YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND
April 13, 2007 (Friday)
The Big Easy
Spokane, WA

Source: soundboard > xlr analog cables > Tascam DA-P1 DAT (44.1 kHz)
Transfer: master DAT/DA-P1 > hdd (via coax > Audiophile 2496 soundcard) > Sound Forge 6.0 (minor edits, fades, normalized to -16dB) > CD Wave Editor 1.94.8 (tracking, sbeok) > Flac Frontend (level 8)
Recorded & transferred by Pastor Tim <YonderArchive AT yahoo DOT com>
Uploaded to LMA by KINFOLKIANA 

Please support the fine musicians who always show us such a good time and who allow us to tape and trade their live shows.  Get out and buy (never burn!) Elevation, Town By Town, Old Hands, Songs From the Tin Shed (Jeff & Chris Castino), Mountain Tracks Volumes 1, 2, 3, & 4, and the 2006 Vanguard Records release Yonder Mountain String Band.
http://www.YonderMountain.com

DISC ONE [71.47]
Set 1:
01  intro...  0.47
02  Country Boy Rock 'n' Roll  3.37
03  Snow On The Pines  19.30
04  Town  3.45
05  Long Time  4.12
06  If You're Ever In Oklahoma  8.54
07  Winds Of Wyoming  5.16
08  Redbird  4.50
09  At The End Of The Day  4.40
10  Easy As Pie  3.43
11  Mother's Only Son  12.27

DISC TWO [45.24]
Set 2:
01  tuning...  1.25
02  Little Rabbit >  5.16
03  Half Moon Rising  5.13
04  Troubled Mind  3.12
05  Crow Black Chicken  8.06
06  If Loving You Is Killing Me  3.48
07  ATBL tease > Corona  3.31
08  You're No Good  3.21
09  Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie  6.21
10  banter  1.23
11  Big Spike Hammer  3.43

DISC THREE [47.32]
Set 2 cont'd:
01  farting preacher intro...  0.57
02  Things You're Selling  5.41
03  Ten >  6.05
04  Traffic Jam >  6.46
05  Fingerprints > jam >  6.27
06  Traffic Jam >  1.24
07  Ten *  5.18
08  crowd...  2.51
Encore:  
09  Idaho  2.55
10  My Gal  9.03

* The Big One for The Big Man at The Big Easy: dedicated to Ed Richardson, very kind head of security, 
   on his 35th birthday; yep, I even checked his ID.


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THE BANTER
"You could've gone to the Aqua Teen movie but you came here instead." -- Jeff
"So folks, down there on the 5-string banjo is the only person that I know who's ever been denied entry into a foreign country because he knew all the lyrics to a Snoop Dog song..." - Ben, before 'Winds of WY'
"Thank you so much for liking the bluegrass music... my God, what would we do if you didn't?" -- Ben, after 'Troubled Mind'
"It's about that time of the night, ladies & gentlemen, where we get into our Jesse Fuller groove... [someone in the audience shouts a request for the umpteenth time]... 'Legalize It' is not a Jesse Fuller song." -- Dave, before 'You're No Good'

THE SCENE
     Hate to say I missed the pre-show Yondermeister gathering but it wasn't for lack of trying.  As soon as soundcheck was done I walked a 4-block radius and stuck my head into at least 6 cool-looking bars in hopes of finding the pre-show gathering spot, but then it was time to grab a cup of coffee and get back to get my gear ready to roll.  As it turns out several folks had gathered right in the bar/restaurant of The Big Easy, and I knew that as soon as I saw Mary's nose pressed up against the glass just before doors opened.
     What a fantastic venue!  I'd never been to Spokane's The Big Easy before, but from the moment I walked in and met the local crew, the security folks, and the bar staff, I just knew I was going to fall in love with this place.  The place filled up quickly as soon as the doors were open and the usual suspects headed to their respective spots.  You can't really tell from the soundboard recording, but there was a GREAT crowd that was up front the minute the band started playing, and they stayed right there dancing, shouting, singing, and back-whamming each other all night long.  From the front of house position in the balcony all we could see was a mass of people moving in time to the music, not just up at the front but all the way across the hardwood floor.  And even nicer, there always seemed to plenty of room to dance and move without ever feeling like some great crush was going to leave you short of breath.

THE SHOW
     A nice COUNTRY BOY ROCK'N'ROLL kicked off the show, but this night's Set 1 was marked by 'the long ball': a very dark-sounding SNOW ON THE PINES, a butt-kicking IF YOU'RE EVER IN OKLAHOMA (both of which I always hope to hear late in a good second set but here they were in the first set, my first clue this was going to be a really special night), and then to put icing on the icing on the cake we got a MOTHER'S ONLY SON to close it out.  HOLY SCHLOMOLEY!  
     The SNOW had a really dark and ominous feel from the very beginning of the instrumental jam and it never lightened up, like a storm that tempts you to keep driving only to make you suddenly realize that you should've stopped at that last town.  Just before the transition into the rhythmic section before the last lyrics everything slows down and Jeff plinks out a tiny tease of HOME ON THE RANGE: "Where the skies are not cloudy all day."  It was so incongruous with all the darkness that it still makes me laugh like I did when he played it.  
     It was at this moment that I heard the young woman at the table next to me say the words "String Summit" to the older gentleman sitting with her, and when I took off my cans she introduced herself (again) as Natalie Fritz.  The gentleman was her father who was at his first bluegrass show, and I got the distinct impression that this wouldn't be his last show.  I think he especially liked the jazzy elements of Ben's bass playing, and we got to chat for a few minutes after the set.
     Now, whenever Ben starts singing TOWN ("it's the only ditty I've ever written") I wonder if they dislike the city they're playing in, and yes, there's a certain homogeneity to Spokane, but the guys really seemed to have a good time spending their off-day there.  I'm sure Spokane would like Yonder to stay true to Adam singing, "I promise I will be back real soon" in LONG TIME.  Now any good Yonder fan could call any one of thirty different songs as the next one in the setlist, but I'm fairly certain no one would've called J.J. Cale's classic IF YOU'RE EVER IN OKLAHOMA.  (By the way, Bob Troutman's probably still kicking himself for staying home sick that night.)  Some nights I feel like one member of the band is 'more on' that another but not in Spokane, and OKLAHOMA shows why as Dave, Adam, Jeff, and Ben trade solos and licks with such ease that it seems like this must be night 10 of the tour instead of night 3.  
     AT THE END OF THE DAY was kind of poignant for me because I was feeling really torn about leaving tour and heading for home, but I was also missing my wife and son a WHOLE LOT.  This song pushed all my buttons in just the right way and made me HAPPY to be heading for home.  Ironically, as I was driving the last 30 minutes of the 6-hour drive home I had to pull out Elevation ("the one album I know will never allow me to fall asleep on the road") and just as I hit the exit for Great Falls I realized I was singing along with Jeff on "When I go out again and I long to return, I know my old home she'll be there."  Plus, Sandy & John both wrapped me up in a big old bear hug as soon as I walked in the door.  Ahhhh, home.  Sorry for the tangent, back to the show.
     Dave plunks our a grief-filled 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame' in honor of the Cubs' 6 inning meltdown, but then he switches gear to the joyous EASY AS PIE, one of those instrumentals I feel like I haven't heard in a long time.  
     Okay, so then we get MOTHER'S ONLY SON..?!?!  Made me wonder if they were going to break out 'In The Woods With The Munchies' to start the second set.  [chuckle...]  Screaming girl really makes herself heard near the end of this number (she did that all night) and then Hines smooths the way into setbreak with a little slick-grooved Boz Scaggs' 'Low Down.'  Folks mostly just milled around on the floor or headed to one of the many uncrowded bars around the club, and a very nice setbreak was had by all.
     SET 2 starts off with Jeff playfully teasing Rod (front row center) for trying to write down the title of the first song before they're done tuning; listen for Jeff trying to play something different for the intro to LITTLE RABBIT just to try and throw Rod off.  By the time HALF (warren) MOON RISING started, I left my gear running at front of house and headed for the floor, managing to snag a spot right behind Rod & Mary (everybody who knows them knows EXACTLY where they are), right next to a cool guy named Schochet (not Greg), and right in front of Damian.  The crowd-spacing was just perfect for dancing in your own little whirled, and that's what I did for the whole second set.  Neither Bozeman nor Missoula allowed room for 'just slipping in,' but Spokane had no pushing, no shoving, and no posturing for position, just a bunch of cool folks dancing together to their favorite band... "deliciously mooshy," as Jeff describes it.
     During TROUBLED MIND I started to realize that one of the reasons I love being up on the rail is the chance to watch all four of the guys do their picking, but tonight I paid close attention to Adam because I can never believe how fast his wrist moves and to Ben because I'm still hoping to someday become a bass player.  [ahem...]  
     The guy next to me called CROW BLACK CHICKEN as soon as the figure started, and because I'd seen the words "Danny - Banjo" on Kevin's monitor board I was hoping the Big Man was going to step up on to the stage, but it turned out to have been there from another night some while ago.  Still, who can argue with the way Jeff delivers this Barnes' classic.  Ben's solo here shows just what I mean by his "jazzy" skills -- makes you want to hear what he could do with a good big band tune or maybe even a hot little salsa number.
     It's back to bluegrass with IF LOVING YOU IS KILLING ME and the crowd just went nuts!  Everybody dance!!!
     Adam gives us a sweet little Van Halen tease ('Ain't Talkin' Bout Love') just before playing the always-welcome intro to the minutemen's CORONA, and I wasn't the only one who shout-invoked the name of our hero d.boon though I have to admit the guy behind me knew every word like he'd spent the entire afternoon listening to Double Nickels On The Dime.  
     Time for the John Hartford junkies to get their fix, and it was nice to hear a very different intro on UP ON THE HILL WHERE THEY DO THE BOOGIE (probably still trying to mess Rod & me up) although there was no mistaking what was coming.  It was during this song that I really noticed what Robin M was doing with the lights.  For those who haven't met her yet (this is her first tour as lighting director), this woman is spending a lot of time right before the show to set light sequences, and she's really picking up on the fast paced tunes with quick changes on the intelligent lights.  It's also fun to watch her keeping time with the music like a classical conductor; her punches on one hand are reflected by super-quick finger punches on the other hand as the lights dance with the tune.  
     As for THINGS YOU'RE SELLING, I just want to go on record as saying that Ben Kaufmann is NOT talking about me [chuckle...], and I think he's always a little surprised when I sing that one line at the top of my lungs: "Yours is a hateful sermon and it takes too goddamn long!"  I've loved this song since the first time I heard it, and I think it's the perfect antidote to this country's religious broadcasters (I refuse to call them tel-evangelists because there's no Good News in what they say), so I hope Ben continues to get a smile on his face as I nod and sing along.  Of course, I also got in trouble with the security crew for... well, Ben knows why.  Sorry, brother!  ;^{)}=>+
     Please note Adam's tiny tease of 'Stairway to Heaven' right before the beginning of The Big One, because it's such an understated way of saying watch out for what comes next.  Me, I certainly wasn't prepared.  This next chunk of music is what I'm calling "The Big One for The Big Man at The Big Easy."  Ed Richardson, the head of security, spent the entire night with a silly balloon hat on his head, a smile on his face, and a song in his heart.  I don't think I've ever met a kinder, friendlier security guy in my life, and he didn't even flinch when I asked to check his ID.  
     I can't even begin to describe the feeling of energy, excitement, and elation as the band ripped through a Dagwood sandwich of TEN > TRAFFIC JAM > FINGERPRINTS > JAM > TRAFFIC JAM > TEN, but the whole thing felt like Iggy & The Stooges' "Raw Power."  Really, these are the moments I go to shows for, when I'm totally transported by the power of the music those four guys put out.  (And as I always add at this point, keep in mind that Ben Hines & Kevin "Gergely" make it sound good for everyone; total pros.)  Rod & I just kept looking at each other as each of the transitions came, and when it was all over it was almost like what else could they possibly do except say goodnight?  The crowd cheers loud and long (which I'm sure will come through much better on Sandy Alexander's AUD recording) and sure enough the boys came out and did just what I'd told someone they probably wouldn't do.
     See, Spokane is only about 17 miles over the border into Washington from a certain other Western state, and this one guy had made a very nice small sign that simply said IDAHO!  He passed it up front so that it could lay on the stage as encouragement, but I told the guy that they'd played it as the second show of the tour in Bozeman and probably wouldn't be repeating it this soon.  That didn't stop him and his friends from continually trying to get a between-song sing-along going, and I guess the guys got the message.  Again, this is one I want to hear on Sandy's AUD because it was STILL a mighty fine sing-along.
     MY GAL closes out the show with a nice "battle of the bands" intro (listen for Emcee Ben's comments after the opening instrumental sections by Jeff and Adam), and then it was one for the books.  EXhausted from dancing, saying oodbye to friends, and heading upstairs to pack up my recording gear I knew I was going to have to do some writing about this one.
     We hung out backstage just long enough for me to type up and send the setlist from Stella's laptop, then it was out into the cool and light drizzle Spokane's early morning rain to hang out by the bus sharing some hugs and last-minute conversations with folks I never get to spend enough time with.  Stories shared, lives lived, tales told... time to head for home, all the while looking forward to Next Time.

     That's it for my pedantic long-winded commentary.  If I were you, I'd toss this and just go listen to the show.  Heck, write your OWN commentary and send it to me!  Better yet, go to a show that I can't be at and tell me all about what I missed.  Thanks to everyone who made "Circling The Wagons for Yonder in Montana (& eastern WA)" such a Real Good Time.  It's all about being there and Yonder Mountain String Band keeps right on making that a huge JOY in my life.

+ Pastor Tim, 04-16-2007 (YonderArchive AT yahoo DOT com)
