SCI Shows (Just for Haig)

(Boulder-CO) It was cheesy. It was very cheesy. As many of you probably have read, seeing how it is posted below, I attended two of the final four shows the String Cheese Incident will ever play again at Red Rocks over the weekend. Some old friends reunited, and some new friendships were forged as I camped out at Bear Creek campgrounds just minutes from the show where I had a great time both at the venue and around the camp fire.

Friday’s show was spectacular. Cheese played my favorite song, “Roll Over”, in a rendition that lasted nearly twenty minutes along with other favorites (including a Talking Heads cover), but we all knew that something even bigger was going to happen when at set break Michael Kang ,(the mandolin, violin, and guitar player), announced there was a big surprise in store for us. And that surprise, my friends, was probably the most entertaining version of Michael Jackson’s, “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough”, in an encore that was simply out of this world. There was even a Jacko impersonator belting out the lyrics as he moon-walked and crotch-grabbed all over the stage! Needless to say, I was dancing like nobody was watching and when the house lights went on I was thoroughly satisfied with the first night of entertainment.

Fast forward through a scorching hot day filled with fishing, swimming, speculating as to what String Cheese would follow Friday’s show with, a little bbq, and before we all knew it we were saddled up and back at the show. Only this time there was a huge lightning storm off in the distance south of Red Rocks and even more surprises from the band…

For starters, the shows up to this point had been all about the music with little-to-no entertainment other than the light show being projected on the rocks and three large projection screens behind the band. I hadn’t really noticed this facet of the concert was lacking in the choreography department until scantily clad fan dancers suddenly appeared on either side of the venue as bubbles were pumped from the center of the taping section; thus adding a whole new dimension to the entertainment. Furthermore, as if the surprise dancers and bubbles were not enough, a laser show erupted out of nowhere and hyped the crowd into a frenzy of excitement!!! So, to paint the most accurate picture of the scene: there was an absolutely awe-inspiring display by Mother Nature in the form of lightning that seemed to illuminate the southern horizon like a distant strobe light flashing on the night's jet-black sky, simply mesmerizing incandescent fan dancers that were in perfect synchronization, and an impromptu laser show to compliment the already extremely impressive set list that started with another favorite of mine, “Little Hands” and was followed by auditory masterpieces like “I Know You, Rider”, “Rivertrance”, “It Is What It Is”, “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”, and “Hotel Window”.

But, the Cheese wasn’t done with just the first set of surprises!

The jams would crescendo and rebuild and as this would occur the incandescent fan dancers disappeared only to be replaced by rope-light jellyfish, fire hula-hoopers, trapeze performers, and the laser show consisting of a fluorescent green dancer blasted on the rock walls of Red Rocks all at different times throughout the remainder of the show! And as my friends and I left the venue we were all stunned due to what we had just been a part of. The show was so good. Not just the music, but rather the whole experience. The lightning, the dancers, the lasers, the covers, the old favorites. Saturday night had it all.

But, for one reason or another not a single one of us were able to attend the final show on Sunday night, (except for my new friends A.J., Martin, Max, and the Tim "Show" from Texas who I haven’t yet had a chance to talk to), and the weekend was over. Old friends, new memories. New friends, same old String Cheese Incident.

Too bad it’s all over now maybe to never happen ever again! Thank God I was able to see the String Cheese Incident twice more. It was an experience that I will surely never forget and a set of concerts that rank in the highest tier of entertainment memories I have so far in my life.