On April 1, 2011, my entire family visited the House of Blues for dinner and a concert by the Yonder Mountain String Band. We ate at the restaurant there, having burger plates, fried fish, and chicken-fried chicken, along with all the sides. Following dinner, we went downstairs to the main Music Hall. My brother and I stood at the foot of the stage. While we were waiting for the band to appear, I encountered a Yonder Mountain String Band groupie, and had a long conversation with him. He was in a somewhat altered state due to alcohol consumption, but we had a productive conversation nevertheless. He introduced himself to me, and asked if I had seen Yonder before. I told him that it was my first experience, and he was surprised and said that he had seen the band at least fifteen times. He claimed that the group members fully recognize him as one of their “regulars”, and pointed out another group standing nearby. He told me that that group had seen Yonder more than 30 times; needless to say, Yonder Mountain has a very devoted fan base willing to follow them around the country. This man had been to their Austin show the night before, and was planning to follow them to Houston on April 2nd. It was interesting to experience this band standing next to one of their most rabid followers.
When the band took to the stage, they acknowledged right at the beginning their followers, saying, “It’s good to see that our hippie culture is alive and well in Dallas tonight.” The crowd at this concert was the most interesting and eclectic of any show that I experienced thus far. The ages ranged from teens to Hippies from the Woodstock era. Even though smoking is not allowed at the House of Blues, there was a strong aroma of marijuana wafting through the air throughout the evening. Most of the crowd was pretty mellowed-out, but at one point, there was a bit of a dust-up between several parties that was quickly resolved. Everyone danced during the music, twirling around, laughing and enjoying the experience. I was not drinking, but was doused several times accidentally by enthusiastic dancers in the crowd.
Yonder Mountain String Band is a progressive bluegrass group from Colorado. There are four band members, and their instruments are banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar and electric stand-up bass. All four band members sang, each taking the lead on different songs. They were all very accomplished musicians, and talented vocally as well. It is easy to understand their appeal, and the fun atmosphere of the concert made the experience one that I would enjoy repeating. Before leaving, I thanked my new friend for introducing me to “Yonder Culture”. We left while the music was still playing, and it was around midnight, which means that the band played in excess of 3 hours.
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| They used a large number of lighting effects |
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