The String Cheese Incident are currently making their rounds through the Midwest on what is shaping up to be a stellar Fall tour, and will return to New York City this weekend for a two-night stand at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. From their first shows at the now closed Wetlands Preserve and Lion’s Den (aka Sullivan Hall), to iconic venues such as Irving Plaza, Hammerstein Ballroom, Central Park Summerstage, the Beacon Theatre, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Radio City Music Hall, The United Palace, and The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, SCI has played pretty much every storied venue in the greater metro area.

In-Depth With String Cheese’s Keith Moseley On Hulaween, New Music and More

With so many shows to choose from, we take a look at some memorable sets from Cheese in NYC over the years. Sending the love to Archive.org and FriendsOfCheese.com for having all these sets for our and listening and viewing pleasure!

Purchase tix to SCI on Friday, 10/23 HERE
Purchase tix to SCI on Saturday, 10/24 HERE

Don’t miss SCI’s Jason Hann performing as part of Oktopus for a 10/23 String Cheese after party! Details here.

1. Wetlands Preserve: 10/25/97

Don’t you miss the Wetlands? One of the best smaller venues that this city has ever known. The “Galactic > Texas > Drums > I Know You Rider” is definitely worth the listen.

Set 1: Rhum ‘n’ Zouc, Missing Me> Mtn Girls, Rhythm of The Road, The Road Home, Pirates> Round The Wheel
Set 2: Bigger Isn’t Better> Black Clouds, MLT, Little Hands> Dudley’s Kitchen> Don’t Say, Galactic> Texas> Drums> I Know You Rider
Encore: Elvis’ Wild Ride

[taped by Scott Bernstein]

2. The Theater at Madison Square Garden: 10/31/2001

No one does Halloween quite like the gentlemen of The String Cheese Incident. A second set “Subway Tour” took us through the stops along the A Train on the NYC subway system. Covers of “Sweet Georgia Brown” (Ella Fitzgerald) took us all the way up from Harlem and 125th Street, down to “Instant Karma”‘s (John Lennon) The Dakota – 72nd Street stop, and further down to Greenwich Village with “So What” (Miles Davis), and “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn” (Beastie Boys) being the last stop on Canal Street. A+ for creativity, but we all know Cheese is the best at bringing the good vibes.

Set 1: Black and White, Way Back Home, The Hobo Song, Bam!, These Waves, Rhythm of The Road> Jam> Come As You Are
Set 2: Sweet Georgia Brown1, Instant Karma2, New York New York3, So What4, No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn5, Howard, Round The Wheel> Good Times Around the Bend, Joyful Sound> Land’s End, Texas
Encore: Shakedown Street6
1.    representing Harlem/125th St. stop
2.    representing The Dakota/72nd St. stop; with members of the Tom Tom Club
3.    representing 42nd St. stop
4.    representing Greenwich Village/4th St. stop
5.    representing Canal St. stop; with Rahzel (formerly of The Roots) on beat box
6.    preceded by a Barlow poem; with Rahzel on beat box and singing Paul Revere (Beastie Boys cover)

[taped by Dan Heend]

3. The Theater at Madison Square Garden: 12/29/2004

This was a solid 3-night New Year’s run for SCI, with two nights at The Theater before a New Year’s Eve celebration at Radio City Music Hall. While all three shows were top-notch, the second night at MSG brought the heat. The “Galactic > Kashmir (Led Zeppelin) > Galactic > Shine” saw a whole lotta jaws on the floor.

Set 1: Restless Wind> Round The Wheel, Got What He Wanted> Chameleon> Got What He Wanted, Look at Where We Are, MLT1> Drums> MLT1, Can’t Stop Now, Howard
Set 2: Time Goes By2, Galactic> Kashmir> Galactic> Shine, 45th of November1, Valley of The Jig1> Drums, Las Vegas> Jam> On The Road
Encore: The Bridge1,3,2, Search
1.    W/ Peter Apfelbaum on saxophone
2.    First time played
3.    with Jason Hann on the Hammond B3

[taped by Jason Ho]

4. Beacon Theatre: 7/13/2007

The last East Coast shows before the band would go on hiatus proved to bring an energy that somehow surpassed anything Cheese had done in NYC in the past. You would think the fourth and final night of the run would have brought out all the emotion, but for one reason or another, it was the third night that was THE NIGHT. The first set closer of “Texas > Footprints > Texas” saw some incredible interplay between Michael Kang and Eric Krasno (Soulive/Lettuce). It isn’t often that crowds go crazy enough for a band to play a second encore, but on this night we were treated to a much beloved cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Shakin’ The Tree”, concluding what was truly a perfect night.

Set 1: Lonesome Fiddle Blues> Lochs of Dread> Lost, Boogie On Reggae Woman, How Mountain Girls Can Love, Smile> Betray the Dark> Texas1> Footprints1> Texas1
Set 2: Way Back Home> Desert Dawn> Valley of The Jig> Desert Dawn, Seventh Step, Little Hands, What a Day That Was> Search
Encore: Restless Wind, Shakin’ The Tree2
1.    W/ Eric Krasno
2.    2nd Encore

[provided by Justin Marinoff]

5. The United Palace: 12/03/2011

It had been four years since SCI graced the City That Never Sleeps, and after a first night that, for all intents and purposes, acted as warm-up, Cheese definitely brought the energy on the second night. “Colorado Bluebird Sky > Rollover > Colorado Bluebird Sky” brought the energy to eleven, while the end of the second set saw a surprising cover of Radiohead’s “National Anthem” into a killer “Bumpin’ Reel”.  It certainly felt good to have Cheese back.

Set 1: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)> Rhum ‘n’ Zouc, Miss Brown’s Teahouse> Chameleon> Miss Brown’s Teahouse, Wheel Hoss, Sometimes A River, Colorado Bluebird Sky> Rollover> Colorado Bluebird Sky
Set 2: Let’s Go Outside, Restless Wind> On The Road, Betray the Dark> Drums, Joyful Sound> National Anthem> Bumpin’ Reel> Can’t Stop Now
Encore: Way Back Home

[taped by Peter Coffan]

6. The Capitol Theatre: 11/11, 11/12/2014

We’re going to just go ahead and put both of these shows here, because the band is simply playing as good as they have in years, and it is exciting to witness. As Cheese was rolling along during the second set of first night, they decided to pay homage to the band that paved the way for the jam scene, dropping into the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” for an explosive performance. “Desert Dawn” put the icing on the cake, and left all of us wanting more. Luckily we had a second night.

The band brought out Todd Stoops to work his wizardry on the keys for a first set closing “Rosie”. “Texas” to open up the second frame set the tone for what turned out to be a monster of a set. As the band went into “Rivertrance” we returned to that mystical place that only Cheese can take us to, as the synergy between the band, fans, and venue was beyond comprehension. The encore of “Tore Up Over You, Under African Skies> Whiskey Before Breakfast ” left nothing but smiles on a satisfied crowd. And now, we get ready for another epic two night String Cheese Incident run. Purchase your tickets HERE!

String Cheese Incident at The Cap: ‘It Is What It Is’….Nothing But Good Times

Setlist: The Capitol Theatre at Port Chester, NY – 11/11/14

Set 1: Search, Birdland, You’ve Got the World, Sometimes A River, Indian Creek, Song In My Head> Give Me the Love, Close Your Eyes
Set 2: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)> It Is What It Is> Valley of The Jig, Smile, Joyful Sound> Shakedown Street, Desert Dawn
Encore: Restless Wind

[taped by Justin Marinoff]

Setlist: The Capitol Theatre at Port Chester, NY – 11/12/14

Set 1: Johnny Cash> Got What He Wanted> Beautiful, Hotel Window> Climb, Big Shoes> Rosie1
Set 2: Texas, Pack it Up, Rhythm of The Road> Can’t Stop Now, Piece Of Mine, Rivertrance, Just One Story
Encore: Tore Up Over You, Under African Skies> Whiskey Before Breakfast
1.    with Todd Stoops (Kung Fu) on keyboards

[taped by Justin Marinoff]