String Cheese Incident jams

I almost got trampled by a fan who could not wait to see the String Cheese Incident play at the IU Auditorium Thursday night.\nIt was reminiscent of Union Station during rush hour -- people everywhere, except everyone was in good spirits. People outside, pushing and crowding to get in, people just inside the doors, fumbling for their tickets and barely pausing long enough to get their hands stamped.\nAnd once inside the Auditorium there were people dancing. Enthusiastic fans were bouncing, bobbing, weaving, jamming, grooving or at least tapping their feet to the distinctive beats of the String Cheese Incident.\nHaving never seen or heard the band, I was not sure of what to expect. All I knew was the band had some loyal fans, as more and more friends told me they knew people coming into town for the show. Homecoming might have been Saturday, but Thursday night, the population of Bloomington swelled a little in anticipation.\nWhat I had expected of the night was, as it was reported, a mixture of bluegrass, psychedelic, hip-hop and a few sounds in between. But surely the String Cheese Incident had only one area of expertise -- perhaps it would lay down some awesome reggae beats and throw in a mediocre jazz or blues piece.\nWas I ever wrong.\nThe band started the night out with some mean bluegrass finger-picking and some authentic southern fiddle playing. I couldn't have been more impressed, and neither could the audience. Although it looked more like a group of Grateful Dead fans than the Charlie Daniels Band fans, the audience appreciated the pure country-influenced sound.\nFor the rest of the night, the String Cheese Incident took us on a roller-coaster ride through its repertoire. Just when we had settled in to the jazzy bluegrass sound, it switched the instruments and mixed it up with a little hip-hop. This, in turn, bled into a psychedelic jam session, reminiscent of a Doors song, which, in turn, morphed into bouncy rock and roll, usually with a distinctive reggae beat.\nThe best thing about the music of the String Cheese Incident is that it is purely their own. While I heard little snippets of Phish, Bob Marley, the Doors, Billy Joel and others, the band pulls all the different threads together, for a seamless, unique sound.\nThe performance was complemented with a light show that was absolutely amazing. Colors were varied and vibrant, and shapes took on everything from psychedelic swirls to sharp, edgy spikes of light. The obviously well-rehearsed technical show was perfectly in sync with the talented musicians on stage.\nBetween Thursday's show and last year's performance at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., I'll safely assume that the String Cheese Incident is amassing quite a following in the Bloomington area. I already know of people who are making the long haul to Oregon for the band's New Year's concerts and celebration.\nIU is lucky Union Board brought the String Cheese Incident to campus this fall. I can only hope they'll be returning soon.\nOregon is a pretty long drive.