While not as high profile as Phish or the Grateful Dead, String Cheese Incident has become one of the hottest bands in the jam band community. SCI, who played Rochester's Auditorium Center this past Monday, displayed themselves as a shining example of the neo-jam band movement that began its rise during the mid-1990s.
Over the course of two long sets, SCI played pieces of nearly every style of popular music for the packed crowd. From the funk of "Missin' Me," to the Salsa-rock of "Texas," to the various techno jams littered throughout the second set, the quintet proved themselves to be some of the most versatile, talented musicians in the business.
Virtuoso musician Michael Kang awed the crowd as he played the mandolin, violin and took lead vocal duties on a number of songs, most notably on "Lonesone Fiddle Blues." Not to be outdone, acoustic guitarist and vocalist Bill Nershi ran several laps around the stage during the band's fun-filled version of the Steve Miller Band classic, "The Joker."
Aside from their mind-blowing ability to seamlessly shift between musical styles, the SCI concert experience is also unique because of the band's grassroots business practices. They have their own record label (Sci-Fidelity Records), their own ticket company (SCI Ticketing) and even their own travel agency (Madison House Travel), designed specifically for fans that travel with the band from show to show.
In addition, SCI has recently made national headlines because of a lawsuit they have filed against Ticketmaster, claiming that the ticketing agency holds a monopoly over the industry. According to a press release that was handed out at the show, and is also available online, "SCI Ticketing filed the lawsuit claiming that ticketing giant Ticketmaster has monopolized the ticketing industry, using its immense market power to prevent competition for the sale of concert tickets."
The band has continued to tour strenuously, despite the pending lawsuit.
Though fans of music in general may be enticed by the idea of a band that is able to play anything, make no mistake: SCI is a jam band in every sense of the word. Each set lasted nearly an hour and a half, and the band played just 14 songs over the course of the entire show, including the encore.
But for the SCI crowd, there is no other way to do it. Just about every member of the sold-out audience was getting their groove on from start to finish. Throughout the show, the band would respond to the audience's energy, peaking several times each set.
As stated on the band's website, www.stringcheeseincident.com, "the String Cheese Incident will always consider new ways to enhance the overall experience of being a fan." While many bands may make the same promise, SCI actually follows through, and the result is a unique band-audience relationship that helps every fan enjoy each show.
