Yonder St. Louis, MO - December 30

If you want to see more, check out 

Dan Ottinger's review of the 30th, 

Matt Mertz's review of the 31st, 

and 

my review of the 31st.

A month and a half after the end of fall tour, and we were so ready for New Years, and two fantastic Yonder shows. We had driven down a day early, and got to hang out with Junkyard, Annie, and Scotty. Unfortunately, Junkard and Annie couldn't make it to dinner (blame the Pusser's rum), but Colin and I had a very nice and fancy dinner with Scotty, then came back to the room to "visit" with our friends.

The next day we slowly got up and ready and met a bunch of friends for a late breakfast at Blueberry Hill.

After breakfast it was nearly time to get ready for the show! Once again, we had a huge group of Kinfolk friends turn out for this run. We went to the Halo Bar nice and early to wait for a couple hours and breathe a ridiculous amount of second-hand smoke. I mean, come on people. Just because you CAN smoke inside doesn't mean you HAVE to.

After getting inside and setting up our spots, I wandered around a bit and noticed that everyone was really chill and relaxed, focusing more on catching up with friends than anything else. It was really nice.

The show started off with Southbound and got the crowd screaming with the "Chicago to St. Louie town" line. Then, before Rambler's Anthem, Ben revealed his newly shaved head and announced that "This is the way it's gonna be from now on." Very nice.

Annie was really happy that they played Honestly> Honestly. In other words, she was happy they didn't split it up. I don't mind having Honestly split, but it definitely throws me off when it is. And everyone loved the new Ruby> Ten> Ruby sandwich. It was a really fun way to end the first set.

They played Southern Flavor close to the beginning of the second set, and this is one that I wouldn't mind hearing at every show. Why have they not been playing this all along? Then, Damned if the Right One Didn't Go Wrong. I enjoy this song. A lot. It's not a song I'm dying to hear, but I'll definitely get down to it. Well this one was especially fast and bouncy and really really fun. After East Nashville Easter, they slowed it down and played Midwest Gospel Radio. This is such a wonderful song, and apparently, some dude who requested it was behind us and really happy that they were playing it. Really happy and wasted. So wasted, in fact, that he told us how happy he was through the entire song, and kept yelling, "Shred it, Jeff!" Way to ruin it for the rest of us. Thanks a lot, dude.

Tear Down the Grand Ole Opry was a pleasant surprise, and Troubled Mind> 20 Eyes> Troubled Mind is always a fun way to finish off a show.

This was a really solid show. I got to share my space with Josh and Anitra, which is always a treat. My highlights were Ripcord Blues, Honestly, Rag Doll, Must've Had Your Reasons, Ruby> Ten> Ruby, Southern Flavor, Damned if the Right One, Midwest Gospel Radio, Tear Down the Grand Ole Opry, and Troubled Mind> 20 Eyes> Troubled Mind.

Yonder Mountain String Band 12/30/10 The Pageant, St. Louis, MO Click below to preview tracks from this show DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW