The String Cheese Incident Makes Long Awaited Return To Montana

Montana fans had been waiting over a decade for The String Cheese Incident to return to The Treasure State and the band made it count by treating connoisseurs of the Cheese to not only one but two shows at Big Sky Brewing Amphitheatre on Wednesday and Thursday nights. SCI mixed career-spanning originals with a series of choice covers over two nights in Big Sky Country.

The action started on Wednesday with a first set that included classics such as “MLT” and “Barstool” along with new material including “Get Tight,” “Song In My Head” and “Hi Ho No Show.” Wednesday’s second set featured an expansive “Rhythm Of The Road” > “Naive Melody (This Must Be The Place)” segment that spanned nearly 30 minutes. SCI ended the second set with the best jam of the night within “Rollover” and came back for an “I Know You Rider” encore.

Thursday’s finale saw the 2016 debuts of “Indian Creek,” “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” (The Beatles) and “Ring Of Fire” (Johnny Cash). The show will also be remembered for a wild “Birdland” > “Wheel Hoss” > “Birdland” that opened the second set and the “Wake Up” > “Pack It Up” > “Believe” sequence that ended the first set. Next up for SCI is a show at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington this evening.

July 20 Audio (Taped by Mark Smith)

Setlists

July 20

Set One: Song In My Head, Get Tight, MLT, Barstool, White Freightliner, Bigger Isn’t Better > Can’t Wait Another Day > Hi Ho No Show

Set Two: Search, Sometimes a River, Looking Glass > Bo Boo’s Pikinik, Rhythm of the Road > Naive Melody, Rollover

Encore: I Know You Rider

July 21

Set One: Close Your Eyes, Little Hands > Indian Creek, Sweet Spot, Wake Up > Pack It Up > Believe

Set Two: Group Hoot, Birdland > Wheel Hoss > Birdland, Outside Inside, Falling Through The Cracks > She Came In Through The Bathroom Window > Rivertrance*, Piece Of Mine > Beautiful

Encore: Ring of Fire

Encore2: How Mountain Girls Can Love

* – w/ Michael Kang on drums