The String Cheese Incident Brings The New Orleans Incident to Red Rocks with George Porter Jr., Dumpstaphunk, Tank and Debuts Galore
Photo Credit: Erik Kabik
Last Night, July 12, The String Cheese Incident kicked off its hotly-anticipated 2024 run at Morrison, Colo.’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. For the first event of its three-night stay, the band delivered a special themed show titled The New Orleans Incident, summoning the spirit of The Big Easy with costumes, carefully tailored covers, a slew of bust-outs and a dream team of special guests. Among the high-profile artists to join the Centennial State locals and legendary jam powerhouse onstage were George Porter Jr., Dumpstaphunk and Tarriona “Tank” Ball, all of whom brought the soul of the bayou to the heart of the mountains for an unforgettable night of music.
After an opening set from the pioneering funk and fusion outfit Dumpstaphunk, The String Cheese Incident took the stage in a royal array of sequins and masks, opening its performance with the lighthearted fan favorite “Best Feeling.” Through further SCI staples like “Outside Inside,” “Joyful Noise” and “Can’t Wait Another Day,” the band geared up for a move to new territory; a notable tone shift was flagged early in the set when Dumpstaphunk filed onstage once more and Colorado’s Brothers of Brass advanced boisterously through the crowd to join onstage. An impromptu jam gave the band time to recalibrate and regroup for the evening’s main event.
String Cheese hit heavy into its theme at the midpoint in the set with a long-time bust out of Professor Longhair’s “Big Chief,” debuted by the band way back in 2001 and left in the archives since. Another dust-off of Dr. John’s “Right Place, Wrong Time” followed, entering Tank into the mix and leading into The Meters’ classic “People Say,” which saw George Porter Jr. take the stage and renew the song’s timeless message with a call for the audience to make its voice heard in the voting booth. The sprawling ensemble kept the party rolling with Allen Toussiant’s trademark “Sneaking Sally Through the Alley”–a debut for The String Cheese Incident–then brought the first frame to a triumphant conclusion with The Meters’ gritty, undeniably funky offering “Fire on the Bayou,” which rung out through the mountains as a true family affair.
When the band returned for the second set, they brought Dumpstaphunk’s iconic bassist Tony Hall to the stage with them, who lit up yet another live debut of “Get to You.” A true highlight from the evening arrived just after when Hall rotated out for Ivan Neville and Tank, who supported a soul-stirring debut run-through of Toussaint’s time-honored Southern Nights classic “Last Train.” To compliment the fresh selection, the band brought its performance to technology’s cutting edge with a light show of drones, which flew out over the stage and the canyon below to construct the image of a train rolling by in the night sky.
The band brought things back to basics for the remainder of the show, issuing guaranteed setlist items like “BollyMunster,” “One Step Closer” and a thrilling medley of “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “It Is What It Is” and “Colliding, with an extended NOLA-themed jam centerpiece. At the show’s end, the band called Dumptaphunk’s horn section to the stage once more for an encore of “Mrs. Brown’s Teahouse” and “Mercy Mercy Mercy,” which circled back to the former to send the crowd off with a smile.
For fans who missed out on the instantly historic String Cheese Incident set, the audio is available now via nugs.net. For more information on The String Cheese Incident’s continuing Red Rocks series and broader tour schedule, visit stringcheeseincident.com.
The String Cheese Incident
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, Colo.
7/12/24
Set I: The Best Feeling In The World > Outside And Inside, Joyful Sound, Can’t Wait Another Day, Big Chief, Right Place Wrong Time, People Say > Everybody Got a To Live, Sneakin Sally Down The Alley, Fire on the Bayou
Set II: Get To You w/Tony Hall, Last Train w/Tank & Ivan Neville, BollyMunster, One Step Closer, Two Tickets to Paradise > It Is What it Is > Funky Good Times Jam > Colliding
Encore: Mrs Brown’s Teahouse > Mercy Mercy Mercy > Mrs Brown’s Teahouse
