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The Winter Carnival Returns Home

© John Manuele

String Cheese Incident- Fillmore, Auditorium, Denver, CO 2/17/01 On the Friday of any workweek it has always been tough to muster even a minimal amount of effort. With the String Cheese Incident’s final performance of a three day Colorado blast (culminating at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium the next day), I virtually slept-walked through all job related responsibilities. The prospect of going to a show at any place named Fillmore was intriguing. The three of us (myself, roommate Bill, and friend Fee) were pretty fresh for knowledge about this venue since none of us had been there before. Some of the earliest taped bootlegs I had ever listened to, were Grateful Dead shows recorded at the original music hall in San Francisco. What had started as a turn of the century dancehall, owned by socialite Emma Gates, gained notoriety through the growing bohemian counter-culture movement of the mid 1960’s that had sprung from the nearby Haight-Ashbery neighborhood. Certainly Denver’s version lacked much of the historical depth of its predecessor, but to what degree I was uncertain. Once we passed the Mile High Stadium’s (of past and future) we were in the clear. After some maneuvering down Colfax Ave, we knew that we were getting closer because of the growing legion of fans walking to the doors. The old Mammoth Auditorium (from which the name Fillmore had replaced in 1998) possessed a distinct architectural style, which stood out nicely against the adjacent city bars and chain restaurants. All four spread out corners had a steeple like tower that had been decorated nicely with a sharply painted trim. If there was any drawback to this location, it was that it lacked a spacious parking lot. Those accommodations were usually reserved to plush countryside concerts during the summer, and not in a cold, urban environment. As a result, most of the usual activity associated with a show was happening on the streets and sidewalks of the city blocks closest to the venue. We needed to stay in the advanced ticket line before doing anything however. Bill had to pick up his tickets at the will-call window next to the door. A sizable number of people walked by us as we stood in line. Many were holding out their fingers to indicate how many tickets they needed. Many of the people closest to us were carrying huge bags with recording devices inside. At first, their equipment appeared deceiving. I momentarily wondered in confusion ‘why these guys were bringing camping gear into the show.’ When common sense later prevailed, I ended up striking up a conversation with a few of these tapers. Rory K(not real name), from Chicago, was one that person that stuck out in particular. His sophisticated Schepps recording equipment and hyperscript mikes had “cost more than his car.” This apparently made him the subject of some light ridicule amongst his family and friends. In many ways he had the appearance of any regular weekend warrior, and not the traditional neo-hippie look many people would expect to see around a band like this. Like many people here, he had an incredible enthusiasm for them that was easily shared by some of the most diehard heads that also stood in line. This was close to his thirtieth String Cheese show.

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