Rothbury Set Review

The ROTHBURY Incident

by Tracy Block on July 17, 2009 at 09:30AM

String Cheese Incident at Rothbury 2009

Friday evening, Rothburians grabbed their hula hoops, their glowing balls of light and their butterfly wings, and joined in on what soon became the ROTHBURY Traveling Circus as thousands of fest-goers walked from the camp sites to the stages for night two of ROTHBURY.

"This is the night I've been waiting for," Virginian Alex Glaser said, smiling, as he trekked in his green blazer and tie from his campsite to The Odeum stage. On behalf of the String Cheese Incident, Michael Kang shouted out a warm welcome to the Rothburians, and fairies lept in the air as "Rollover" made its rumbling rotation throughout the chilly, early night air.

SC I-Candy

Seeing a Santa earlier in the day evoked the feeling of Christmas in July, but as the illuminated SCI stage shed light on the crowd, it rang true that it was really Halloween instead. Dozens of costumes shone in the light. There was sequin, glitter, spandex and metallic. Lovely ladies were dressed as charming forest creatures, and as their bodies moved in sync with the music, SCI provided one gorgeous soundtrack. The mood was peaceful and content throughout the first set, and then the sun went down.

Set II called for mind-boggling antics. During the "Desert Dawn," the second song in the set, it became apparent that SCI was slowly transitioning into Cirque du String Cheese. Acrobatic ladies intertwined in fabric rolled down from the sky as fire dancers threw flames to the rushing sounds of the drums. A dose of gigantic beach balls flew out from nowhere and into the crowd - balls so big it took 20 people to jump in sync to volley them into the air.

The SCI hoopers jumped and swirled through flashing double hoops, their placement in the crowd to entertain those not lucky enough to land a spot in the pit. Dressed in metallic gold bodysuits, one hooper had onlookers mesmerized as she twirlled the hoop around her waist for more than six minutes at a time. As "Desert Dawn" came to a close, it was as if the deep dream sequence slowly blinked back into a light REM cycle.

Hungry for More Cheese

SCI played a beefy double-set, closing out with special guest Keller Williams in the encore, which kicked off with "Best Feeling." And it truly was. Fans waved "Welcome Back" and "We Missed You" signs, popped champagne and threw streamers in the air for their beloved SCI, who had not played together since their last epic show at Red Rocks almost two years ago. As followers trickled out, they were left wondering if SCI might use ROTHBURY as a stepping stone back into the limelight. Here's to high hopes that this hypnotizing act continues to define performance art and music in their own shining light.

And, because I know you want to know, here's the SCI set list:

Set I:

Rollover >

Can't Stop Now, Miss Brown's Teahouse, Mouna Bowa, Love Is Like A Train, Rain >

Daryl, Joyful Sound >

This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) >

Rollover

Set II:

Outside and Inside >

Desert Dawn, Black Clouds, Little Hands >

Bumpin' Reel, Close Your Eyes, Way Back Home >

Drums, Texas >