Unless it’s “Free Bird,” it is not a good idea for a song to be longer than 10 or 12 minutes. But apparently this rule doesn’t apply to the hippie jam rockers The String Cheese Incident. The band had the audience wanting more of their lengthy bluegrass-inspired ballads when they played at the Hult Center on Monday night.
A smoky haze rose to the rafters of the concert hall as The String Cheese Incident played crowd favorites like “Rhythm of the Road” and “Smile.” Their Velveeta vibe kept the audience grooving like a giant amoeba during the long sets.
Dreadlocks spun and arms twirled as the Boulder, Colo., group jammed on and on and on. And although the music got a bit monotonous at times, there is something to be said about a musician that can play his or her instrument for 45 minutes straight.
Audience members seemed to be hypnotized by the musicianship of the group. Or maybe there was something in the air that kept everyone — including someone in a bear suit — out of their seats and dancing in a state of blissful rapture.
For the encore, the group debuted the song “Just Passing Through.”
Although for me, the music left something to be desired, there was no denying the intense, summer-of-love atmosphere that could be felt all the way up to the balconies.