Photos: Kit Tincher
Words: Slade Rand
The String Cheese Incident brought some old friends to Red Rocks on Friday night for a Carnival throwdown under a crescent moon.
Masked fans sharing beads and hugs reunited in Morrison for the Colorado band’s annual midsummer run, this time celebrating 30 years of SCI. A night billed as ‘The New Orleans Incident’ on tap fueled pre-show energy as the familiar crowd gathered on a 100-degree day.
Throughout the night, SCI welcomed certified Groove Guardians including George Porter, Jr. and Ivan Neville to cook up raucous renditions of songs that have colored jam bands’ palettes for decades.
During an opening “Phunky Friends” set, Tony Hall played guitar and bass with Ivan on keys and his cousin Ian Neville on guitar. Alex Wasily joined them on trombone, with Ashlin Parker on trumpet and Deven Trusclair on drums. Norman Spence of Tank and the Bangas sat in on keys alongside his bandleader Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball on vocals for a couple of tunes. George held it all down on bass.
String Cheese later took the stage in its own masks, beads and sequins to keep the anniversary party rolling.
A celebratory run of original songs opened SCI’s first set of six this weekend at Red Rocks. The band and its fans were happy to be back at the home-court venue, dancing in purple, green and gold.
The String Cheese Incident is Bill Nershi on guitar, Michael Kang on electric mandolin, guitar and violin, Kyle Hollingsworth on keys, Michael Travis on drums, Jason Hann on percussion and Keith Moseley on bass.
Moseley led the crowd through the uplifting rhymes of ‘Joyful Sound’ early in the first set, before the island-flavored ‘Can’t Wait Another Day’ put a smile on everyones’ face.
String Cheese welcomed some night people to the stage next. Tony Hall, Ivan and the Dumpsta guys emerged behind a Colorado-based brass band to whip up a romp through Professor Longhair’s ‘Big Chief’ – SCI’s first since Mardi Gras Day in 2001. Ivan belted the vocals while cutting it up with Kyle and Nershi stage left.
With Tony Hall on bass, Moseley cycled behind the percussion kit alongside Hann and Trusclair. Ivan and Kyle sat side-by-side at the keyboards, and at one point rotated to swap organ and piano mid-jam.
SCI and friends dove head-first into a river of Crescent City anthems.
Tank took the stage and set off a bomb, fronting the band through Dr. John’s ‘Right Place, Wrong Time.’ Animated and electric, she rocked along with Nershi and Kang as they found a surprising groove in the 1973 funk standard. The big band wrapped the brain salad surgery with a spontaneous party-time breakdown.
“We got through it!,” Hollingsworth said to Ivan as the pair cracked up.
Nershi favored his electric guitars on the Carnival music, laughing while trading licks with Hall and Kang.
George and Ian Neville returned, and thundered into the opening bassline of ‘People Say,’ off 1974 Meters masterpiece ‘Rejuvenation.’
The four guitarists center-stage riled ferocious solos from each other, while the trio on percussion caught fire. ‘People Say’ faded into to a GPJ-led ‘Sneakin Sally,’ before another Meters classic fell from the top shelf. ‘Fire on the Bayou’ capped the first-set tribute to the big band that is New Orleans.
Tony Hall rejoined SCI to take on ‘Get to You’ at the start of set two, before the night’s highlight cover.
“Let’s get on the train, y’all,” Nershi said.
Tank, Ivan and the Dumpsta horns again took the stage, and the keyboardists sounded off on the intro to ‘Last Train,’ the opening track off Allen Toussaint’s 1975 ‘Southern Nights.’ The large band nailed the song’s switches, bouncing the upbeat melody back and forth while Tank soared on the vocals.
As promised, a massive drone show rose over the venue during ‘Last Train.’ An illuminated train appeared, huffing and puffing and chugging in the sky.
The New Orleans Incident gave way to traditional String Cheese fun as the drones flew off. The Colorodans weren’t close to done yet, though.
After jammed-out takes on ‘BollyMunster’ and ‘One Step Closer,’ in came an uplifting, truly unique take on Eddie Money’s 1977 hit ‘Two Tickets to Paradise.’ SCI wrapped its second set with ‘Colliding’ off 2014’s ‘Song in My Head.’
Earlier in the night, the Dumpstaphunk members played ‘Make it After All’ off their 2021 release ‘Where Do We Go From Here?.’ George settled in later in the opening set on an instrumental Meters groove, paving the way for the rolling drumbeat of ‘Hey Pocky Way.’
Trusclair steered the band into the classic Carnival tune, and George bellowed “Is it Mardi Gras yet?!” The early String Cheese crowd gave the Crescent City all-stars a proper howdy, getting down on the foundational Meters melodies.
George and Tony Hall took full control of the legendary venue with a thumping tear through ‘No More Okey Doke,’ off the Meters’ disco-fueled 1977 release ‘New Directions.’ Midway through, Tony swapped his hot pink guitar for a bass. He dueled face-to-face with George on a low end breakdown.
The groove guardians wrapped their set up tight with standout takes on the Meters’ ‘Africa’ and ‘Just Kissed my Baby.’ George and the band have been touring the full ‘Rejuvenation’ album this year for its 50th anniversary. He rose from his seat to face the crowd and fully rock out on the closing tunes, looking satisfied.
During ‘Africa,’ the band changed the final chorus to “Take me back to New Orleans,” and a few other lines to reference gumbo.
George was back on Oak Street for his normal Monday night gig at the Maple Leaf just 72 hours later.
After Midnight 
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