Show Review: Yonder Mountain String Band Proves They are Alive and Well at the Crystal Ballroom
It feels like ages, but it was only last April when founding member Jeff Austin announced his departure from the Yonder Mountain String Band. It didn’t take long however, for the band to make it clear that they had no intentions of slowing down. They even continued tradition by hosting the Northwest String Summit at Horning’s Hideout last summer.
Since, Yonder has continued their usual, relentless touring schedule and made their way to the Pacific Northwest leg of their current tour last week. For three of these stops (Missoula, Portland, and Eugene) they invited Seattle’s progressive folk trio, the Cave Singers to open.
Even though Yonder Mountain String Band has reached a level of success few bands can claim, I was equally anticipating The Cave Singers. Their brand of slow moving psych rock mixed with acoustic folk began in 2007 and features a number of delicately written ballad-like tunes with passionate vocals belting through electric guitars. Just as I had hoped, their live show was a damn-near replica of what they do in the studio.
This past Thursday at the Crystal Ballroom (Portland), The Cave Singers began their set with a guitar picking the intro to “Leap” and built up their momentum with a marching snare drum and harmonica solo. From there, they went straight into grungy opening lines of “At The Cut.” They then set down their electric guitars and slowed the energy for the easy going acoustic songs, “Summer Light” and “Swim Club.” Guitarist, Derek Fudesco uses a classical guitar on these acoustic songs and holds a steady groove throughout even playing a bass pedal on the floor simultaneously. Lead singer Pete Quirk added in a slew of percussion instruments and even brought out a melodica when they played “Haller Lake” before stepping off stage.
When I looked back, I noticed a crowd that had quadrupled in size and continued to pile in for the main event. When Yonder Mountain took the stage for their first set they jumped right in to a standard, high tempo instrumental called “Boots” that involved a heavy dose of banjo. Set one included a range of Yonder original, vocal heavy songs going back to their first album, with the hit song “40 Miles To Denver” and “Casualty” from their latest album, The Show, rounded out before the break.
After swimming through a sea of hippies, country folk, and all around badasses, I made my way back upstairs for the set number two. The majority of which was reserved for the progressive rock jams that put yonder right within the ranks of the jam band circuit by proving their high level of musician ship. Yonder can hold a rhythm for measure after measure while trading off turns to add in a solo, specifically during an extra lengthy version of “Mother’s Only Son.”
Violinist, Allie Kral smoothed out the transitions for many of these jams with her skillful playing or singing. She didn’t hold anything back while belting out the lyrics when they covered Linda Rondstadt’s “You’re No Good.” The covers continued throughout the set as they played “Aimie” shortly after and even included “Son of a Preacher Man” in their encore (in which Allie’s vocals did an impeccable job recreating Dusty Springfield’s raspy voice.)
The big question last year was whether or not Yonder Mountain String Band could stay afloat of a bar they’ve set incredibly high. Unfortunately, this was my first Yonder show, so I can’t answer that question definitively. I can assure you however, they can put together a solid performance. Two sets of singing and playing together can’t come easy after losing an original member, but they made it look that way.
All photo credits to Craig Williams