String Cheese Incident sold out the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago for three-consecutive nights. Brady Linick/The Pit
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]am band legends String Cheese Incident took over Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom for three sold-out nights, nearing the end of their Winter Carnival tour.
And if you missed it, I’m terribly sorry.
Running Thursday through Saturday, The Pit had the chance to sit in for the Friday night show.
They kicked off night two with some tunes off their latest record like “Let’s Go Outside” and “So Far From Home,” eventually ending the first set with a transition from “Beautiful” to “Restless Wind” to “Piece Of Mind.”
They came out swinging twice as hard in the second set, rocking some old favorites like “Search” and “Texas,” quickly getting the crowd back to moving.
Following a roaring crowd’s demand for more, SCI reclaimed the stage for an encore, closing the night out with “Got My Mojo Working” into “I Know You Rider,” leaving many fans looking pleased and most ready for one more night to do it all again.
The fact that selling out a three-night jam-your-face-off weekend show is becoming the norm for the Denver-based band highlights their high regard within their genre. The Spanish village themed venue maxes capacity out at 4,500, and trying to go to the bathroom Friday night made me feel like a cattle in the herd.
But anyone who’s ever been to a SCI show knows their following is well known for mirroring the good vibes the band emanates all night. So when you’re stuck between a bunch of smiling strangers, and the Devil’s cabbage smoke lingers around, you can be comforted knowing your surroundings share the same aspirations for the night as you – hearing great music, probably in the key of happy or groovy sharp major.
Although everyone’s friendly, like at any concert, most goers set up camp somewhere and take over a space for a few hours. So with a band as popular as SCI, I’d recommend seeing them at an outdoor venue where there’s more options to post up. But that’s just my humble opinion.
The set list moves with the crowd’s mood. From relaxed, broken down riffs to upbeat and dancey solos on a range of instruments including guitar, mandolin, bass, piano/organ or drums/bongo.
The lack of bantering in between songs serves as proof they aren’t on stage to tell jokes. No asking Chicago if they’re “ready to do this tonight or what?” No “how you guys doing tonight?” Just hello, music and goodbye.
SCI will finish up the Winter Carnival tour in Las Vegas with another three sold-out nights.
