Yak Attack | 2018-06-30 | Beanstalk Music & Mountains Festival at Rancho Del Rio, Bond, CO [SBD/AUD Matrix]

Tweener sets can be tough – you need to pique people’s interest to check you out and then pack enough awesomeness into a 30ish minute slot to make their time count. Lucky for the attendees at 2018’s Beanstalk Music Festival, Yak Attack are masters of creating and sustaining musical flow. Their dynamics can shift from slow, minimalist downtempo grooves to wompy, hard-hitting bangers and their wildly impressive musicianship keeps everything fresh and captivating. This is one of those shows that is such a cumulatively grandiose musical journey that it doesn’t feel right to simply analyze each song but more speak to the impact of the set on the festival as whole. 2+ hours of music, mostly improvised, delivered in succinct and pointed sets that were the most accessible from a dance-perspective…this sets were bound for greatness. Each tweener was like a bump of adrenaline to a crowd ravenous for more music. Each set caused a shift both cosmic and literal of people towards the Lookout Stage to experience the musical interludes that would end up being some of the strongest sets of the weekend. Through each set, it was commonplace to see the artists that had just performed shuffle up to the Lookout Stage to check the party out. While we could debate music all day, by the last set, there was no question where the biggest party was that night. This leads me to one of my favorite moments of the weekend…

The Lookout Stage was about 50 yards from the Main Stage and for the first time ever, I was running two separate rigs, one for each stage. Whenever I thought there was about 5 minutes left in a set, I would run up to the Look Stage to start the other recorder. The moment came when The Magic Beans ended their final set of the weekend and announced the surprise Yak Attack set. As a result, I ran up to set my recorder. By some black magic witchery, Magic Beans guitarist Scott Hachey was already in the crowd anxiously awaiting the final Yak Attack set, toting a freshly opened bottle of whiskey. It made me realize what a cool community The Beans have cultivated with Beanstalk Music Festival. The way the artists support each other both at the festival and on the local Denver/Boulder level is second-to-none. We’re all fans.

The final set featured Matthew Jalbert from TAUK on guitar and also featured Magic Beans keyboardist Casey Russell on the final tune. Fueled by a community high off three-days of music and friendship, the final set was the perfect ribbon on the gift that Beanstalk Music Festival is every year. Choosing Yak Attack to ride everyone off into the night was possibly the best scheduling decision of 2018.

Thank you to Yak Attack and Beanstalk Music Festival for being cool with taping/sharing shows. Go see live music and support your local artists/musicians!

Also a BIG thank you to John Loland of The Jauntee who helped me out with a 9V for this rig. If it weren’t for him, this recording wouldn’t have come out half as good. He’s the man and The Jauntee rules – check them out as well. #spacetapes

LINK: https://archive.org/…/YakAttack2018-06-30.CA14.omnis.onstag…