The String Cheese Incident Bows Out in Fine Form
As the saying goes,
breaking up is hard to do. However the end of the first chapter of the String
Cheese Incident might have been the most amicable amongst any artists in recent
musical history. The members of the band have decided to part ways indefinitely
in order to pursue other artistic interests and frankly back away from the
machine for a while. They boys had embarked on a successful final tour and
aptly chose to close it out in their backyard: Red Rocks Amphitheater in
Morrison, Colorado. Rather than a tearful goodbye, the final shows were a
complete celebration of the band as well as its fans.
The first three shows
of this concluding run gave fans the best in sight and sound. Masterful jams
were accompanied by fire hula-hoopers, trapeze artists, laser light shows, and
digitally projected art. It was truly an exceptional experience for anyone who
has followed the progress of the String Cheese Incident throughout the years.
As euphoric as these
performances were, they were merely a prelude to what was to be the final
incident (at least for a while). The Sunday night show was the finest
culmination of art and music, and the group definitely saved the best for last.
The first of three
sets began with the group all up front together, performing what Michael Kang
called "some old songs from back in the beginning" Kang, Billy Nershi, and Keith Moseley were on their respective
instruments while Kyle Hollingsworth brought out his accordion. Percussionists
Michael Travis and Jason Haan sported a variety of simple hand drums that
anchored the raw, acoustic, and grassy renditions of "Lester had a
Coconut", "Long Journey Home", Panama Red", and "Hobo
Song" that underscored this fun opening set.
Adding to the already
carnival - like atmosphere of the weekend, colorful dancers on stilts and a
giant octopus moved and grooved through the crowd during this kickoff set.
Shortly after this
night's warm introductory set, the band returned to the stage to begin two full
sets of music. The sure-fire opening of "One Step Closer" was back
dropped by a projected slide show containing pictures of the band and fans throughout
the years. The group continued jamming, and couldn't help but turn and watch
the reminiscent presentation themselves.
The jam eventually lent
way to the old favorite "Rhum 'n' Zouc", the right into an
exhilarating "Sirens" which had bassist Keith Moseley properly
proclaiming his affection, "I just want to say I love you... and make sure
you feel it every day."
At this point in the
evening the ominous looking clouds above Morrison began to dissipate and real a
breath taking sky full of stars; perhaps Mother Nature's way of sharing this
historic night with the rest of the galaxy.
A lengthy jam from
"Sirens" segued into a monster rendition of "Come As You
Are", complete with SCI's signature spacey improvisations. this WAS A
PARTICULARLY FUNCK Y VERSION OF THIS
CONCER STABLE, AS Moseley was pretty slap-happy throughout its entirety.
An energized
"Best Feeling " highlighted this second set, not only because of its
perfection and rhythm but b because it introduced a hula-hooping Keller WIlliams to the stage.
The departure of Cheese would not have been complete without the appearance of
the band's "seventh member" and longtime collaborator.
The crowd at Red
Rocks went completely wild as Keller stayed on through the funk rock original
"Fuel for the Road". Following his exit the band finished off the
second act of the night with a rousing and befitting delivery of "Way Back
Home."
With the third and
final set looming, fans were still beaming with energy and were generally
enthusiastic. So far, this celebration had been everything any fan could have
asked for. They seemed to be relishing the moment, rather than focusing on the end.
The band returned to
the stage and played through what might have been one of their best performed
sets in their entire fourteen year history. "Restless Wind" kicked
off things in its typical jamgrass style, complete with a healthy fiddle jam served
by Kang.
The subsequent
Hollingsworth original "Piece of Mind" was not only high powered but
also provocative, as images of our eroding planet and corrupt politicians
splashed the video behind the group.
The marvelously
cosmic combination of "Looking Glass" into "Drifting" was
accentuated by a breathtaking laser show. Brilliant beams of green, expanding
lights shot over the crowd and explored images of animated figures dancing on
the amphitheatre's famous boulders.
The fluid transition
into the ensuing "Rain" was outstanding, all in part to Hollingsworth’s
astonishing keyboard work. The rest of the band was also in full momentum,
weaving each intricate jam seamlessly into the other. At this point the laser
show was getting even more intense. Plumes of fog rolled over the crowd and
danced through the laser shoots.
The pinnacle of the
set came next in the SCI standard, "Rhythm of the Road". The final
offering of the song that has defined the band since the beginning was
absolutely phenomenal. From Neshi's introductory notes to the climatic apex
near the end, it was the crowning point of the entire weekend.
However it did not
end there, as the band continued right into an upbeat and foot stomping throw
down of "Bumpin Reel." The evening’s parade concluded with another
long time favorite "Shine", which featured an amazing opening drum
solo by Travis.
This Stella
performance led to a thunderous ovation
that gave way to not one, but two encore performances. The first began with a
cover of Pink Floyd's "Fearless" which showcased Travis on vocals. It
was followed by old time bluegrass tune "Whisky Before Breakfast".
Before concluding with the most appropriate Moseley original "Good Times
Around the Bend." The fitting chorus of "Sometimes it seem like such
a hard life, but there's good times around the bend... The rollercoaster's got
to roll to the bottom if you want to climb to the top again" was a fine
show ender indeed and at this point had many loyal Cheeseheads (as well as some
band members) in tears.
Though the curfew at
Red Rocks was already long broken, the powers that be let the band return one
more time to perform probably the most popular of all their concert songs,
"Texas". The song is possibly the finest exemplification of the
band's catalog and was the likely favorite to complete the first period in
String Cheese history. The boys did not disappoint as they peppered this versions
with as much Latin ad rock flavor as could be handled. An extensive jam full of
spectacular tension-and-release peaks and bold interludes underlined what might
go down as SCI's swan song.
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