The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA (April 27, 2013)

 written by Dorothy St.Claire

Night two arrived way too fast. It seemed we were scrambling to get ready and get food and then all of a sudden we were right back at The Fillmore. Tony Furtado opened the show again, playing the music that would welcome everyone to the theater and prepare them for a big night. I spent most of this time running around the venue, chatting with friends and meeting new people. Oh, and I met Jay Blakesberg. Yep. Pretty freaking awesome. 

By the time Tony Furtado's set was done, the room was pretty full. By the time Yonder came on stage, the room was packed. Jeff led the charge and started the show with a loud and fast "Illinois Rain", bringing a taste of the midwest all the way out to California. Adam took us on a "Night Out" and Dave played his ode to flight, "Strophe". Just three songs in, and we were feeling the heat. 

Tony Furtado came out with his guitar, joining the boys for Danny Barnes' "Funtime" and switching to the banjo for the crowd favorite "Boatman". Knowing the usual crowd response to this song, I moved up to the balcony to watch the people dance. 

Dave was on fire as he sang "You're No Good", following his own direction as he yelled, "Get along, ok!" and taking the banjo for a ride. "Near Me" came next, pulling behind it a big juicy "On the Run"> "High Cross Junction"> "Dear Prudence"> "On the Run". What?! Yes. 

The setbreak raced by and in no time we were in the second set of our second night. "Sidewalk Stars" came in with its usual distortion and feedback, building the energy of the room and building the anticipation of what was to come. "Honestly" surprisingly came out of "Sidewalk Stars", caressing our ears with its perfect 4-part harmony. 

"Fine Excuses" stepped in but was quickly rolled over by "8 Cylinders". The slow groove created a ripple through the crowd that crawled up our spines and shot through the bottom of our feet when "Damned if the Right One Didn't Go Wrong" thundered in. It was so fast. It had such a huge bounce. The energy and the bounce just kept going and going, through "Shake Me Up"> "Bolton Stretch" and "Smiles Like She's Always Been A Friend". 

This show was huge so far. Adam's instrumental "Stumped" came in with a flurry of fingers. Ben's classic "40 Miles From Denver" came in and satisfied our need for comfort and familiarity. The mood turned darker as "New Horizons" started our end of show sandwich and fell into "Ten". And as if that wasn't enough, the music slowly changed and "Sand" snuck in. The boys let the jam go. It took on a mind of its own and grew into this monster musical being. The myriad of colors swirling around the room lent to the psychedelic aura that seemed to bounce off of every surface. It was just what we needed for the end of these two nights at The Fillmore. We were able to let go and get lost in a huge groove before we were slammed back into "Ten"> "New Horizons" to finish the set.

It was a classic encore. Ben walked right by his bass and up to his microphone as Adam started strumming. Green lights surrounded the band for John Harford's "Holdin'" while clouds of smoke surrounded the crowd. And to make sure we were all left in a rowdy bluegrass mood, they gave us one more. One big one. "Southern Flavor". 

Like always, these two nights at The Fillmore were amazing. Exciting. Inspirational. Friends gathered together to celebrate our mutual love of the music, and we came away with a stockpile of new memories. There's just something about Yonder at The Fillmore that you can never understand until you experience it yourself.


Written by Dorothy St.Claire