The String Cheese Incident Work ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Theme into Halloween Concert at Philadelphia’s The Met
Photo via nugs.net
The String Cheese Incident continued its Halloween tradition of adopting a theme during their celebration of the beloved costume-clad holiday. For the group’s four-night All Hallows’ Eve-adjacent run, they fueled up at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl on Wednesday, Oct. 30, before following up at Philadelphia’s The Met last night. During the group’s latest performance, each member took on the role of a different character from Lewis Carrol’s dream world and used their song choices as a complementary feature to the theme.
The characters were as follows: Michael Kang as The Kang of Hearts, Bill Nersh as the White Rabbit, going so far as to reprise the animal’s synonymous lines: “I’m late, I’m late,” upon his arrival on stage, Kyle Hollingsworth as The Mad Hatter, Keith Moseley as the Cheshire Cat, and percussive pair, Michael Travis and Jason Hann as Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
During the night’s initial set, the ensemble pulled heavily from their own music canon, sequencing “Black and White” into “So Far From Home.” They continued using song selections to reference the Alice in Wonderland storyline, including the dizzy 1998 originator, “‘Round The Wheel.” The band pulled in a cover of The Isley Brothers’ “Ain’t I Been Good To You” prior to their Beats Antique collab, “Bhangra Saanj.”
A sprawling “Roll Around The Sun” preluded “Colorado Bluebird Sky” and its referenced coming-of-age journey. Stepping out after the event’s set break, String Cheese Incident paired “Jellyfish” with the debut of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” The latter prevailed as the show’s driving connection between the night’s theme and choice in covers, exemplified by lines: “And if you go chasing rabbits/ And you know you’re going to fall/ Tell ’em a hookah-smoking caterpillar/ Has given you the call/ Call Alice/ When she was just small…”
“Trip The Light Fantastic” represented a return to originals, which continued with “Sometimes A River,” a pairing of “Sand Dollar” > “Let’s Go Outside,” and an optimal set finisher, “Desert Dawn.” For String Cheese Incident’s encore, they went with a take on “How Mountain Girls Can Love.”
Following last night’s stand in Philadelphia, the band will travel to Port Chester, N.Y., for the first of two nights at The Capitol Theatre. Tickets remain on sale and can be purchased here.
For those unable to attend in person, livestreams are available via nugs.net.
The String Cheese Incident
The Met – Philadelphia
Oct. 31, 2024
Set I: Black and White >So Far From Home, ‘Round The Wheel, Ain’t I Been Good To You, Bhangra Saanj, Roll Around The Sun, Colorado Bluebird Sky
Set II: Jellyfish > White Rabbit+, Trip The Light Fantastic, Sometimes A River, Sand Dollar >Let’s Go Outside, Desert Dawn
Enc.: How Mountain Girls Can Love
Notes:
+ Debut
