There is much to recommend about the lone Nebraska date on String Cheese Incident's April 2002 tour. The first, perhaps, is the focus on the band's own material that pretty much covers the first two discs. If you're searching for SCI digging deep into their improvisational bag, disc three will give you all you need. If, however, you are one of the fans who is drawn to the band's well-composed and meticulously arranged material, this might be the set to find your way to first. Along with staples such as guitarist Bill Nershi ...
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There is much to recommend about the lone Nebraska date on String Cheese Incident's April 2002 tour. The first, perhaps, is the focus on the band's own material that pretty much covers the first two discs. If you're searching for SCI digging deep into their improvisational bag, disc three will give you all you need. If, however, you are one of the fans who is drawn to the band's well-composed and meticulously arranged material, this might be the set to find your way to first. Along with staples such as guitarist Bill Nershi's "Outside and Inside," and "Rhythm of the Road," there are numerous Kyle Hollingsworth keyboard vehicles here, as well such as the classic "Lost," "Yo Se," and "Work." Violinist and mandolin whiz Michael Kang contributes "Come As You Are" and "It Is What Is" to the mix. All of these tracks, with their resident instrumental workouts and canny moments of rhythmic subterfuge, are on the first two discs in the package, as well as a killer version of the traditional nugget "Blackberry Blossom." To be honest, these performances are awesome enough as to be inspiring with melodic fragments being traded back and forth on the front line, and drummer Michael Travis and bassist Keith Moseley throw change-ups against the chord and interval changes throughout so that SCI become more of a jazz band who plays country, bluegrass, reggae, and funk, as well as rock. But nowhere is this more plainly evident than on disc three, where the band opens innocently enough with Nershi's "Hotel Window" that was clearly informed by Levon Helm fronting the Band. It's an elegiac song, with loss and memory pervading the inner space of the narrative. When this wrenching song whispers to a close, Kang's funky rocker "Turn This Around" sets the stage for the real fireworks. Rambling over 15 minutes, choruses and verses are in different time signatures, and juxtapose straight rock against a moody, jazz-oriented body before the middle improv moves toward outer space and ambience in its sheer sonic drift. This doesn't last as the track reaches a seam and the entire thing breaks right open, allowing the light back in. As the tune closes, the listener can feel the tension in the mix. As Hollingsworth's keyboard announces a riff completely foreign to the Omaha audience, it becomes startlingly apparent as Travis' hand percussion slips into the mix and Moseley plays an acoustic bass that this is no ordinary jam tune, this is John Coltrane's "Impressions"! As Nershi enters with the melody line inspired as much by Santana's reading of the tune as the original, the middle becomes a morass of energy and tenacious time-stopping riffing. "Impressions" transmutes into a free-form jam before coming back around with virtually everyone in the band getting a solo break that is not only compelling, but nearly breathtaking. Normally, this would be a show-defining suite, but for SCI, Nershi's African-inspired "Smile" and Bill Monroe's "Goldrush" are the set-closers before a tender read of "The Hobo Song" ushers the evening to a close. The audience, stunned and delighted, has no idea how to express their appreciation -- and you won't, either. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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Add this copy of April 10, 2002-Omaha, Ne: on the Road to cart. $18.99, good condition, Sold by Bookmans rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tucson, AZ, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Sci Fidelity Records.
