 Return to Lonely Goat Features Archives Acoustic Syndicate & Yonder Mountain String Band @ The
Cat's Cradle CAT'S CRADLE DESTROYED BY RAGING BAND OK, no, that's not literally true...you WILL still be able to go to the Cradle next week to see your favorite bands. I just couldn't think of a better way to start this. Man, I don't EVEN know what to say. I have been following these guys for two or three years now and they just keep getting better. Friday night they played one major jaw-dropper of a show that I have to somehow find words to tell you about. Yonder Mountain String Band, an outrageously entertaining and hugely talented bunch of guys from Colorado, opened with a set that put the crowd, already dense at a quarter til ten, in an upbeat, party mood. YMSB are primarily bluegrass-based, with a touch of old timey vaudeville and a lot of modern rock'n'roll sensibility and clever songwriting thrown in. Add to this the fact that they can seriously jam! Singer/mandolinist Jeff Austin is one of those unselfconsciously funny guys who can make you cackle by just showing up. By the time they were done, the crowd was definitely primed for the evening. Acoustic Syndicate came on charging at full-tilt, with all the energy of bluegrass and the power of rock'n'roll behind them. Brothers Bryon (banjo) and Fitz McMurry (drums) and their cousin Steve McMurry (guitar), along with Jay Sanders on bass, create an instantly recognizable sound at once modern and traditional. Riding on homespun yet original and often lovely melodies, Steve's soulful, slightly Los Lobos-like lead vocals and the band's familial harmonies come pouring out like Foggy Mountain Beach Boys. The band has always been talented, but they were previously too easily pigeonholed as a "progressive bluegrass" or "folk" band, despite the originality of their songs and their overall approach. This is not a bad thing, I love that stuff; but it tended to limit their appeal to a certain musical niche. Now, though, they've managed to break free of the limitations of genre without abandoning anything they had accomplished before. I was a bit concerned about Fitz's shift to a full drum kit from the congas and stuff he'd been using, but that has proved to be the finishing touch. It has lifted them beyond the level of a folkie band, and the smart, idiosyncratic way Fitz handles the skins underscores the group's uniqueness. The songs are all sincere and heartfelt, yet still fun and never cliched. They embrace the sensibilities of the rural countryside while reaching for something more universal. The playing is clean and precise, but years of practice have allowed them the freedom to kick it loose and let it go its own way. A bluegrass jam gives way to a rock solo, an understated verse leads into a chorus of tight harmony. Beats fly in all directions, but always find their way home. Several cover tunes demonstrate the convergence of musical threads. For instance, I love when they do the Who; one of my favorite moments in past shows was when they would break into "Baba O'Reilly". It actually made sense in their hands as a bluegrass number. Tonight instead, they played "Squeeze Box". While not one of the Who's greatest songs, in the hands of this band it becomes a rock'n'roll breakdown, the banjo seems like it was ALWAYS a part of the song, and the energy level is at least on par with the Who on a hot night. After taking the audience on a "Rainbow Roller-Coaster" ride for nearly two hours, THEN they call a set break. I can see we're in for a long night yet. The second set is looser, jazzier, and more experimental, reminiscent in some ways of a classic Grateful Dead second set. Steve's amplified acoustic guitar begins to show more of its electric psychedelic element. At times they reach points I only know how to refer to in Grateful Dead terms, as "deep space". They avoid completely, however, the excesses of that band's later "Space" excursions, not necessarily pulling back, but shifting direction whenever the risk of monotony looms. In the end, it always comes back to the essential elements, the banjo, guitar, drums, upright bass, and those Southern Baptist ensemble vocals. It's amazing what a difference context makes. Eventually the band brings back Yonder Mountain String band to join in, and the eight players together proceed to take the energy level even higher still, finally after however many songs (who was counting? Not me) reaching crescendo after crescendo, a mad acoustic orchestra unleashed on the crowd, building to a series of higher and higher peaks before the final crashing note. Encore? Oh man...I didn't even think they NEEDED one. But here they come again with an acapella hymn. OK, fine, very cool, a sweet ending; but it doesn't end there. Not only does the band play several more songs, but THEN they get YMSB back AGAIN and do the whole orchestra thing yet once more, finally closing with "No Woman No Cry" (with a little chorus of the Police's "So Lonely" in the middle) and one last crescendo. I just want to say, at 2:30am I was too exhausted after all this to even stand in line to buy their new CD; I just went by today and picked up the last copy on the "new release" rack at Schoolkids. I don't know, I could easily be wrong, but this seemed like a breakout performance for Acoustic Syndicate. I haven't seen them enough recently to know how often they play shows of this caliber, but DAMN...if these guys DON'T make the big time soon, something is very wrong. One piece of advice: if these guys come to your town, GET TICKETS EARLY. I didn't, and had no problem; but I suspect things will be different the next time they come to the Cradle. From what I heard around me, they picked up a lot of fans at this show. Don't be too surprised if in a year or two you have to pay 40 bucks to Ticketbastard to see them play Walnut Creek. |