Yonder Mountain String Band, House of Blues, Chicago, Illinois

Though I have seen them half a dozen times before, I always look forward to the Yonder Mountain String Band coming to town for a little hoedown. My first time seeing them in Chicago would take me back to the House of Blues for the second night of their two night run. If the Saturday night show wasn’t sold out, it was certainly close to it. The venue was pretty packed and since we didn’t arrive in time for any openers, it was tough to find a spot that was both reasonably close to the stage and afforded a little elbow room to dance. We started the show in a crowded section on the left side.

The progressive bluegrass band includes Jeff Austin on mandolin, Ben Kaufmann on bass, Dave Johnston on banjo, and Adam Aijala on guitar, with all members providing vocals, though Jeff Austin is the primarily lead singer. I must recant my previous statement about Greensky Bluegrass being more of a jam band than Yonder Mountain String Band. The latter is very much a jam band, both in their approach to the music itself as well as the vibe of the fans. I’m not sure if they’ve headed more in that direction over the past few years or I’m just remembering wrong. They certainly have always utilized many of the community aspects of jam music – encouraging taping, varied setlists, and organic word- of-mouth fan-based growth instead of radio play. However, I think they now include a lot more long jams and songs that flow in and out of one another than they did several years ago. There were also plenty of hippies at the show as well. Being the weekend before Halloween, there were plenty of people in costumes as well, though not as many as I would have expected.

The band played two solid sets, also very jam band-esque, though we didn’t stay for the entirety of the second one. We did however more a good bit closer for the part of it that we did see which was nice. I still had fun, though it wasn’t one of the best YMSB shows that I’ve been too. I liked a lot of the songs, but it just didn’t seem there were all that many that I knew. I’ll have to brush up a bit between now and the next time they’re in town. 

Setlist:
Set 1:
If You're Ever in Oklahoma  > Pow Wow the Indian Boy > If You're Ever in Oklahoma
Near Me
Blue Collar Blues
Irondale
Only a Northern Song
Takes a lot to Laugh, A Train to Cry
Ain't No Way of Knowing
Just Like Old Times
Little Maggie > Mother's Only Son > Little Maggie
Set 2:
Keep on Going > Isolate > Night Out > Finally Saw the Light > Old Plank Road > Left Me in a Hole > Keep on Going
Rambler's Anthem
I'd Like Off
I Am the Slime
Peace of Mind > Shake Me Up > Peace of Mind
Encore:
Town
Raleigh & Spencer
Bloody Mary Morning