The String Cheese Incident, from Boulder, Colorado, have developed a classic improvisational sound and a large fan base among the new generation of jamband music. SCI raises the bar for high-quality musicianship as demonstrated by what their fans willingly endured on Saturday August, 9, 2003 at the Waterloo Village concert field. Despite downpours and mud in Stanhope, New Jersey fans remained in good spirits and were dancing in the mire and puddles. People were happily hoola-hooping and playing with their colored strings that glowed in the dark as the band played a spirited set. But to reach these magical moments they had to get through a day of rain. Many other jambands were present to help distract from the weather but String Cheese Incident was the much anticipated headliner.

The String Cheese Incident took the stage after a torrential downpour!
(Photo by C. Taylor Crothers)

This show followed a week of a low pressure weather pattern that had been gathering clouds and moisture from the south and dumping it on the nation's east coast. More than nine inches of rain in nine days saturated the field at Waterloo Village. The pattern was stagnating over New Jersey the day of the SCI concert. Despite that an estimated 4,300 people were in attendance.

This all-day festival featured bands from early afternoon to around midnight. By the time we arrived the Disco Biscuits were in the middle of their set which featured a solid groove and a danceable beat. Their performance included the songs The Overture, Sabre Dance, Floes, Little Lai and House Dog Party Favor.

The impressive playing of Michael Kang adds to SCI's signature sound!
(Photo by Soren McCarty)

This show was a homecoming for the Biscuits' Jon Gutwillig, the 29-year-old Morristown native, guitarist and co-founder of the trance-like, jamband outfit who were formed in 1993 when four former University of Pittsburgh students got together to play music. Since then the band has built a huge following through constant touring and by creating a hybrid style of music that appeals to both fans of the jamband genre and the those of the trance club scene.

Next up was Medeski, Martin and Wood. This trio was born in the heart of Brooklyn, New York in the summer of 1991. MMW is another band who has won a legion of fans through endless tours and musical innovations. The musicians – keyboardist John Medeski, drummer/percussionist Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood – had all played together throughout the 1980s but it wasn't until the trio officially convened for a concert at New York's Village Gate that the band was born. The trio's reputation grew in the mid-90's with the combination of endless touring and two widely circulated live collaborations with Phish. MMW joined the new jamband music scene, which has heartily embraced them.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips was shooting sparks
and throwing confetti all night long!

The band's set on this night included Big Time, Beeah, Start/Stop, Old Wyne, The Dropper, Smoke, Uninvisible and Hey Joe. Sometime towards the end of their performance the skies opened up and the rain poured down and lasted until the next band took the stage.

The Flaming Lips brought the sunshine – literally. On this night the Grammy-award winning act from Oklahoma City, OK could be best described as Tom Green meets the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour. The Flamings Lips emerged onstage with props aplenty including inflatable robots, entourage members dancing in various critter costumes and two large "perpetual suns" which danced and moved with illuminating presence on either side of the stage. Tons of confetti, balloons, and a spark-shooting gun completed the carnival like atmosphere merging with a catchy looping beat and whimsical lyrics.

The evening was dominated by frontman Wayne Coyne's onstage antics which included singing through a megaphone, shooting sulfur sparks via a unique contraption, throwing many handfuls of confetti, leading the crowd in a "Happy Birthday" sing along, and batting giant inflatable balloons into the crowd. These stunts were entertaining but apparently not pleasing to some of the Cheese fans in attendance who could be often heard screaming for their band to take the stage. Still, many were enjoying the quirky performance which featured many of the songs from the band's highly acclaimed Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots CD.

A glimpse of the evil robots and dancing creatures
that were a big part of The Lips' live show!

At one-point during the show Wayne commented that he was glad the rain had stopped and hoped that it would stay that way for the evening's final performance by The String Cheese Incident.

That was not to be the case.

No sooner had The Flaming Lips left the stage when the monsoon began again. It rained so hard and fast for nearly 30 minutes that it turned the already soaked concert field into a mud pit and it delayed the set by SCI for nearly an hour while stage-hands climbed the rig to try and drain the collected water from the tarp protecting the musicians and their equipment below.

The rain lessened and Boulder, Colorado's String Cheese Incident finally took the stage. SCI is a six man bluegrass based jamband formed in 1993. Their potent brew of improvisational music melds rock, bluegrass, salsa, calypso, afro-pop, funk and jazz into a magical gumbo. Their popularity grew after jamming at the legendary Telluride Blue Grass Festival. Since then, they have played up to 170 live shows a year increasing their fan base and musical prowess.

Medeski, Martin and Wood played a jazzy, jamming set that conjured up the rain!

As the evening's headliners SCI was scheduled to play two-full sets which changed into one long set due to the rain delay and it included BAM!, Desert Dawn, Joyful Sound, Mouna Bowa, Texas Town, Miss Brown's Teahouse, Life During Wartime, Valley of the Jig, Howard, Search, Best Feeling, Can't Stop Now, Black and White, Don't Say, and Ring of Fire.

The Waterloo event was a testimony that hard work and extreme touring build loyal fan bases of people willing to endure difficult conditions for the opportunity to experience their favorite bands live. The energy and enthusiasm on and off the stage was inspiring. Many of the bands that played on August 9th come from blue collar backgrounds. They appreciate the ethics of hard work and perseverance. Thus, the music triumphed over the adverse weather!

Related Links: For more information on String Cheese Incident and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- String Cheese Incident | The Flaming Lips | Medeski, Martin & Wood | The Disco Biscuits

(Originally Published on August 09, 2003)