Mid-July, The String Cheese Incident made their institutional return to their home base in Colorado and played back-to-back solid shows to capacity crowds at the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. This year marked their 19th year to perform at the location many refer to as ‘the best venue on earth,’ delivering their forty-eighth and forty-ninth gigs respectively since their first performance in the sound sanctuary in 2000. Admittedly, fans find most any Incident something special, but catching the sextet in the Rocky Mountain state always holds a little more magic as the seats are not just filled with concertgoers, but include a multitude of longtime friends of the band as well as family members. For many, this annual run of shows is certainly more than just another regular tour stop. It is often considered a pilgrimage and a coming home of sorts, the band often commenting on the connection to these specific audiences and that reciprocating vibe that has been the fuel that has resulted in more than a few legendary shows over their thirty years of putting rubber to the road.
When The Cheese comes to play Red Rocks, most of the historic venue is general admission and, pulling into the parking lots a few hours before doors, the Friday pre-game scene was as what was to be expected. From tailgaters eating, drinking, and being merry to those occupying lines to get as close to the action as possible, the colorful contingent was present and was making good use of their time on this hot summer day. With temperatures in the nineties, those who arrived early gathered in what shade could be found and were happy to make new friends while sharing with the familiar ones, imbibing in the experience that is this band and the community that has developed around it.
As the hours slipped by and the time for doors to swing wide time drew closer, the dedicated were given hope that some reprieve from the unfettered sun was approaching as dark clouds gathered on the western ridgeline. Although the spattering of intermittent raindrops and cooler winds did bring relief, the reputation for erratic weather at this concert location certainly had some minds wondering about the potentials, especially for those who had passed this way before. With gates opening, the first wave of ticketholders participated in this modern-day land run, strapped with picnic baskets, blankets, and smiles, making for stageside to stake their claim for what would be another experience for the memory banks. Without warning, as the seats began to fill, everything came to a halt, security shutting down access and informing those within earshot that lightning was slowing things down. With a hundred or so spectators actually in the venue and settled, staff began making the rounds and letting patrons who had successfully landed know they would need to leave the venue for safety’s sake. Their verbal warning was followed by the same utterances heard over the loudspeaker, requesting egress and a promise of return when all was clear.
Now for many years, the String Cheese fans have long been referred to as ‘pirates’ by the band and themselves and certainly in the wake of this request to leave the venue only to start all over, most of those now in THEIR seats acted accordingly with the title. With security milling about the aisles, making direct contact while the intercom message repeated and the video screens supported the PSA, those lucky few able to get in before the shutdown continued talking amongst themselves, less concerned about their safety and even less concerned with those attempting to usher them back out into the lines. Eventually, staff gave up and joined in the conversation, talking amongst their peers or soliciting fans for the topics of the day. With another fifteen or so minutes slipping by, Mother Nature’s electrifying display had finally passed and in its wake, a full double rainbow. With the safety box checked once again and the green light relit, gates were re-opened and seats filled to the delight of those ready to ascend the sandstone steps to get this weekend started.
Bringing the melody with still plenty of sunshine to light the way, the infectious tones and grooves of The Wood Brothers brought everyone online. Powered by the Boulder-born talented sibling connection of Chris and Oliver Wood and anchored by multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix, the trio delivered a fantastic set of music that had many up shaking their bones from the first notes of their nearly hour-long set. Getting it started, the band opened with “Pray God Listens” from their yet-to-be-released tenth studio album, Puff of Smoke. Set to release August 1st, this new piece with its quirky carnival bounce contained all those roots vibes that define this band and make them listenable on any given day. “Stumbled In” lumbered into slot two and the musicality of the piece literally felt like its namesake. “Alabaster” scratched that soul itch and pulled many up from their seats. “Shoofly Pie” shuffled and shook and, per the usual, came with Chris Wood sidling up to his brother and delivering his interpretative dance with his double bass as his dance partner or brass pole, depending on how one saw it. Oliver’s slide work ground out any bad juju and drew many a smile from the crowd. Flipping the coin, the smooth renderings of “Sing About It” rose out of the wake and, with great harmonizing, this one soothed the soul and finished with a strong build. Taking a moment to recognize Boulder and Red Rocks, Oliver went down the laundry list of performers he and Chris saw as kids, including Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, and The Talking Heads. For “Keep Me Around,” Jano Rix took center stage and kept time on the shuitar, pronounced shit-tar, an evolving percussive instrument constructed from a shitty guitar, hence the name. Chris’s hip-swing bass line set the stage with Jano tapping in, Oliver complimenting the number with his sweet vocal lead that only got better when everyone added on the harmony. Chris also showed off his talent for the harmonica. The upbeat nature of “When I Was Young” kept the set rolling and not only got a great bass intro from Chris, but this Brother Wood also got some shine time in the middle to the delight of those who have long been a fan of his bass capabilities. Getting gritty, the band threw down some serious confidence with the bluesy “Witness,” Oliver growling at the mic all the way through. “Atlas” brought the swing back out and relit the soul of the set. Oliver fanned the neck, Jano stirred the soup, and Chris put the ooey-gooey center to the barn burner. Dedicated to ‘all the teachers and mentors,’ the longest tune came in the form of “Postcards from Hell.” Hitting the heart at eight minutes, this one soothed with the warm wrap of Jano’s keys at its root while Oliver’s singing just touched the spirit for those who let him in. The ending had a beautiful climb that turned the vibe calypso and lit everyone up from the inside out. To close out the set, the band ended on a high note with another track from the new album. “Above All Others” contained a mixture of carnival, gospel spiritual, and gut-wrenching rocker, showcasing again just how The Wood Brothers aren’t trying to fit an Americana mold, but forever trying and succeeding to be unique, making their own form and it is working.
Overall, The Wood Brothers delivered and the goods they showed off were quality through and through. From construction to harmony to execution, this band carries a caliber that sets them apart and certainly made some new fans with their opening set.
With a quick stage change and a sun obscured by Creation Rock, the main event was finally here. Under the hue of twilight at a little before eight, the barefoot boys hit the stage looking as giddy as the ten thousand out in front. Bass player Keith Moseley couldn’t help but join in on the fanfare and put his hands together in the air applauding the moment as Bill Nershi hit the microphone with his impish grin that was larger than his black leather cowboy hat:
How’s everybody doing? Yeah, looking good. Alright. Hey, how about The Wood Brothers, huh? Yeah, we love those guys. Alright, let’s have some fun!
Getting the dance party going, the band kicked off the weekend with a great take on the always energetic “Rosie.” The staggered steps literally came alive from the first notes and the whole scene began moving in a uniform squirm, tie-dye, sequins, capes, costumes, and color writhing as far as the eye could see. With Billy ripping at the electric with some Clapton-esque tone and phrasing, this one announced a great start to the set. Without finishing “Rosie,” the band transitioned into the uptempo Keith classic “Black Clouds.” One had to wonder if the lightning delay and cumulonimbus gathering seen at door time had influenced this choice on the setlist. Regardless, this one is always a fan favorite with its good vibe and ridiculous interplay between Michael Kang’s electric mando and Billy Nershi’s well-worn acoustic. Add in Jason Hann’s conga rolls against the shuffle of Michael Travis’s drum kit and this one has all the makings of that special sound that is SCI through and through. Kyle Hollingsworth’s piano renderings always shine at the pull back and cascade like a waterfall, fluid and moving, until the build where the band pushes the storm back down the canyon. Fifteen minutes in, it was apparent that everyone was living it up in the moment at one of the happiest places on earth!
The Kyle-led “Can’t Wait Another Day” popped off and kept the groove moving with its positive lyrics and island vibe. Kyle, Billy, and Kang rotated in and out the spotlight, playing off one another until a nice finish that gave over the focus to Jason for more rapid-fire conga action before the band all came back in for the chorus under a veil of cheering from a crowd touting open hearts and arms outstretched asking for more.
For night one, “Way Back When” would be the only choice from their latest album Lend Me A Hand. This instrumental contains Irish elements and this would be the first slot where Kang traded in the pick for the bow and pulled and sawed out some nice fiddle lines. Billy contributed some precision picking and Kyle took the classic piano sounds for this one, both adding to the traditional dynamic and sound of the original. In the end, Kang got the last run to the delight of the audience and when the band finally punched out the final measures, they, like the audience before them, were left with their own round of smiles. Billy even let out an “Olé” for good measure.
Serving up some great aged gouda, fans were treated to one of the longest-running songs in the canon. Kang’s “Water” was warmly received and was certainly a solid effort. The main section was well played and, once the final set of lyrics were delivered, the band offered up a nice five-minute jam that was concise yet solid and had the standard apical ascent before Kang’s return to the script, a moment that tends to put fans into musical orgasm.
It goes without saying that most people who would be into The String Cheese Incident are probably fans of Bob Dylan and so to get a Dylan tune added to the repertoire is always welcome. For this night, Billy brought out a version of “Like A Rolling Stone” that carried more reggae influence than folk and at first notes sounded more like Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” than it did the Zimmerman anthem. Although this was the band’s third attempt at this one this year, or ever for that matter, the rendition was solid and Billy, alongside the audience’s singalong, nailed the multitude of lyrics without issue. The last four minutes shifted from the reggae tint into the psychedelic landscape and carried a nice progressive jam that echoed with effect and space. With Keith and Travis holding steady, the rest of the group moved in and out of their foundation, journeying along as a functional unit steady and true. Kyle even threw in some teases of “The Rockford Files” theme song to his own delight and those who were paying close attention.
Slipping through synthwave after synthwave, the band eventually morphed into the longest song of the first frame, “Eye Know Why.” At over fourteen minutes, this monster with its intoxicating Afro-Cuban beat hit hard with its breaks and, when Kyle got on it, one could see his many faces twisting the more the song pulled him in, especially when he turned to the clavinet to deliver the goods. Kang’s lead burned bright and, when Billy dialed in his own laser, the two set the groove machine to full destruction mode, decimating any shadow of doubt or any dark place unsettled. Jason Hann, left to his own devices, incorporated all sorts of stored textures from his electronica pads. As the vortex swirled with ideas, the chaos of musical molecules spiraled until the music shifted again and slipped right into the very danceable set-closer “All We Got.” The ‘hitting the club’ closer contained multiple minutes of Kyle bending notes and getting funky while Jason squeezed and pounded at the talking drum. Travis swiveled the overhead mic out in front and managed a significant portion of the lyrics with the rest of the gentlemen adding backup. The bridge just breathed with disco and funk and anyone who had been sitting at any point of the show thus far was up and getting down. The three-piece transitioning terminus of the set ended at over thirty-six minutes of positive flow and soul-resetting recharge.
With an overwhelming thank you from ten thousand strong, set one came to a close and, as the lights dimmed from finale, Billy voiced his well-wishing:
Alright. Thank you very much. We are going to take a little break so you guys can hang out and socialize and we will be back with another big set for you. Thank you all for coming out tonight. Great night!
With the house lights on, smiles abounded and many immediately sat, leveled to catch their breath and catch up with their people, exchanging about the goodness that had just poured forth from the stage. With an intermission short enough to give everyone a chance at relief, refreshment, and return, the six-headed creature retook the stage, this time led by Keith:
Alright, alright, alright! It's been a treat to get to have The Wood Brothers on the bill, one of my very favorite bands of all time. And it's been great to get to know these fellas as well and we’re going to have them out to do a tune with us so how about it? Let’s make them welcome, The Wood Brothers everybody!
Wearing grins of recognition and shaking hands all around between these two houses of hermanos, the opening trio made their way out front, Oliver and Chris hopscotching center stage between Kang and Billy while Jano made his way to the second open piano bench next to Kyle. For the collab, a great rendition of The Band’s “Ophelia” was performed. This would be the first time that the tune would be played in almost six years to the date, the last time unshelved being the 2019 Red Rocks run. As if that statistic wasn’t enough to relay the specialness of the selection, the tune has only been performed by the band a total of nine times in thirty years.
With Oliver kicking off the tune, Billy soon jumped in and the two exchanged lines with the rest adding accompaniment. Kang got first solo with Jano tickling the ivories next with some great ragtime while Kyle laid down some silky organ. With everyone taking a step back, Chris had the opportunity to lay out the low end unencumbered to the delight of the band and crowd alike before the unit returned to the lyrics. Short, sweet, and satisfying, the set two opener was a delight and put everyone back into the space to settle in.
With some minor tuning, the familiar three-punch intro of Kang’s “Desert Dawn” put everyone right back into familiar territory. Starting off a little loose, the pirates pulled it together early on and set sail for jam land. Kyle’s swirling Leslie work under the Hammond driver echoed into the infinite, reverberating off the towering sandstone walls while Kang and Billy toyed with themes from the Grateful Dead’s “Let It Grow.” Climbing scales slipped into space and Billy broke out the slide and gave everyone a taste of some psychedelic cowboy action as Kyle reached for the exposed heart and kept everything light.
Ending the nice six-minute jam with keys at the forefront, the band gave Kyle the reins once again to spin the wheel of the ride known as “Carnival.” Penned by the man on the bench, this one was shared last year by Kyle’s solo project and now finds its way onto his latest studio creation All We Are. Coming as no surprise, String Cheese channeled this one for the first time in May of this year and this version would make number five so far. Reportedly, Kyle was inspired by a melody he pulled from the 2007 release Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby and one can certainly hear the Virginian’s influence in the root. With an edifying structure and lyrics that depict the midway of the circus life that has been Kyle’s road along with the band, the pairing is perfect chemistry. Citing clowns, hula hoops, freaks, and other characterizations, the freshness of this tune shows that the band still carries so much creativity this far into their career. Finishing the composition around six minutes, the band expanded the structure and let the music direct them. Shifting from some spirited playing between Billy and Kang to fraying at the nine-minute mark and touching on the weird while still hinting at the head, the group took the end to a raw edge before bringing it back to one more round at the resounding chorus: Some get lost / some get found / the wheel goes round. Almost fourteen minutes later, it was easy to hear that the band loves having this new one in the arsenal and that those out front are still welcoming of any material unfamiliar.
With ten thousand feeling the love, Billy took a moment to say what was on his mind and get everyone set for the remainder of the set:
How you doing out there? Hey, you know, one thing that we need to do here you know... we got a couple of nights here together and it feels pretty good, like we’re in tune, but we can tune it up a little bit more. I think that when our voices are all raised together as one being, one unit out here in Red Rocks that it really helps us play to you. So, with that in mind, let’s make as much noise as humanly possible on the count of three… and not like ‘woo, yeah, this is great, woo-hoo’, No, no, no, this is like, you know when you’re anticipating the craziest, most exciting thing happening to you in your life, what you would do, how you would scream… One, two, three... Ahhhhhhhwooooooooooo!!!
And with that, the patronage of Red Rocks cried out as one, cheering with everything they had for more than twenty seconds, lighting each other up as well as the band and giving Billy everything he wanted everyone to have, responding, “Yes, Yes, Yes! Now we’re living!”
With everyone in all directions wearing fresh smiles, the band took that energy and got into a thirteen-minute version of “Roll Around The Sun.” This funk dance led by Kang has a great feel to it and its initial onset is reminiscent of that Talking Heads vibe. Eventually changing pace for the bridge, the descending progression pulls the listener to the bottom, but then shifts again in a beautiful climb that had Kang singing with confidence. Nearly six minutes in, the tune sheds its skin again and takes on the colors of Latin America, anchored in Keith’s droning line reminiscent of Santana’s “Jingo Va.” As the bassman induces the hypnosis, Kyle opens the door to the particle lab and hoses everyone in synth-beam after synth-beam for multiple minutes, eventually giving way to the drummers, Travis and Jason, who tap in Kang again to finish the piece with the final stanza, pushing the already elevated crowd to even higher altitudes.
Taking a moment for everyone to catch their breath, the band fiddled with some tuning before resuming with some more well-cured goodness in a staple that embodies what this band has been doling out since the beginning. First performed in 1997, “Smile” does exactly what its title intends. Presumably written about Billy’s wife, this love tune written from the road depicts the longing heart and the comfort of memory and anticipated reunions. Kang’s violin work always lifts this one and the joy dividend is seen across the stage and throughout the amphitheater. This number would be the first in a string of multiple pearls that would finish the second set in a forty-five-minute run packed with well-loved tunes and even a bust out of sorts.
Following a standard version of the aforementioned classic Cheese, Travis and Jason got center stage for a couple of minutes to unleash their inner beasts before the group slipped into what is being labeled as the Creation Rock Jam. With Kang on the fiddle and Kyle and Billy warping the moment in oddities, the timekeepers pushed and accented the moment while the bass thundered in triplet. The jam eventually gave way to Keith’s well-loved and well-received “Joyful Sound.” This anthem of positivity and choice had everyone singing along. The intro contained some outer world sounds that raised the antennae of many and the message of love continued to lift the hearts of those digging the script. Appropriate for the location and for the second time this year, “Joyful Sound” phased into the familiar Allman Brothers instrumental “Mountain Jam.” Hitting the note for four minutes, the well-placed locale reference took an uptick swing at the end and started blistering before popping into another familiar fiery ride with the anything-but-traditional “I Know You Rider.” When performed by this band, this one chugs along like a northbound train running out of control. Of course, Kang’s emphatic delivery of the ‘cool Colorado rain’ reference brought everyone’s inner cheerleader out and the place filled once again with raised arms and voices. Billy swung for the fences on the first solo followed by Kyle lighting up the Leslie once again. The standard reggae breakdown that has long been a part of the SCI form to end the tune was light, warm, and slipped into space before returning to the Creation Rock jam. This portion of the interlude contained elements of the band’s original “Rhythm of the Road” and had a more clear-cut structure than the spontaneity of its predecessor.
Now for bust-outs, following some fancy fret work by Billy, the heat of the moment moved the band into a section of the 1983 Talking Heads song “Swamp.” Led by Kang repeating the phrase I want to take you higher, it appears after exhaustive research this would be the first time a reference to the song would have hit the setlists since 2003. Although the Byrne reference was short-lived, it was nice to see that spontaneity is still present in the house that Cheese built.
Keeping the arrows flying and bringing an end to the second set, the band returned to the finish of “Desert Dawn” with sparks and cinders, ramping up the beautiful summer night one last time before the encore brought it all to a close.
For the final icing on this cheesecake, the band would bring out a great version of Steve Miller Band’s “Swingtown.” Although teased in years past, this version would mark the first complete reading of the well-known popular hit and, with Keith leading the vocals, had everyone harmonizing in the long “O” intro and hitting most of the lyrics. Showing once again that these gentlemen are still masters of their musical domain and love this life-long pursuit, following a killer transition, the final choice of the night was “Valley of the Jig,” and this instrumental was not only played with a high level of energy and creativity that produced some dark tones with Jason’s African chanting overshadowing, but also turned out to be the longest piece of the night at nearly fifteen minutes on the clock. Tossing in some teases of “Swamp” again, Kang tuned this one up nicely, slicing the air with his bow and fiddle throughout this celt-ronica reel.
With night one logged into the record books, truth was once again realized that when The String Cheese Incident come to play Red Rocks there is something a little extra in the mix and what they channel hits that visceral and spiritual dynamic that has kept this band alive and kept those who tune into their brand of jam coming back for as much as they can get, especially when the setting is the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains and these red-sand hallowed grounds.
