Yonder Mountain String Band, by this city boy's standards, is an anomaly in the recent trends of music making. Most bands, even bands that claim Roots Music influences, delve deeply into all types of modern technology to tweak their sound and give them that modern edge. The only technology that YMSB utilizes is the simple amplification of their acoustic instruments. And the only reason they do that is because they've outgrown the size of most back porches.

"We've got ourselves an intimate gathering tonight," proclaimed mandolinist Jeff Austin at the start of Yonder Mountain String Band's show at the Paradise on October 23. It was true. I was close enough to see the band's dental work. Although it did not stay intimate, the Paradise felt unusually down-home comfortable, as if we were invited to…well…the band's own back porch. What's more, the crowd hardly resembled a typical 21st century rock concert crowd. This was, after all, not a rock concert. Equal amounts of hemp-laden college kids and middle-aged bluegrass aficionados lined the front of the stage to revel in the newest link in America's musical tradition. The crowd's diversity attests to the fact that Yonder Mountain String Band pulls influences equally from traditional bluegrass and folk as well as the more modern development: the jamband.

Yonder Mountain's first set was for the fan of the strings of Americana. They quartet was telepathically tight from the first introductory banjo riff, adeptly laying down melodic instrumentals coupled with beautiful two and three part vocal harmonies. The themes of the YMSB original compositions stayed true to the bluegrass genre: love lost, hard times, and the celebration of nature. While the patchwork twirled and dreadlocks bounced, many of the 'old timers' in the crowd faithfully sang along to the bands' more traditional numbers, and even a few Yonder Mountain originals, including the crowd pleaser, "Idaho." Bassist Ben Kaufmann would occasionally take a couple seconds to explain the origins of certain songs, thereby slipping in a little bit of American History for any who cared enough to listen. The finer points might have been lost on some, others might not have cared as much, but the musicologist could pick from a first set sampling of Jug Band music, Old Time music, bluegrass, and even a little ragtime. By the end of the first set's bluegrassed "A Northern Song" closer (yes, the George Harrison tune), old and young alike were having a foot-stomping, knee-slapping good time at Yonder Mountain's travelling back porch. All this dancing, and to my amazement, not a drum in sight.

Setbreak allowed me to collect my thoughts and talk with a few fans. The crowd was uncommonly friendly and nice, and would readily strike up conversations with one another. I overheard many knowledgeable and informed conversations about bluegrass, jambands, and music in general, indicating that fans of the Yonder Mountain String Band, on the whole, knew a thing or two about music. This I see as a testament to the bands skill and appeal. It is fun music, it is definitely entertaining, but it is far from fluff. Here was one of the only settings in which college kids would talk shop with people their parents' age candidly and excitedly. The "intimate gathering" also allowed the band to come out from behind backstage and have a beer with some fans. In other settings, this would be unheard of, but there is a feeling of family (or as they quip: "kinfolk") with Yonder Mountain that made it seem almost normal. After a wonderful set of bouncy, bubbly bluegrass, everyone was in high spirits and ready for the second set.

I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with a couple fans around me. Nathan Schmidt, former KTXT radio personality and a 17-show veteran of the Yonder Mountain travelling back porch, said that he was pretty satisfied with the first set, but thought the band was holding back a bit. He said to me (a 4-show greenhorn) that usually, the band would play more traditional stuff in the first set, and use the second set for exploratory jamming.

Yonder Mountain opened the second set with "Peace of Mind," which quickly broke down to a very introspective, highly improvisational Kaufmann-led jam. Just as Nathan had predicted. But when the jam deftly moved into the Talking Heads' "Girlfriend Is Better," they vaulted their prowess to realms beyond traditional bluegrass and folk music. This was the time for the boys' jamband influences to shine. The improvisation melted back into "Peace of Mind," clocking in around 15 minutes after it started, and whipping many a listener into a deliriously happy frenzy.

A young cellist popular at the Cantab Lounge's own Tuesday Night Pickin' Party joined he band on stage, and through highly percussive bow work and blistering solos that defied the traditional role of the instrument pushed the music to new improvisational heights. Once again, the jam broke down into a bass-led exploration, but this time the bass and cello engaged in a low-end duel, using bows and strings instead of six-shooters. The frenetic interplay morphed into legato bowed harmonies, which Austin used as the cue to transition to a heartfelt "No Expectations." Then, with little pause, Dave Johnston announced causally from his corner of the stage that "It's Banjo Time!" The quartet ripped into "Crying Home To My Lord," a gospel number featuring some of Johnston's blistering banjo work that had the crowd rise up and shout for joy.

Before closing the second set with the fan favorite "Keep On Going" (which, by the way, had a "Suspicious Minds" sandwiched in the middle of it) Kaufmann and Austin polled the crowd. "Because we ought to," reasoned Kaufmann, "we'd like to check the Hee-Haw factor in this crowd tonight." And we all responded with a "Hee-Hawww" that would have drowned out the band had they been playing. This was just a piece of the comical and friendly stage banter that one will enjoy at a Yonder Mountain Show. Not only do they address and chide the audience, but they will also talk amongst themselves. That night, the topic of conversation seemed to revolve around hometown boy Adam Aijala's Parents. Aijala, as he does so handily with his guitar, retorted with a deadpan delivery such that Austin felt obliged to keep badgering him about his parents, who would be in attendance the next night at the Paradise.

The band quickly returned for an unmiked encore, and the crowd (which had grown considerably since the start of the show) grew so quiet that you were annoyed at how loud the air vents were. Yonder Mountain String Band encored with cello accompaniment, invited everybody back to do it again the next night, and were off, leaving the crowd buzzing like an overpicked guitar string.

The traditional, almost naked sound of an acoustic string quartet is truly the exception to the rule for nationally touring acts these days. Yet, the travelling back porch feel that Yonder Mountain String Band brings with its technical prowess and wacky sense of humor is sure to delight everyone who has the chance to hear them. Yonder Mountain String Band has hit upon an old formula, given it a new twist, and in their practice has pushed the boundaries of traditional bluegrass, as well as brought fans from the jamband scene closer to this country's musical roots. Most importantly, though, Yonder Mountain String Band has managed to bring the old-time, back porch feel directly into the heart of the urban centers of America, managing to make many city slickers respond with a booming "Heeee-Hawww!" While most of us will stay in our big cities, we will not be entirely deprived of the sounds of honest-to-goodness, down-home bluegrass thanks to this delightful and exhilarating string quartet from Nederland, Colorado.

-David Taus