String Cheese Incident – Trick or Treat Box Set

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Reviews > CDs Archive:CDsDVDsShowsPublished: 2009/10/26
by Brian Robbins String Cheese Incident
Trick or Treat
Sci Fidelity

There are two ways to treat the String Cheese Incident’s brand-new nine-disc box set Treat or Treat. (Also available as a two-disc set; we were treated to the big dog.) First, enjoy the beast for what it is: a big ol’ sprawling Hulaween party, chock full of wild-arse covers (some taken pretty seriously, others performed with tongues planted firmly in cheeks) and classic cuts of Cheese. AHHHWOOOOOOOOOO!Or, you can see this as a one-stop overview of the band’s musical evolution over the period from 1998 to 2005. Trick or Treat begins with the days when Michael Travis was a one-man show on percussion (which is hard to believe when you listen – heck, even watching him live back then you’d end up saying "How many hands does he have?") and Billy Nershi’s weapon of choice was his trusty ol’ Martin. By the ninth disc, we’re hearing the six-man Cheese, with Jason Hann joining Travis in the rhythm department, while jams were liberally flavored with dollops of electronica and Nershi wasn’t above strapping on an electric solid body if the moment called for it. We hear Kyle Hollingsworth stretch out and expand on the keys over the seven-year spread and Keith Moseley cue and guide things more with his bass lines as the group matures as a jam unit. Early on, we’re treated to beautifully-recorded versions of early Cheese originals such as "Mouna Bowa," "Rhythm of the Road," and a 21-minute-plus version of "Round The Wheel" from ’98. By the time 1999 rolls around, though, we begin to see more covers with Men at Work’s "Down Under," the Beatles’ "Octopus’s Garden," and Bob Marley & the Wailers’ "Exodus" woven between doses of Lester the beat poet. (I will say right here and now that covers of Bob Marley tunes usually come off as thin and pale to me; this version, however, is an exception.) From there we get more theme-based: 2001’s Halloween show in New York featured a train ride ’round the city with narrated tie-ins to everything from John Lennon’s "Instant Karma" (featuring members of the Tom Tom Club) and Frank Sinatra’s "New York, New York" to a funked-out version of Miles Davis’ "So What" (it works!) and an out-of-nowhere "Shakedown Street" that completely ambushes the crowd, which proceeds to go apeshit. 2002’s show, which saw the String stage a mock awards show for folks like Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Freddie Mercury (see a trend there? That’s right: dead rock stars) pushed the limits of good taste, though it was done with love. Moments after declaring Jimi Hendrix the winner in the category of "Best Death by Throwing Up While Sleeping," the Cheese rip into a roaring version of "Fire" which segues into "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" – no doubt, the man himself would’ve gotten a kick out of Michael Kang’s interpretation of his music on the electric mando. My favorite cover of the bunch? A sweet version of Cat Stevens’ "Peace Train" from 2004 – the perfect yin/yang to a twisted take on Country Joe’s "I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag" later in the same set (complete with Fish Cheer). The closer at the end of disc nine? Go ahead – guess. That’s right: a jammed-out "Thriller." What do you think of that? If you have ever seen SCI live, then you already know that they weren’t above wacky humor on any given night. Halloween was always just a chance for the rest of the world to catch up with them. Trick or Treat fills the bag. *****

Disc 1
10/31/1998 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
1. Texas 17:25
2. Mouna Bowa 7:26
3. Another Night 3:30
4. Galactic 8:53
5. Rhythm of the Road 7:46
6. ‘Round the Wheel 21:31
7. I Know You Rider 12:10

Disc 2
10/31/1998 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
1. Elvis’ Wild Ride 4:28
2. Jellyfish 9:37
3. On the Road 7:32
4. Remington Ride 4:35
10/31/1999 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
5. Lester Poem 1:16
6. Exodus 8:23
7. Lester :55
8. Octopus’s Garden 2:42
9. Lester 1:35
10. Under African Skies 7:41
11. Lester :52
12. Down Under 2:32
13. Lester 2:06
14. Pirates 12:05

Disc 3
10/31/1999 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
1. Land’s End 10:26
2. Best Feeling 20:26
3. Jellyfish 14:04
4. Land’s End :50
5. Big Halloween Jam 7:45
6. Glory Chords 12:36
7. Restless Wind 12:30

Disc 4
10/31/2000 State Theatre, Portland, ME
1. Land’s End 10:37
2. Walking on the Moon 8:41
3. Come Together 6:02
4. Wedge 6:39
5. Get Down Tonight 7:57
BONUS CONTENT
10/31/2000 State Theatre, Portland, ME
6. Turn This Around 9:21
7. Lost 7:19
8. Jam 9:36
9. Come As You Are 12:56

Disc 5
10/31/2001 New York, NY
1. Train 1:03
2. Sweet Georgia Brown 3:00
3. Train :49
4. Instant Karma 3:41
5. Train :54
6. New York, New York 3:13
7. Train 1:01
8. So What 5:45
9. Train 1:15
10. No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn 6:23
11. Shakedown Street 12:39
12. Howard 14:17

Disc 6
10/31/2001 New York, NY
1. ‘Round the Wheel 23:00
2. Good Times Around The Bend 5:34
3. Joyful Sound 8:53
4. Land’s End 5:55
5. Big Apple Jam 7:02
6. Glory Chords 7:02
7. Texas 15:41

Disc 7
10/31/2002 Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA
1. Rod Roddy :39
2. LA Woman 10:41
3. Rod Roddy :24
4. Tightrope 5:00
5. Rod Roddy :16
6. Smells Like Teen Spirit 6:29
7. Rod Roddy :27
8. Fire/Voodoo Child (Slight Return) 9:13
9. Rod Roddy :13
10. We Are the Champions 4:11
BONUS CONTENT
10/31/2002 Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA
11. My Way 5:38
12. Orange Blossom Special 7:15
13. Dirk 11:11
14. Miss Brown’s Teahouse 17:38

Disc 8
10/31/2003 Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, NV
1. Welcome to the Freak Show 4:35
2. Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite! 5:28
3. Hot in Here 10:40
4. War Pigs 9:53
5. Jam 3:49
6. Money 5:35
7. Freeker by the Speaker 12:58

Disc 9
10/31/2004 Exhibition Center @ Alliant Energy Center, Madison, WI
1. Peace Train 5:33
2. Rock the Casbah 4:13
3. I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag 5:34
4. Rockin’ in the Free World 4:26
5. Revolution 4:04
6. Jam 7:09
7. Howard Jam :50
8. Rockin’ in the Free World (reprise) 2:16
BONUS CONTENT
10/29/2005 Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, NV
9. Hey Pocky Way 9:09
10. Thriller 16:51