Photos by Larry Hulst

The String Cheese Incident performed a glorious concert at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, on December 30. The band’s three-and-a-half hour show, amplified by an incredible light show, featured venerable fan favorites (“Restless Wind”, “Howard,” and “Texas”) a rarely-played cut by keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth (“45th of November”) and the new “Here to Stay,” written by the band’s drummer, Michael Travis.

The performance was the second of The String Cheese Incident’s three-night New Year’s Eve run at the 1stBank Center, and once the house lights were flipped back on at 12:15 a.m., Wednesday, many in the exhausted but exuberant audience could be heard openly debating if band would be able to top the night with their New Year’s Eve show on December 31.

The String Cheese Incident delivered 16 songs, kicking off a tight first set with the rousing “Best Feeling,” written by Kellar Williams, before launching into “Restless Wind,” featuring evocative interplay between electric-mandolin player/violinist Michael Kang and guitarist Bill Nershi.

The first set topped-off with bassist Keith Moseley’s jubilant “Joyful Sound” and every String Cheese Incident fan’s favorite cautionary pharmaceutical tale, “Texas.”

Set two featured more authoritative and muscular jams that always added to the songs. Percussionist Jason Hann and Hollingsworth’s deep-pocket interplay turned “Valley of the Jig” into a thumping, near-Dionysian freak-out, with the crowd swirling, dancing, and Hula-Hooping under the lights.

Moseley’s “Sometimes a River” was a welcome addition to the second set, bringing the audience closer together with its evocative lyrics about the transitions in life we all endure. The song seems to affect String Cheese Incident fans in the same manner as “Restless Wind,” two elegantly-written songs encouraging fans to embrace the changes in life with awareness, acceptance and radiant joy.

The long second set ended with Hollingsworth’s “Close Your Eyes,” and Nershi’s tribute to the Centennial State, “Colorado Bluebird Sky.” The band quickly returned to the stage for a two-song encore, “Freedom Jazz Dance” and ”the poignant “Little Hands.”

The String Cheese Incident’s Dec. 30 performance proved the band has aged like a fine Malbec wine; entering their third decade with grace, poise and fine style.