NEW YEARS IN PORTLAND

Portland, Oregon was the place to be this New Years Eve for lovers of the String Cheese Incident, especially those who don’t require much sleep! Fans of SCI were given the opportunity to participate in an epic adventure through time and space, as the band teamed up with Peak Experience Productions to carry us into the next millenium with great music and great times. Twelve musical acts converged on the Oregon Convention Center in three days, as well as side performances by Friends of Cheese who had "gotten involved" with the planning and audience participation aspects of the event.

The theme of this years NYE experience was Evolution, an "embryonic journey of becoming" and a celebration of our creativity, showing that "we can become what we can behold." Much like the theme of the event, which traced the evolution of life from water to earth to space on each of the three nights, the musical quality of the shows also evolved over the course of the weekend. The energy in the OCC seemed different for each show, and the music followed suit. Just like water is life’s beginning, a mellow flow of tunes was characteristic of the first show. The earth theme of night two was mirrored in the solid feel of the second show, and space night really took off as the music evolved into the typical high energy love-fest that SCI is known for on New Years Eve. Add two late night get-downs at the Pine Street Theater after the Cheese shows and you have a weekend of big fun and little sleep. Something about the sun setting before "breakfast" is over for three days in a row says good times were had!

Friday, December 29th:
Set 1: Restless Wind, Open Wide, Inspiration, Good Times Around the Bend, Rhythm of the Road*, Latinismo, Born on the Wrong Planet**, Daryl
Set 2: Lester Poem > Water, Let Freedom Ring¹ > Get Up Stand Up¹, Black Clouds, Impressions > Jam > On the Road
Encore: Drifting Away, Shakin' the Tree
Guests:¹ with David Hines from Steel Pulse on vocals
Notes:* with Sesame Street verse, ** with Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Michael Jackson) intro
First Time Played: Inspiration (new Kang tune), Let Freedom Ring

Over twice as many people were in attendance at the "convention" than last New Years when SCI played the same venue. Between the crazy water and ocean costumes, the food and vending, the reunion of friends from all over the country, and two stages of great music, we knew we were in for some madness as soon as we walked in. Scott Huckabay started the music out on the Odyssey stage while Pura Vida, a film about the last international incident in Costa Rica, was playing in the SCI Fidelity Room. Vinyl took the stage next, and reggae legends Steel Pulse soon started on the Main stage. DJ Harry spun fans around in the Fidelity Room while Yonder Mountain String Band jammed their high-energy bluegrass on the Odyssey stage. The water shrine was sanctified in the front atrium before the Cheese took the main stage, giving fans a chance to get in touch with the mellifluous feel of the oceanic vibe that would characterize the night.

All in all the first show was on the mellow side, with a few exceptions like a solid Restless Wind opener, the funkiest BOTWP ever, and a great Black Clouds to close the second set. Water to open set two was all too predictable, however, and the new tune Inspiration didn’t live up to its name. Because the OCC is such a big space, the energy was diffused and it was hard to be in a place where you could both dance and hear the music clearly, which kind of made me feel like I was under water – first I thought that might have been part of the theme, but, unfortunately, it was not. All was not lost however, as I witnessed a delightful Jellyfish ballet during set break, Steel Pulse added a sweet reggae vibration to the second set, and the Shakin’ the Tree was beautiful as usual in the encore spot. A feeling of anticipation was left at the end of the show for more to come during the next two shows. Luckily, the night was still young...

LATE NIGHT FUNK-TION NUMERO UNO at the PINE STREET THEATER – VINYL
Having slacked in getting to the show in time to catch Vinyl pre-cheese, I was glad that the party in Portland was rockin on and on ‘til the break of dawn. As usual, the ultra funky Silver People Presents, in conjunction with Segue Productions and Cascade Media, put on a great time for all the late night groovers. The Pine Street Theater was transformed into a silvery winter wonderland, and as the crowd trickled in slowly from the OCC, Vinyl began to break it down. Their great combo of Latin tunes, reggae, and funk got the crowd shakin it down with plenty of room to boogie even as the place filled up. Unexpectedly, I danced harder to Vinyl’s groovy tunes than I had all night at SCI, and enjoyed the more intimate atmosphere and concentrated energy that the after show provided. 5 a.m. appeared before I knew it, and it was time to head home to get in a few winks before more music today!

Saturday, December 30th:
Set 1: Come As You Are, Sing a New Song > Way Back Home, How Mountain Girls Can Love, MLT¹ > Revolution/Activate¹ > MLT¹, Search
Set 2: Lester Earth Poem > Black and White, Round the Wheel > Indian Creek, Lost > Howard, Tom Thumb's Blues > Drums > SKORT
Encore: Drums² > Joyful Sound²
Guests:¹ with Ozomatli
² with Dr. Didg

After settling in to the scene, the craziness of the venue was a little more manageable on night number two, and the crowd was fuller and the vibe was higher. Pura Vida was showing again in the Fidelity Room while Pig Iron and then Dr. Didg took to the Odyssey stage. Bill Nershi of SCI and Liza Oxnard, formerly from Zuba, played a sweet acoustic set in the Fidelity Room, while Ozomatli began their show of hip-hop Latin horn funk on the main stage. Lost at Last took it to the next level on the Odyssey stage, with their primal trance groove keeping us dancing for a solid hour – by far the best new music I saw all weekend long!

Just when I thought I’d have a chance to rest and get un-sweaty, we were all corralled into a world record attempt at the largest group hug ever! A schwirly spiral of love was soon created with the help of the Peak Experience crew, and we boogied to Bob Marley and got ready for a second dose of fromage.

The middle show still didn’t have the high vibe I was looking for, and I began to wonder what happened to the band I saw all summer long! The guests were the best parts of this show, like Ozomatli on the MLT sandwich and Didg on the drums encore. Round the Wheel > Indian Creek was strong, reminiscent of the RTW from last new years, but all in all the hoop dance and sanctification of the earth shrine during set break were more interesting than either set. Luckily, the night was still young. Sleep is for the weak, sleep is for the weak...

LATE NIGHT FUNK-TION PART DEUX – KARL DENSON at the PINE STREET THEATER
Dedicated fans of Karl Denson's Tiny Universe waited outside in the chilly Portland rain after the SCI show to get through the tight security at the door of the Pine Street Theater, and fortunately DJ Harry was on hand to keep the beats flowin’ until Karl Denson and company arrived. Due to blizzards on the east coast, Karl had to be lear-jetted to the sold out show, and even though they didn’t start until 4:30 a.m. they played their funky hearts out for the late night scene until 7 a.m! The house was packed, with post-Cheese fans filling all three rooms and partying until the sun came up. Highlights were a rocking Spanish Castle Magic, Check Out Your Mind and a soulful Can You Feel It!

Big love goes to SPP, Segue, and Cascade for making the late night funk-tions nights to remember!

Sunday, December 31st:
Set 1: Lester Poem > Outside Inside, Little Hands > Orange Blossom Special, Barstool¹, Sand Dollar > Turn This Around > Birdland
Set 2: Blue Danube Waltz > Lester Poem > Fly Like An Eagle > Lester Poem > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Lester Poem > New Years Countdown > Rollover, Mrs. Brown's Teahouse > Mouna Bowa, White Freightliner Blues, Jellyfish² > Shine
Encore: Kidney in a Cooler², Smile
Guests:¹ with Jillian Nershi and Liza Oxnard
² with Keller Williams
Notes: New Years Countdown occurred at 12:30AM.

They say that the third time’s a charm, and indeed, The Cheese finally busted out the goods for the final night of the NYE run. Another showing of Pura Vida started out the night, followed by the craziness of the Odyssey Circus and a performance of elemental poetry and dance on the Odyssey stage. Keller Williams' consistently talented show of one-man-with-one-guitar making thousands of FOC’s boogie warmed up the crowd for third and best Cheese show of the run. The glow and wings and sparkles all around came together to carry the vibe into a higher plane of space, connecting us all to a cosmic consciousness right along with the night’s theme. Outside Inside was a hot opener, Kang’s new fiddle shined during a sweet Little Hands, and by the end of the first set I felt I was seeing the band I had come to see!

The end of set break found us in the front row for the parade and New Year’s countdown, with a great view of the evolutionary progression of life. As the Steve Miller Band’s Fly like an Eagle was played, amoebas and fish and dolphins passed by to represent water, followed by the earthly birds, insects, dinosaurs, apes and humans of all kinds and then the cosmic funky shiny creatures and a huge space jellyfish that emerged from the center of the ceiling to carry us into the next millenium. It all came together to create a visual feast – a "Peak Experience" for sure. Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin...

Second set was just as smokin as the first, with the countdown after the 2001 Theme erupting in balloons and love, and an amazing Rollover to start off the New Year. The energy remained high with a great Mauna Bowa and Shine to close the set. The happy vibe was all around at this show, with K-Dub joining SCI for the encore with his ever amusing Kidney in a Cooler, and a great Smile to end the show, leaving us smiling into post-cheese bliss. Now THAT’s what I’m talkin about!

Shuli Ben-Poorat
JamBase Portland NYE Correspondent
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