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“I’ll do this ‘till the day I drop dead in front of you,” Yonder Mountain String Band’s Jeff Austin shouted to a packed crowd at the Pageant Saturday night. This was the second night of their two-night stand, and YMSB were going to leave it all on the stage. At one point Austin, the group’s mandolin player, even looked at his watch and said, “we’ve got an hour and forty minutes till they kick us off.” It was that kind of night.

This four-piece from Colorado plays a style of bluegrass that nods to both their older bluegrass influence, as well as the newer jam scene of which they are part.  The playful banter of a mandolin solo and the quick twang of a banjo both added an older texture to the modern aspects of their sound. The guitar work was skilled and steady, and the back-and-forth bass lines were the perfect metronome for the band. With bassist Ben Kaufmann providing this backbone, the dancing came easy, even for those on the balcony. As the crowd moved like a tide, the solos went from player to player, guided by the spotlights of their state-of-the-art light show.

Yonder Mountain String Band had spent the last month on the road, and they gave special props to the avid followers in the front row. But, these folks were just the beginning of a mass of bouncing heads and arms waving in the air. With each song YMSB played, the crowd picked up the groove immediately and started getting down.  And with the end of YMSB’s second encore, no one was done dancing — House of Pain’s 90s rap classic “Jump Around” came over the PA, and the crowd took it to heart, vibing with the keyboard hook all the way out the doors.

Highlights from the show were the first set’s “Blue Collar Blues,” and “Troubled Mind” and “Snow on the Pines” from the second set.

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As the second set of Keller Williams’ show at the Pageant began, it became clear that he was getting down to business. A one-man-show with  no opener, this was truly “An evening with Keller Williams,” as the ticket stubs had advertised. Just a few minutes into this second set, Keller began the looping for which he’s famous – and the crowd got down. First laying down an acoustic guitar riff, he then picked up a pair of hollow tubes and laid down a reggaeton beat. Next came some hand percussion, followed by bass and an effect-laden electric guitar. All the while, his bare feet were pressing pedal after pedal, looping and layering with his every move. And to add even more variety to the mass of loops he created, Williams had a mixer propped up near his semi-circle of instruments, allowing him control of track levels as the songs went on. As this was the first time I had seen Keller Williams, I spent the first couple of songs simply trying to figure out how he was manipulating the countless loops he had going; how he was stopping Frankenstein from running wild.

It’s extremely hard to sum up Keller Williams; the closest I can come is by saying he’s the guy at the party with an acoustic guitar, playing funky hammer-ons and pull-offs that people can dance to, raise their drinks to, or nod their heads to during during a lull in conversation. Only this time, it’s his party, and the only cover he plays is the Dead’s “Celebrate Your Youth.”  There was no requesting “Free Bird” this Saturday night as Williams went from slapping his acoustic guitar (creating bass and snare sounds), to dancing in circles between laying loops.

Saturday’s packed show was a good time, to be sure, for all who turned out to see the unsuspecting rockstar in his uniform of cargo pants and a loose t-shirt. Who cares if Keller used the word Tyrannosaurus in a song? Who cares if he did the Saturday Night Fever dance on stage? The crowd, a wide array of folks, was eating up his every move. And indeed, in a world of musicians that take themselves too seriously, it was refreshing to see a studied guitarist onstage playing feel-good songs. And hell, the guy does it all by himself.  Highlights from the set were “Freshies,” “Shakedown Street,” and the aforementioned loop from “Breathe.”

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Built to Spill’s frontman, Doug Martsch, sings with a delicacy that seemingly couldn’t work with indie rock… yet it does. Perfectly. Going from foot-tapping, driving rock songs, to melancholy 6/8 time ballads, Martsch’s voice is the common denominator. His resonant bell-like tone is both soft and focused at the same time and BTS’ vocal melodies soar over the roar of three Fender guitars with grace. At Tuesday night’s show at the Pageant, his lines like, “You were right when you said, we are all just bricks in the wall. And when you said manic depression’s a frustrating mess,” were sharp enough to cut glass but warm enough to feel like a letter written in longhand.

(Video after the jump)

(Sorry for the poor audio)

In their 17 years, Built to Spill has seen their share of days on the road; played their share of dives and halls alike. This was apparent from their first note, as their songs’ entrances, breaks, and endings were effortlessly coordinated. Even with their backs to each other, they knew exactly when to play a tricky stop-time bridge, or how long a guitar solo should last. At times, it was as if the songs were playing themselves. (Take this how you will; they still play material from the early days) But though they were extremely professional in how they played their set, one thing that seemed missing was interaction with the crowd. There was honestly silence between every song, only interrupted by an occasional enthusiastic “whoop” or “yea” from a brave fan. Four songs went by before lead guitarist, Brett Netson, grabbed the mic and said, “I talk about stuff. How’s it goin’?” And though this didn’t take away from the music, I expected a bit more from the guys. Isn’t there more to a show than saying “Thank you” after songs?

Highlights from the set were the aforementioned “You Were Right” and “The Plan” from 1999’s Keep it Like a Secret as well as the eight-minute epic “Goin’ Against Your Mind,” from the newer album You in Reverse. These songs all boasted layers of effect-savy guitar work, interesting song structures and Martsch’s signature vocals. And that’s what matters, because with a cult following like Built to Spill’s, it really is all about the music.

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As Rum Drum Ramblers got further and further into their set at Off Broadway, the stomping and grinding guitar chords, the mellow tone of a stand-up bass, and the screaming blues harmonica all strutted on in perpetuity.  Having played their new album, Tradin’ Dollars for Dimes, in its entirety, this was no short set. And as the guys threw it all out on the stage, the crowd did the same. Solos matched with woops, shouting choruses matched with yeas; the pulse of their songs was shared by everyone in the room. Because when you’ve got someone on the stage shouting at you, you can’t help but shout back.

With the blues, the chords are already there. The great bluesmen take them and grind out new feelings, new licks, and new ideas. Rum Drum Ramblers did just this, either with a key change and a new harmonica to match (“I Feel It Too”), or with a stop-time verse using a non-traditional chord progression (“South Saint Louis Boogie”). And then, when they went back to the traditional twelve-bar blues, it felt  just like getting home after a long road trip. You know, grab a beer from the fridge after that long drive and sink into an old armchair. Whatever feels right.

Apart from band’s three anchors, Mat Wilson, Joey Glynn, and Ryan Koenig, RDR were joined by the session players from their new album. The sound was full and complete with the addition of drum set and baritone sax, and the extra players gave Mat and Joey more space to stretch out in their solos. The bass still played backbone to the band, but the drum set helped the songs shuffle forward and let the guitar and harmonica swing back and forth around the beat. Add the playful growl of a barit sax sliding up into the root note, and you’ve got all the parts moving together.

When the lights came on at 12:50, Rum Drum Ramblers still had one more song on the album left to play. Unplugging their instruments, they moved out into the middle of the dancefloor, and with the crowd surrounding them, clapped and shouted through their final song of the night. This perfect ending for the night really spoke to Rum Drum Ramblers’ roots, to the free spirit of their music.  And so the crowd shuffled and stomped out the doors, a testament to the timelessness of the blues.

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