I will speak of both of these shows as one, because that is how I remember it. One big fuzzy blur…what a treat for a Midwestern Cheese head like myself to get the chance to see Cheese playing in their own backyard. I have been seeing these guys since ’97, and they just seem to get better and better as time goes by. The venue was magnificent, nestled in the Rocky Mountains set against the backdrop of Steamboat’s famous ski slopes. Yonder Mountain String Band was one of the openers and they did not disappoint. Playing in their home state as well, they gave an excellent, high energy set for the fans, and helped set the stage for what was to come. Mouna Bowa opener, one of my favorite happy tunes ever. Kang’s fiddle was mesmerizing the crowd like a snake charmer mystifies his snake. Bubbles and hula-hoops were the order of the day as the sun set over the mountains. Earl Scruggs joined the band with his banjo on Think What You’ve Done, and a smokin’ Foggy Mountain Breakdown before they ended the set with the perennial favorite How Mountain Girls Can Love. The second set began where the first left off without missing a beat. Cedar Laurels > Jam > Under African Skies > You See. Under African Skies was especially sick. Everyone began to boogie so hard that an enormous cloud of dust was kicked up so thick that everyone onstage with the exception of Michael Kang was wearing goggles to keep the dust out of their eyes. Black Clouds > Galactic, Black and White > Jam > Black Clouds was the musical journey we were sent on to finish up the second set. If you are even the slightest Cheese fan this show is a must have!!

We camped up on Rabbit Ears Pass (elev. 9,800 ft or so) and it gets COLD at night. It was near 100 degrees during the day, and dropped into the 40s that night. We got back to the venue early the next day to catch the legend, James Brown’s performance. Many of the local ski town yuppies showed up for “The Godfather“. Dressed in a sparkling blue Suit, along with his band in blue tuxedoes, I was waiting for someone onstage to collapse from heat exhaustion. While The Godfather of Soul let the band and a couple of guest singers perform for most of his set, every time he let out a little UUUNNNNGGGHHH, HIT ME, YEAH we all went crazy. (You really can feel him hit you, ya know) By the time Cheese took the stage and started with a Can’t Stop Now opener, the skies had transformed themselves into a site like no other I have experienced at any show before. (The chocolate is good in Colorado) The sun was setting blood red over the mountains behind the stage. As this was going on, off in the distance their was a stationary lightning storm that was shooting lightning horizontally across the blood red sky, as a bald eagle circled the stage surveying the craziness. Even the band spent time with their back to the crowd surveying this beautiful sight. Opener Corey Harris joined the band onstage for a sweet When the Blues Want Somebody.

They gathered momentum as the band finished out the first set with Bend Down Low > Jam > Way Back Home. Second set blew up from the start with a Blackberry Blossom that featured a couple of saxophones along with some vocals from Michelle Shocked. Miss Brown’s Teahouse followed with a vengeance as they took a turn in the middle of the jam for Chameleon, back into Miss Brown’s to the crowd’s approval as everyone sang along. To finish up the second set we were treated to a River trance that just exploded across the valley, finally finishing up with one of the best Shine’s I’ve heard in quite some time. To end the night we were treated to a Hey Pocky Way encore. Sweet.

See Cheese in Colorado if you get the chance. You won’t regret it, and the Kids I met out west were all real, true, fans. My Redrocks review may follow, I put a picture from Redrocks in anyways, just because I think it’s cool.

7/3/2002 The Meadows - Steamboat Springs, CO (Wed.)

1: Mouna Bowa, On the Road, Think of What You've Done¹, Foggy Mountain Breakdown¹, It Is What It Is, Joyful Sound > Jam² > Remington Ride² > How Mountain Girls Can Love²

2: Cedar Laurels > Jam > Under African Skies > Yo Se, Weary Homesick Blues, Black Clouds > Galactic, Black and White > Jam^ > Black Clouds

E: Windy Mountain* > Jam > Dirk**

Guests: ¹ with Jeff Austin on mandolin and Earl Scruggs on banjo (without Travis and without Kyle on Think of What You've Done) ² with John Jorgenson on guitar

Notes: ^ with Sittin' on Top of the World teases * unfinished ** with Lonesome Fiddle Blues teases Opening Acts: Yonder Mountain String Band, Earl Scruggs Family and Friends

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7/4/2002 The Meadows - Steamboat Springs, CO (Thu.)

1: Can't Stop Now, Lost > Jam > Rhum 'n' Zouc, When the Blues Want Somebody¹, Restless Wind, Bend Down Low > Jam > Way Back Home

2: Blackberry Blossom², Miss Brown's Teahouse > Chameleon³ > Miss Brown's Teahouse, Blue Bossa, Midnight Moonlight, Rivertrance > I've Just Seen a Face* > Shine

E: Hey Pocky Way

Guests: ¹ with Corey Harris on guitar and vocals (title tentative - Corey Harris original or cover) ² with Michelle Shocked on vocals ³ with Jeff Watkins and Leroy Harper on saxophone

Notes: * with Get Back teases Only Time Played: Blackberry Blossom (Michelle Shocked original from the album Arkansas Traveler, with lyrics, not the "usual" SCI version) Opening Acts: Corey Harris, Michelle Shocked, James Brown