Last Friday, The String Cheese Incident opened up their two-night weekend run at The Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis, MO.
The sextet began their first set with fan-favorite “Desert Dawn”, led by Michael Kang on vocals. Kang and keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth traded off some spicy licks before the band smoothly dove into “Lost”. Bill Nershi got a chance to offer up some acoustic magic, followed by an explosive electric mandolin solo from Kang. “Lost” smoothly segued into “Manga”, a newer tune debuted last summer at Electric Forest, inspired by legendary Cameroonian bassist Andre Manga. Following a salsa-infused instrumental, SCI moved forward with a cover of Billy Joe Shaver‘s “Live Forever”, highlighted by some silky-smooth work out of Hollingsworth’s corner on the keys. A 30-minute paring of “Little Hands” and “Looking Glass” followed before the band brought the scorching first set to a close with “Colliding”.
Following a brief setbreak, The String Cheese Incident returned to open their second set with a nearly-15-minute take on “Sweet Spot”. The six-piece continued with a monstrous pairing of “Illegal” and “Dirk”, with Michael Travis and Jason Hann holding down an infectious beat behind their kits. Kang let it rip on “Dirk”, dazzling The Fabulous Fox Theater with a series of scorching solos. Next, Nershi stepped up to take the vocal lead on “I Want You”, the band’s latest single from their SCI Soundlab, which was officially released in March. Cheese moved forward with a lengthy take on “Hi Ho No Show” before diving into a hard-hitting cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Kashmir”. Friday’s “Hi Ho No Show” showcased the band in their finest form, as they ripped through some quick-witted bluegrass licks, followed by a more electronic-focused jam. “Hi Ho No Show” is composed in a beautiful fashion, as the tune focuses on each band member at different points. The String Cheese Incident brought their second set to a close with “All We Got”.
The String Cheese Incident returned to open up their encore with “Galactic”, off of the band’s 1998 Round The Wheel release. The sextet brought their electric Friday night show to a close with a cover “I Know You Rider”, which featured a verse of Bob Marley‘s “Stir It Up” thrown in the middle.
Luckily for fans, SCI has shared pro-shot video of “Hi Ho No Show” from St. Louis, which you can enjoy below:
The String Cheese Incident – “Hi Ho No Show”
[Video: The String Cheese Incident]
For ticketing information and a full list of The String Cheese Incident’s upcoming tour dates, head to the band’s website.
Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | The Fabulous Fox Theater | St. Louis, MO | 4/19/2019
Set One: Desert Dawn > Lost > Manga, Live Forever, Little Hands > Looking Glass > Colliding
Set Two: Sweet Spot, Illegal > Dirk, I Want You, Hi Ho No Show > Kashmir > All We Got
Encore: Galactic > I Know You Rider