SCI | 07.21 & 07.22 | Berkeley, CA
By Team JamBase Jul 24, 2007 • 12:00 am PDT

String Cheese Incident :: 07.21.07 & 07.22.07 :: Greek Theater :: Berkeley, CA
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In anticipation of this weekend, I felt a similar stir of emotions that have arrived before each run ever since the announcement of Billy Nershi‘s departure from the band. For me, ever since 2006’s mini-hiatus and the break from 10 straight years of Winter Carnivals, something had just not been right about the Cheese magic these past two years. Winter Carnival 2007 proved to me that the magic was still there, but it required so much effort from the band that it was that much harder to obtain each night. Now, feeding off reports and reviews from last weekend’s Beacon run, I was feeling optimistic about the energy and the musicianship that would make up this final summer tour ending at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO. I was determined to have one more truly inspiring Incident, have that moment before there were none left to be had.
Saturday :: “Damn, that’s some bass”
![]() 07.21 :: By Sewell Hatcher |
Saturday’s sold out show began with a blistering set from Philadelphia’s The Disco Biscuits, who offered a non-stop set which featured a strong set closing “Shimmy in a Conga Line” sandwich around the jam in “Great Abyss.” The one thing that struck me immediately though on Saturday was the sound. I like to ride the rail, and know many others who also like to ride the rail. We get there hours early to ride this rail. But, at these shows on Saturday it was truly impossible to enjoy the show from the first 10 rows because of how loud and body shattering the bass was. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love loud music, and I love it when I can feel the bass, but the bass throughout The Disco Biscuits set was just too much to handle. Somehow I felt like I was not the only one, and looking around to see other staple rail-riders looking for alternative spots confirmed that suspicion.
![]() 07.21 :: By Sewell Hatcher |
![]() 07.21 :: By Sewell Hatcher |
The second set began with the band working through newer songs and halfway through invited Aron Magner and Jon Gutwillig of The Disco Biscuits to jam on “Desert Dawn.” While the second set was a lot stronger than the first, there were several sound and equipment problems that made it hard for the group to find their rhythm. As the show closed out with a standard “Search” and our crew made our way over to Blakes on Telegraph for the EOTO aftershow, a thought came over us: Playing the night show at 10,000 Lakes Festival the day before, and having to fly to California the morning of the show, probably provided some fatigue on stage and made it that much harder to summon the magic.
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I couldn’t help but notice that Travis has to be the hardest working man in the band. After finishing two big sets at the Greek, he rushed quickly over to Blake’s only to have to setup the PA system and gear himself. As I watched him lift the speakers and prepare for his set, I was struck by the realization that each one of The String Cheese members will have to go through this rebirth as working musicians again. They will all have to go back to carrying and setting up their own gear and working their asses off again to promote their new groups. I felt very happy for them that they would be able to re-experience the real joy of being a musician, capturing the spirit of that kind of creation all over again. The EOTO set was exactly what the after show called for. For those who wanted to dance until the early morning, there was no substitute for the rhythmic core of SCI that evening in Berkeley. EOTO provides Travis and Haan the opportunity to work out all of the melodic ideas that run through their heads that don’t readily emerge through SCI. If you dig Zilla, you can definitely dig on EOTO, too.
Sunday :: “Less Guns, More Butter”
![]() 07.22 :: By Susan J. Weiand |
The bright sunny day started 15 minutes (about 12:30 p.m.) early as Hot Buttered Rum String Band played a really incredible set, which immediately had the energy at a higher level from the get-go than the night before. With indebted admiration to all they had accomplished so far as a band, they dedicated and toasted “Honkytonk Tequila” to their mothers, and brought up Billy Nershi in the day’s first of two sit-ins by the departing SCI member. Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues” was their set closer, and featured the most inspired Nershi solo of the weekend.
![]() 07.22 :: By Susan J. Weiand |
![]() 07.22 :: By Susan J. Weiand |
The second set resumed right where they had left off with Hollingsworth’s “Piece of Mine” dropping into the groove-based “Bumping Reel.” At this point, I was in multiple goose bumps mode and Hollingsworth was turning out inspired solos left and right. When he is leading the band it all just falls right into place. I hadn’t seen him yelling orders into the in-ear-monitor mic that is strategically placed by his rig for segue direction in a long time. Not even “Farther” could slow the set down, as it moved into the newest Talking Head’s cover, “What a Day That Was.” The sun had thoroughly kissed everyone’s face as the band closed out the second set with “the jam” otherwise known as “It Is What It Is.” The second set had trumped the energy of the first set, and I had just experienced one of my favorite incidents in quite a while.
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Setlists:
07.21.07
The Disco Biscuits
I Remember When > Digital Buddha, Boom Shanker, Little Shimmy In A Conga Line > The Great Abyss > Little Shimmy In A Conga Line
Sound Tribe Sector 9
Rabble, lo Swaga, Supremacy, Be Nice, Rent, Kamuy, Moonsocket, Tooth, Open E, One-a-Day
String Cheese Incident
Set I: Mouna Bowa, I Wish, Love Is Like A Train, Sometimes A River, MLT, Rain, I Know You Rider > Stir It Up > I Know You Rider
Set 2: Eye Know Why, Looking Glass, Desert Dawn > Jam*, The Way You Do The Things You Do, Way Back Home > Birdland > Best Feeling > Way Back Home
Encore: Search
* w/ Aron Magner (Disco Biscuits) on keyboards and Jon Gutwillig (Disco Biscuits) on guitar
07.22.07
Hot Buttered Rum
The Crest, Honey Be, Guns Or Butter, Return Some Day, Right Between Your Eyes, Honkytonk Tequila*, Cumberland Blues*
* w/ Billy Nershi (String Cheese Incident) on guitar Railroad Earth
Smilin’ Like a Buddha, Loving You, Magic Foot, Luxury Liner, Warhead Boogie, Dover to Dunkirk, Peace on Earth, Mourning Flies*
* w/ Billy Nershi (String Cheese Incident) on guitar String Cheese Incident
Set 1: Shine, Little Hands > Dudley’s Kitchen, I’ll Fly Away *, Walls of Time *, Black Market > Jellyfish > Black Clouds
Set 2: Piece of Mine, Bumpin’ Reel, Farther, Long Way To Go **, Sweet Melinda***, What A Day That Was, It Is What It Is
Encore: Whiskey Before Breakfast**** > Will The Circle Be Unbroken****
Second Encore: Smile
* with all of Hot Buttered Rum except Bryan
** with Todd Sheaffer (Railroad Earth) on vocals
*** with Railroad Earth minus Schaeffer ****Clusterpluck with all of Hot Buttered Rum and Railroad Earth
JamBase | Berkeley
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For coverage of SCI’s Beacon run please go here…