Photo via The String Cheese Incident’s Facebook

On Sunday night, The String Cheese Incident brought their three-night celebration at Oakland, Calif.’s Fox Theater to a close with an epic three-set New Year’s Eve jubilee. The event was designed to recognize their Pearl Anniversary, with each frame loosely dedicated to a decade of music.

The ensemble started things off gutturally with a “Group Hoot for 30 years!” before they moved into “Smile,” unleashing popping and harmonious strumming as they counted the days. Next came the first pairing of the evening, a jam of “Joyful Sound” > “Born on the Wrong Planet.” Next came “Moonflower,” “Resume Man,” and “Texas” before a run of Tim O’Brien’s “Land’s End” into “Glory Chords” into a frame closing “San Jose.”

The second set started with “Colliding” before unleashing a string of tunes released during the aughts. The jam opened with “Sometimes a River,” which melded into “45th of November” before they rounded out the jam with “One Step Closer.” Next came “Valley of the Jig” before a coupling of “Sirens” into “Desert Dawn,” which brought the frame to a close.

During the third and final set, The String Cheese Incident focused on contemporary material, opening with “Sweet Spot” and “Eventually.” The final song of 2023 came in the form of “Into the Blue,” during which the ball dropped and confetti rained down on the crowd. 2024 started with “All We Got,” followed by “Get Tight,” then a penultimate “The Big Reveal,” followed by closing “Colorado Bluebird Sky.” The band then returned to the stage for an encore of a timeless song, “Hi Ho No Show.”

The String Cheese Incident
Fox Theater – Oakland, Calif.
Dec. 31, 2023

Set I: Group Hoot for 30 years!, Smile (Billy & Liza cover), Joyful Sound > Born on the Wrong Planet, Moonflower, Resume Man, Texas, Land’s End (Tim O’Brien cover) > Glory Chords > San Jose

Set II: Colliding, Sometimes a River > 45th of November > One Step Closer, Valley of the Jig, Sirens > Desert Dawn

Set III: Sweet Spot, Eventually, Into the Blue (Ball Drop), All We Got, Get Tight, The Big Reveal, Colorado Bluebird Sky

Enc.: Hi Ho No Show