The String Cheese Incident kicked off their Suwannee Hulaween Festival last night with a special three-set Halloween show that featured an assortment of guests and covers. The theme for the performance was “Afterlife,” which was reflected in the song selection for the second set and in the white suits and/or zombie makeup worn by most of the performers.
While the first set featured takes on a variety of SCI staples like “Restless Wind,” “Joyful Sound” and Valley of the Jig,” the second set saw the group put their spin on a few afterlife-related tunes with some help from the Antibalas horns and vocalists Rhonda Thomas and Tony White. The band worked through a range of coves, including the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,” Ray Parker Jr.‘s “Ghostbusters,” Bob Marley’s “Time Will Tell,” Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die,” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven, Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” and Talking Heads’ “Heaven” as fireworks, pyrotechnics, spooky performance artists, massive skull balloons and more provided a feast for the eyes. Finally, the afterlife set wrapped up with a rendition of “Thriller” that saw a giant animated Michael Jackson figure rise from the stage.
The special guests then returned with Cheese for the third set, which got started with the SCI classic “Miss Brown’s Teahouse.” Next came a cover of Kool & The Gang’s “Hollywood Swingin’,” a tune that the band debuted during their String Cheese & The Gang set at this year’s Lockn’ Festival with JT Taylor and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The third set also featured a Halloween-appropriate cover of Fela Kuti’s “Zombie” that was sandwiched in the middle of “Rosie,” while the show came to a close with an encore rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.”
In addition to Cheese, the first day of Suwannee Hulaween also featured sets from Thievery Corporation, Beat Antique, Shpongle, Emancipator and Greensky Bluegrass, among others. As previously reported, the String Cheese Incident-curated festival takes place at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL.
Here’s a look at last night’s setlist via Friends of Cheese:
Friday, October 31, 2014, String Cheese Incident, Suwannee Hulaween, Live Oak, FL
Set I: Restless Wind > Joyful Sound > Pygmy Pony, Piece Of Mine > Give Me The Love > Valley Of The Jig, Cant Wait Another Day
Set II: Sympathy For The Devil, Ghost Busters Time Will Tell, Live and Let Die, Just Passin Thru, Stairway To Heaven, Dont Fear The Reaper, Break On Through, Heaven > Live and Let Die (reprise), Thriller
Ser III: Miss Brown’s Teahouse, Hollywood Swingin’, You’ve Got The World, Hotel Window > Rosie > Zombie > Rosie, Way Back Home > Just One Story
Enc: Superstition
Notes:
Set 2 and 3 with Rhonda Thomas & Tony White on vocals, Antibalas Horns: Martin Perna – Baritone Sax, Flute Jas Walton – Tenor Jordan McLean – Trumpet Jeff Pierce – Trumpet, Trombone
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