We've had the most amazing year seeing music and now it was already the fall tour closer. Wow.
The rain went away and Saturday ended up being a gorgeous day for wandering on Mass Street. Everywhere we went we ran into friends and other Yonder folks. Lori's husband Tim even flew out just for that night. It was such a great day... besides for one thing. A headache. Boo. (Fortunately, I was able to get rid of it at the show with some Excedrine and a shot of Coca Cola.)
The line definitely started forming earlier than the night before, and it got crowded pretty quick. Michael and I had decided the night before that we were standing together Adam side that night, and even though a bunch of people squeezed in line before me, he saved me a spot. Thanks, Michael!
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| Tim's excited to be at the show! |
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| Michael and Tim |
While wandering and shopping earlier in the day, Emily picked up a sweet fly mask from one of our favorite shops (Miss Fortune's Creation Station). Naturally, we had to bust it out at the show.
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| Josh, Max, Wesley, and Anitra |
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| Dorothy and Colin Photo courtesy of Stephenie Gardner |
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| I wonder what song Max wants to hear? |
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| Carin, Wesley, Annie, Theresa, Anitra, Dorothy, Emily, Lori, and Michael Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett |
They started this show off with "You're No Good" and immediately got the crowd dancing. Anitra and Wesley were up front with us after choosing the balcony the night before. They picked the perfect night to be down front. The crowd was so cool (no crazy girls with dolls, throwing punches, or biting!) and gave us so much space. Next, we got "Left Me in a Hole" and "Half Moon Rising". A couple of old favorites that got the crowd even more excited. Then... "Complicated". Annie said she saw this song something like 5 times on fall tour. I don't wish for this song, but I can enjoy it.
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| Wesley's rockin the fly mask! |
Then, all of a sudden, things got crazy. "Hot Potato"! "Sangaree"! What?! What a nice surprise. We also got "And Your Bird Can Sing", which is one of my absolute favorite covers. I must admit, I got a little teary-eyed during that one. They finished off the set with a killer "Oklahoma"> "I Am the Slime"> "Oklahoma".
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| Jen had a good first set |
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| Apparently, so did Junkyard and Annie |
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| Photo courtesy of Stephenie Gardner |
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| Photo courtesy of Theresa Bramlett |
Michael brought a dry-erase board so we could send messages to the band. That was fun. Dave was excited to see what he would write next. Because this was the last show of the tour and the last show of the year for many in our group, there were a lot of hugs going around all night. I guess Jeff couldn't take it anymore, and at one point he came to the lip of the stage and gave Michael a big hug.
This second set was a great way to wrap up the tour. We did get "Ramblin'" again, but we also got "Big Spike Hammer", "If I Lose", "Piece of Mind", "Just the Same" (without the Stump!), "Irondale", and a great "New Horizons"> "Girlfriend" sandwich to finish it off. I've heard some people say that these last 2 shows didn't flow very well from song to song. I have yet to download and listen to them again, but I didn't catch that during the show. What I did notice was that the guys were having a great time and were excited to be finishing up the tour in Lawrence.
Then, for one last time for the encore, Jeff wore his glasses. I know it's only been just over a month that he's been wearing contacts, getting ready for Lasik, but I was starting to get used to his new look. Bringing the glasses back was a nice touch to the end of a great tour.
Once again, thank you Yonder for being so great and creating such a beautiful community of people. And thanks to all of those people who have enriched our lives over the years, sharing so many great experiences and musical moments. See you in St. Louis!
| Yonder Mountain String Band 11/13/10 Liberty Hall, Lawrence, KS Click below to preview tracks from this show DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW |
