The String Cheese Incident, George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville & Phunky Friends 7.12.24

Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre
Morrison, CO

Words by Kaitlin Krunk
Photos by Nancy Isaac Photography

Kicking off their annual three-night run at Red Rocks Amphitheater on Friday, The String Cheese Incident started off the weekend with a bit of New Orleans flair. The first of three themed nights honoring geographical locations that have influenced the band’s musical journey, they welcomed special guests from the Big Easy including Ivan Neville & Phunky Friends featuring Dumpsta Horns, George Porter Jr. and Tarriona "Tank" Ball of Tank and the Bangas. The stoke level of the crowd was high, everyone dressed in their best Mardi Gras attire, feathered masks, beads and sequins, the crowd was a glowing mix of purple, green and gold. Laissez les bons temps rouler seemed to embody the feel of the adoring fans who were excited to toast to 30 years of The String Cheese Incident. After last year’s Fogerty Incident and their 50th Red Rocks Anniversary, the anticipation was high wondering what they might bring to the table this year to celebrate three decades together as a band.

Dumpstaphunk started off the evening featuring Ivan Neville on keys, Ian Neville on guitar, Tony Hall on bass, plus a horn section featuring trombone and trumpet to round out that New Orleans sound. Tank from Tank and the Bangas came out to perform her song "No ID." Her energy exuded through her singing and stage presence, she brings a new flair into the forefront of a new generation of New Orleans Funk. Bass legend George Porter Jr. joined for the rest of the hour-long set playing classic New Orleans funk by The Meters like "Hey Pocky A-Way," "No More Okey Doke," "Talkin’ ‘Bout New Orleans," and "Just Kissed My Baby." Dumpstaphunk has graced the Red Rocks stage many times in the past, and I always enjoy a funky set of music from the Meters whenever they play. They bring in the classic soulful feel of the sound but bring a lively new funk to the beat that gets the crowd up on their feet to boogie.

Next String Cheese took the stage, Jason Hann and Billy Nershi wearing their best Mardi Gras masks and Kyle Hollingsworth donning a giant feathered mask and a sparkling blazer, always one for a theme! They played a few classic Cheese jams including a crowd sing-a-long favorite "Can’t Wait Another Day," before The Brothers of Brass, a local Denver marching band came through the crowd as members of Dumpstaphunk joined the stage for the rest of the set. Michael Kang set the tone for the night saying, “We want to pay homage to the city that gave us so much…Let’s get funky y’all!” And they got right into the hits with "Big Chief" and "Right Place Wrong Time" by Dr. John, among other classics like "Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley" and "Fiyo On the Bayou." George Porter Jr. returned to the stage and sang on most songs, Ivan Neville and Kyle Hollingsworth were dueling pianos and swapping keyboards, and Tank of course returned to exercise her amazingly talented voice and personality getting the crowd jumping.

The second set began with the same N’awlins style featuring Ivan and Ian Neville, Tony Hall and the Dumpsta Horns. Soon Tank emerged on stage to belt her heart out as 1,000 drones slowly rose in the air. The crowd instinctively got out their phones to capture the action as the drones swirled into the shape of a train to match the lyrics of the song. Everyone was in awe not just by the drone show but also by the sheer force of Tank’s voice, but it was a bummer that the drone show only lasted for the one song. After the excitement of the drones, the special guests all left the stage, Michael Kang got out his violin, and the String Cheese Incident returned to their original repertoire with the crowd-favorite "BollyMunster" and even throwing in an Eddie Money cover of "Two Tickets To Paradise," and ending the set with my personal favorite, "Colliding."

However, the night couldn’t end there, with a few minutes to spare until curfew, they brought back out their special NOLA guests and closed out the night with an encore of "Miss Brown’s Tea House" sneaking in a jazzy Mercy Mercy Mercy into the middle of the song with the Dumpsta Horns. All came together for a fantastic night of all things New Orleans, the musical guests, the crowd, the costumes, the drones, and even the weather cooperated cooling down from the 100 degree temps. SCI has had some amazing and unique collaborations and openers of the past few decades at Red Rocks, but this combination of New Orleans funk was my favorite one yet!

Nancy's Photo Gallery

www.stringcheeseincident.com

Set One: Best Feeling, Outside and Inside, Joyful Sound > Can’t Wait Another Day, New Orleans Parade Intro, 2nd Line Jam (Brothers of Brass), Big Chief (Ivan Neville), Right Place Wrong Time (Tank), People Say (George Porter) > Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley (George Porter), Fiyo on the Bayou (Tank)

Set Two: Get To You (Tony Hall), Last Train (Tank), BollyMunster, One Step Closer, Two Tickets to Paradise > It Is What It Is > Colliding

Encore: Miss Brown’s Teahouse > Mercy Mercy Mercy > Miss Brown’s Teahouse