10/03/07 Yonder Mountain String Band The Blue Note, Columbia, MO

This was my first time seeing Yonder Mountain String Band, and witnessing the Kinfolk in action. I have to say I was impressed, and the crowd was CRAZY about this band. this was the first show of the fall tour, so the band was full of energy and ready to play, and The Blue Note was packed to the rafters and ready to party from the first note to the last. It was pretty obvious that Jeff Austin and Ben Kaufmann front the group, doing most of the singing and crowd interaction.
The band played two solid sets of music full of covers and originals. The first set consisted of 13 songs and ended with If There's Still Ramblin' In The Rambler (Let Him Go) leading into Catch A Criminal and then back into If There's Still Ramblin' in the Rambler (Let Him Go). This mash up of songs is a Yonder tour staple from what I can tell, and they did it with another set of songs when I saw them the next year. I will say that the transition wasn't from Ramblin to Catch a Criminal was not smooth like it was the next year, in fact the blending of songs was actually done at the transition from Catch a Criminal to Ramblin, and not between Ramblin' and Catch a Criminal. Of course, when you transition between songs with a shot, that is still a good transition.
The second set had 14 songs that varied more in temp, texture, and mood compared to the first set. Ranging from the barn stomping (most of the set) to feedback laden I'd Like off, an outrageous 15 minute version of Snow On the Pines, and the rollicking Town. I think the emotional peak of the whole show happened during My Gal when the crowd stomped so hard that the balcony actually shook. I had never seen that happen at the Blue Note before, and I have been to a LOT of shows at the Blue Note. They ended the show with Crow Black Chicken, and I have to say I never felt that song was dirty until I heard Yonder play it live.
Here is the show info:
The Blue Note
Columbia, MO
10/03/07
SBD+AUD matrix
Set 1
1) intro
2) Years With Rose
3) The Bolton Stretch
4) Fine Excuses
5) Mental Breakdown
6) 40 Miles From Denver
7) Only A Northern Song
8) Ain't Been Myself In Years
9) If Lovin' You Is Killing Me
10) Night Is Left Behind
11) Kentucky Mandolin
12) If There's Still Ramblin' In The Man (Let Him Go)
13) Catch A Criminal
14) If There's Still Ramblin' In The Man (Let Him Go)
Set 2
1) Intro
2) Sideshow Blues
3) Elzic's Farewell
4) Another Day
5) Just The Same
6) How 'Bout You
7) Snow On The Pines
8) I'd Like Off
9) Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
10) Town
11) My Gal
12) Angel
13) Ten
14) Raleigh And Spencer
15) Crow Black Chicken

10/22/08 Yonder Mountain String Band The Blue Note

This is my second time trapsing down the Yonder mountain path, and once again they brought the festival blue grass to the Blue Note. The played two sets again, like last time, but this time they were at the end of the tour instead of the beginning. I am not saying they put on a bad show, because they didn't, but you could tell by the faces that they were wearing down a little bit. They made mention of sickness tearing through the bus, so that might have had something to do with the tired looks from the band. So you could say that despite being worn down and wrung out, they played over two hours of great music with energy to spare. I am not familiar enough with the touring of YMSB to tell if there were any "OMG they haven't played that in years" moments, but I will say that for the night 2 hits and the entire last half of the second set. The setlist below was taken off of a setlist site that I think the soundguy for YMSB posts, since it has all the setlists for all the shows and I know that he keeps his set list. However according to my recording they did not play half moon rising. Now it could be that I just didn't catch the transition between instrumental songs, but it sounds like the same song to me all the way through. I have posted my recording on my site Lovin Live Music for download in MP3 or SHN formats. Enjoy


Set I:
Little Maggie>
Sometimes I've Won>
Little Rabbit,
Bloody Mary Morning,
Don't You Lean On Me,
Spanish Harlem Incident,
California Zephyr,
Hill Country Girl,
River,
Darkness and Light,
Picture In A Tear,
Easy As Pie,
Half Moon Rising (I don't think they actually played this song),
2 Hits and The Joint Turned Brown>
Casualty
Set II:
Dawn's Early Light>
Cuckoo's Nest>
Fingerprint,
Steep Grade Sharp Curves,
What You're Selling,
Night Out,
Rain Still Falls,
Fastball>
Mother's Only Son,
Rambler's Anthem,
Midwest Gospel Radio>
East Nashville Easter>
Follow Me Down To The Riverside>
East Nashville Easter

Encore:
Let Me Fall