Yak Attack 4.5.25
- galaxytenants
- Apr 16
- 3 min read
Indian Hot Springs
Idaho Springs, CO
Words & Photos by J. Picard
The music built and built to a massive peak and dropped into an incredible groove! I turned to look at the Colorado mountain crowd and was taken aback to see what appeared to be an actual baby yak on the dancefloor. That was the first time I hosted Yak Attack in the promised land in 2017 at the historic Stage Stop in Rollinsville, outside of Nederland. The next time I would host the band was in the British Columbia interior for Element Music Festival at Snug Lake Amphitheatre outside of Princeton, Canada! In the mid-2010s MusicMarauders read like a Yak Attack tour blog due to our contributors, Mitch Melheim and Coleman Schwartz, in the Pacific Northwest being huge Yak fans. It felt full circle when I glanced down at my phone recently to see a message from Dave Dernovsek (keys) that inquired about "homie rates" at Indian Hot Springs where I am the GM. I went ahead and booked them a couple of cabins and we lined up a Sunday afternoon set in the beautiful Sunroom!
Fareed Haque (Garaj Mahal) kicked off the weekend Saturday with a solo guitar set in the same space. That night, Yak Attack arrived, checked in and hit the hay. The following morning as I was arriving on-site for the day, I bumped into Dave walking across the parking lot from the resort's main building with a coffee and pastries. We chatted for a bit and then off to my office I went to jump into my work day. A short time later, the band pulled their van across the street to load in their gear and were joined by live painter, Nicholas Heilig. Through the lobby the gear went into the Sunroom, as the IHS staff watched with intrigue. This would be our biggest setup to date with our newest wave of events on-site.
Prior to confirming the set I communicated to Dave the precarious situation that we were in regarding timing relative to the full band's set up and our spa hours. That said, their set would be stripped down and relatively mellow for a Yak play. Guests, members of the community and IHS staff rolled into the room with an absolutely palpable energy as Yak began their set. Goosebumps overtook my arms as the music filled the space completely. With it being my first time seeing the current incarnation of Yak, I was immediately impressed with their sound and chemistry.The set was as stripped down as I have heard Yak and it was interesting to hear the band in that format. They kicked off their set with a chill jam that built and went into "Swing Thiwi," before going into my favorite Yak song, "Marian's House," which was left unfinished. Throughout the set as the grooves built, so to did the volume prompting me to step in and present the universal sign to lower the volume a touch. From "Marian's" they went into "Jellied Fire" as the set continued.
As Yak output their beautiful sound, painter Heilig created some really cool imagery of a Yak on canvas, to the amusement of those in attendance and at one point the department manager of Indian Hot Springs' Spa, Annie, peaked down to catch a tune and pointed out to me that it was really cool that Heilig was in house painting! The set wound down with "Pulse of Machine" and concluded with "Eighth Wonder." The crowd was appreciative and following the conclusion of the music, I spent some time talking to folks about Indian Hot Springs, the upcoming preservation and development and directed people to different water amenities based on what they were seeking from the experience. That night, the boys enjoyed the amenities and refreshed for their return to the road to close out their run of shows in Colorado! It was special to host one of my favorite Jam/electro bands and the following day before they departed, Yak Attack stopped by the lobby to say "goodbye." I look forward to Yak Attack's return to Indian Hot Springs as the music program continues to grow and develop into something like a dream with a stage in an aspen grove, surrounded by natural mineral pools and soaking tubs positioned on the side of a mountain...
Setlist: Jam > Swing Thiwi > Marian's House (Unfinished) > Jellied Fire, Pulse of the Machine, Eighth Wonder
Comments