The String Cheese Incident Breaks Out Pink Floyd Cover At Capitol Theatre Finale

The String Cheese Incident wrapped up their fall tour on Saturday night with their second of two consecutive shows at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. The sextet dug deep into their repertoire for their first cover of Pink Floyd’s “Fearless” since 2018 to start the encore.

Cheese’s fall tour began with their annual headlining appearance at the Suwannee Hulaween festival in Live Oak, Florida. Then, after performing single shows in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, the Colorado-based band settled in at The Cap on Friday and Saturday.

“Black Clouds” was picked as the opener on Saturday night. The String Cheese Incident used the oldie to launch a seamless sequence that also included “Got What He Wanted,” “Boo Boos Pik-A-Nik,” “Mouna Bowa,” “Windy Mountain” and “Bumpin’ Reel.” Both “Windy Mountain” and “Bumpin’ Reel” were nicely extended as the pairing spanned just a hair under 25 minutes. Yet the improvisational highlight of the first set was the ensuing “Outside And Inside,” which saw the band connect on an anthemic progression and ride it to glory before keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth fronted a jazzy excursion. Cheese wrapped the frame with “All We Got.”

SCI kicked off Saturday’s second set with “I Will Follow You” from their latest studio album, 2023’s Lend Me A Hand. Michael Kang then sang a “Water” that flowed into a substantial jam. More staples followed as the beloved “Restless Wind” bled into the band’s fan-favorite cover of Tim O’Brien’s “Land’s End.” The latter birthed a dark, minor-key exploration ahead of a spot-on transition into “Glory Chords.” Additional improvisation was in store within a set-closing trifecta of “The Big Reveal,” “Joyful Sound” and “Howard.”

Guitarist Bill Nershi addressed the crowd when the band returned to the stage for their encore:

“It’s a crazy world we live in. It’s hard to figure out what’s going on sometimes, you know there’s so much shit going on. It’s kinda like what I feel like up here sometimes. You can’t think about it too much, you just have to go with your instincts. Stay with your instincts, the things you’ve learned all your life and feel strong about that. We’ve been around for a while and we’ve figured out a lot of things so just do that. Go with it. You’ve got to be fearless in this life.”

The String Cheese Incident then performed their first “Fearless” in over six years. Written by David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Pink Floyd originally released “Fearless” on the 1971 album Meddle. Drummer Michael Travis handled lead vocals on SCI’s cover of the song. The Colorado-based six-piece punctuated the night with “Hi Ho No Show.”

Watch fan-shot video of SCI’s Saturday night encore at The Cap below:

Official Audio (via nugs.net)

Setlist & Photos