On Saturday night, The String Cheese Incident returned to Broomfield, CO’s 1STBANK Center for the second show of their three-night New Year’s run. With special guests Robert Randolph, as well as Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, and Tony Hall on deck, the enthusiastic Colorado crowd was in high hopes of the night’s upcoming collaborations. SCI played a noteworthy show the night prior on Friday, highlighted by a monster collaborative first set with fiddle masters Sam Bush and Darol Anger.

The String Cheese Incident opened up their first set with “You’ve Got The World”, as keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth stepped up to take the lead on vocals. Taking no time to mess around, the band moved out of the song’s compositional structure and headed into an intergalactic, funk-driven jam. After gaining control and redirecting their spaceship back to Colorado, SCI moved forward with “Little Hands”, as Michael Kang flexed his vocals chops on the fan-favorite number. Hollingsworth led the way into deep improvisational territory, trading off delicate keyboard solos with Bill Nershi on acoustic guitar. The crowd knew they were in for a wild ride, as Kang swapped his mandolin out for the fiddle, blazing through a smoking hot solo.

The recently debuted tune “Manga” was up next, before SCI kicked things up a notch with “Miss Brown’s Teahouse”, initiating an all-out dance party on the band’s home turf. Michael Travis and Jason Hann locked into a tight-knit groove behind their kits, allowing Kang and Nershi to keep on trucking forward with some impressive work on their respective six-strings. “Miss Brown’s” flowed perfectly into “It Is What It Is”, as Kang once again dazzled the crowd with his silky-smooth vocals. To close out the first set, SCI invited up Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan and Ian Neville, and Tony Hall for “Get To You” and a cover of Sonny Landreth’s “Congo Square”, last played on May 5th, 2000!

Following a brief setbreak, the six-piece came back out to open second set with pedal steel master Robert Randolph, as the mastermind musicians worked through Randolph’s “Got Soul”. Randolph stayed onstage for a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”, ripping through the classic tune in a fashion that would’ve made Jimi proud. As Randolph left the stage, SCI got back to business with “Sweet Spot” followed by “Restless Wind”. Kang let it all hang out on the fiddle, dazzling the attentive crowd with a roaring bluegrass solo, reminiscent of an unstoppable steam train rolling down the tracks. The newer “Hi Ho No Show” was next, before Hollingsworth led the sextet into “Falling Through The Cracks”. Hollingsworth whirled between his massive stack of keyboards and organs, before passing the torch to Kang to bring it all home.

Standard takes on “Vertigo” and “Beautiful” brought the second set to a close, with a roaring crowd begging for more. SCI delivered in the most grandiose fashion, inviting Ivan and Ian Neville, Tony Hall, and Robert Randolph back onstage to assist on a debut cover of Funkadelic’s “Red Hot Mama”. The crowd got what they asked for, as the musical supergroup went down the line with solos, reminding Colorado music fans of the state’s inherent ability to bring so many legendary musicians together.

Enjoy a beautiful gallery of photos below courtesy of photographer Brittany Teuber.

Following a night off tonight, the band will return to Broomfield’s 1STBANK Center tomorrow night, December 31st, to ring in the New Year. For ticketing and more information head to The String Cheese Incident’s website here.

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | 1STBANK Center | Broomfield, CO | 12/29/2018

Set One: You’ve Got the World, Little Hands > Manga, Miss Brown’s Teahouse > It Is What It Is, Get To You1, Congo Square12

Set Two: Got Soul3, Voodoo Child3, Sweet Spot, Restless Wind > Hi Ho No Show, Falling Through the Cracks, Vertigo > Beautiful

Encore: Red Hot Mama45

Notes:

1 with Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, Tony Hall (Dumpstaphunk, 2 Sonny Landreth cover, LTP 05-03-00, 3 with Robert Randolph, 4 with Dumpstaphunk and Robert Randolph, 5 Funkadelic cover, first time played