Sixteen years ago The String Cheese Incident headlined the Big Summer Classic Tour, which also featured longtime and frequent Cheese collaborator Keller Williams, among other acts. For the tour finale on this date in 2005 at Ives Concert Park in Danbury, Connecticut, both SCI and K-Dub delivered interlocking, guest and cover-filled sets.
Keller kicked off his frame with “Thin Mint” into “Portapotty” followed by a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street.” Williams also welcomed Big Summer Classic tour mate Michael Franti for some rapping on “Swing.” After “Mental Brunette Instra,” SCI’s Michael Kang added fiddle to the title track of Cheese and Williams’ 1999 collaborative album, Breathe. Keller would continue with John Prine’s “Illegal Smile” and closed out his set proper with “Bath Of Fire.”
Williams would stay on and initiate a jam to begin the Cheese set with members of the band trickling in. Keller stayed on to lead the band through his own “Fuel For The Road.” Williams departed as Cheese got into “Lonesome Fiddle Blues” by legendary fiddler Vassar Clements. The rocking rarity “Swampy Waters” followed. Cheese only played the tune 12 times in 2004 and 2005, as per Friends of Cheese, but it was fitting as the show was infamous for having a collection of swampy looking water between the crowd and the stage. “Swampy Waters” then led into the Stanley Brothers “How Mountain Girls Can Love” followed by “45th Of November,” “Smile” and “Desert Dawn.” A pairing of “Sand Dollar” and “Texas” closed out the set.
For the encore, the bassists on the Big Summer Classic Tour — Keith Moseley (SCI), Ryan Stasik (Umphrey’s McGee), Ben Bernstein (New Monsoon), Carl Young (Spearhead) and Keller Williams — got together for the Spinal Tap classic “Big Bottom.” The Tap original features Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins and Derek Smalls all on bass. Then, all Big Summer Classic performers assembled for Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved” to bring the tour to a close.
Listen to Keller Williams and SCI’s interlocking sets from Danbury below:
Keller Williams
SCI
[Originally Published: July 24, 2020]
