:: Yonder Mountain String Band :: w/ Jerry Douglas ::
:: Boulder Theater ::
:: December 29, 2013 ::
Photos by Josh Elioseff/Dancer Productions
Review by Andrew Martin
Yonder Mountain String Band took the stage at the Boulder Theater Sunday night for the third night of their five-night New Year’s Eve run. They had a full crowd on-hand, and a very special guest, Jerry Douglas, sitting in on dobro.
The show started off a bit slow, and it seemed like Jerry Douglas was a bit low in the mix for the early part of the first set. He is one of the most tasteful musicians I’ve ever seen and in typical fashion, he seemed to be feeling out his spots in the early going. But it didn’t take long for Douglas to assert his presence in the music, elevating Yonder’s sound to new levels.
As the evening progressed, the music became increasingly energetic. By the time they came out for the second set, they were in top form. Some of the highlights of the night included “Boatman,” “Damned If the Right One,” and a stirring version of the Grateful Dead’s “Althea” in the encore.
The crowd fed off of the band’s energy all night long, and there was no shortage of dancers in the audience. In fact, the thumping groove of the music inspired a bluegrass dance circle right in front of me.
People took turns entering the middle of the circle to get their stomp on. Some kept bopping their head up and down while making dramatic arm-waving movements. Others did the hippie bluegrass twirl. On one occasion, two people got in the middle of the circle and just bounced into each other for a few seconds.
Overall, the band played a great show that left the crowd hungry for more. Luckily, there are still two nights left.
