Review: Yonder Shines On Broadway

sbmani_ymsb19

The first set opened with an electrically charged Raleigh & Spencer. Kaufmann held down the rhythm section, never missing a beat as his band mates each took their turn leading the jam.  It was more of the same throughout the night, and after powering through 40 Miles from Colorado and Pride of Alabama, a certain excitement was in the air. Austin took some time to tell about their first few New York City gigs at the gone-but-not-forgotten Wetlands, and a break-in of their van which resulted in, among other things, a stolen computer.

Banjo player Dan Johnston took the vocals on a quieter ballad before the band collectively raged through Elzic’s Farewell > New Horizons > Holding > New Horizons, with impressive work from all, particularly Adam Aijala, who was on point all night.

sbmani_ymsb11

A nearly half-hour intermission gave the bartenders some extra work, and the crowd was especially fired up for the second set. Austin came out ready to play, as a raucous Traffic Jam segued into Little Rabbit and back into Traffic Jam. Danny Barnes – who opened the night’s festivities along with Railroad Earth – joined on banjo and vocals for the Bill Monroe tune Pike County Breakdown and YMSB’s Where They Do Not Know My Name. A couple of songs later, Aijala and Johnston showed their chops as they cut through Country Boy Rock & Roll. The set closed with a jostling Peace of Mind.

It was decided that a fiddle was necessary to make the night complete, and Tim Carbone was brought out for the two-song encore. A delighted audience was granted a swinging version of Jimmy Cliff’s Harder They Come and the old traditional tune Shady Grove.

sbmani_ymsb14

It was around midnight by the time the show let out, but even after three acts and nearly four hours of bluegrass, you would have been hard pressed to find someone who wouldn’t have asked for just a little bit more.

Yonder Mountain String Band – 10.17.09 – Nokia Theater, Times Square, New York, NY

Set 1: Raleigh & Spencer, 40 Miles From Denver, Pride Of Alabama, Sometimes I’ve Won, Winds On Fire, Another Day, Complicated, Southbound, Elzic’s Farewell> New Horizons> Holdin’> New Horizons

Set 2: Traffic Jam> Little Rabbit> Traffic Jam, Crazy, *Pike County Breakdown, *Going Where The Do Not Know My Name, Finally Saw The Light, Country Boy Rock & Roll, Natchez Whistle> Peace Of Mind

E:#Harder They Come Harder They Fall, #Shady Grove

*= Danny Barnes on banjo & vocals, #= Tim Carbone on fiddle

sbmani_ymsb12

sbmani_ymsb06

sbmani_ymsb02


Related Content

2 Responses

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter