After nearly 15 years of combining genres – folk mixed with bluegrass, reggae and space psychedelics, more than a pinch of jazz and a heavy dose of funk – The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is calling it quits as a group after this current tour. However, before the band’s unofficial lead singer, Billy Nershi, leaves SCI to pursue other musical projects, the six-pronged jam band refuses to leave any ear unturned.

 

I attended the Incident’s opening night in New York on July 11th, and if the show was any indication, SCI still has plenty of rock left in them.

Continuing in the tradition set by The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, and Phil Lesh and Friends, SCI shook The Beacon Theater on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to the point that after multiple unsuccessful attempts at crowd control, security all but allowed the anarchists of dancers and air musicians to rule the aisles along the immaculate venue. Living up to the Beacon hype is no easy task, but the thousands of loyal fans kept the house that George Carlin built moving and shaking with each chord change.

 

SCI opened with a crowd pleasing "On The Road," which led directly into "Can’t Stop Now," a bass-heavy jam that pulsed an incendiary beat throughout and culminated with bassist Keith Moseley holding a Herculean vocal note for what seemed like minutes while the music found its end. The band continued its groove and, later in the set, belted "Sometimes A River" – the band’s most poignant song, vocally – into "Miss Brown’s Teahouse" – a musical haven for concertgoers who can’t keep their feet still - into "Black Market". The twenty-odd minute, three-song jam formed the backbone of the show; at this point, attendees had already got their money’s worth.

 

The show was not without surprise. I paid close attention to the second set to see if several observations from the first held true. Lead guitarist Michael Kang rarely relinquished his guitar throughout the night. Kang, who often plays mandolin, only rested his six-string when he picked up a violin. The focus on guitar (as opposed to the mandolin) has become somewhat routine at recent shows and continues to detract from the band’s bluegrass, signature sound.

 

Opening nights in general are said to be more fun-filled and adventurous than their subsequent counterparts. However, after the first set, I couldn’t help but wish I saw more movement from the band itself on stage. The rockers in the crowd vaulted anyone who even hinted at the lethargy, to be sure, but no one gets knees knocking like the artists themselves. Indeed, by mid-second set, when the band covered Johnny Cash’s "Ring Of Fire," everyone in the Beacon – from the band down to the fans to the concession vendors – jolted during the chorus. Of course, the famous lights that follow the band with every show didn’t hurt as a giant three-dimensional ring of fire glared behind the musicians, consuming much of the audience’s visual attention and illustrating the creativity that encompasses each aspect of SCI. The jam didn’t stop there; the band went right from Cash to "Black Clouds" and into "Shine," finishing the second set with a sustained bang. After several minutes of psychedelic space/trance music earlier in the set, the band recaptured those who caught their breath to actually sit in their seats by the end of the show.

 

Never one to keep the audience waiting, the band returned quickly for an encore, capturing our collective attention for 15 more jam-filled, guitar heavy minutes with "Freedom Jazz Dance" and "Round the Wheel," a perfectly scripted closer. Though Incident is not conventionally mainstream, concertgoers understood the importance of this tour, which will cement their place in the annals of jam band history. “That show was sicker than I ever imagined it would be,” said one Incident rookie as we exited the venue. “I am ecstatic I saw them before they break up and will probably relive this show when I can tell my kids about how I was fortunate enough to have seen the String Cheese Incident.”