When I first heard that The String Cheese Incident was teaming up with Warren Miller's crew to film the 2002 Winter Carnival tour, I was elated. Like many ski enthusiasts, I have grown up admiring Warren Miller's films and dreaming of those magnificent heli-drops he captures so well. His infamous commentary, dry and monotone, plays such a contrast to the breathtaking imagery and chilling steeps he displays. It seemed only natural that his crew would eventually depict the tension/release relationship shared by both skiing and music by featuring the Cheese. The band's history has always been tied to Colorado winters, and the film captures the strong connection to their ski lift origins.
Following the band from the Fillmore in Denver to the slopes of Vail and the bars of Crested Butte, the film develops into a structured documentary full of reminiscent stories and band beginnings. In order to inspire the band, and generate the feelings of times gone past, they ride the short mountain tour in "Bussy", the old, converted ski bus the Cheese retired in the late 90s. She is a perfect backdrop for the spirit and principles the band was founded on. Although many of the anecdotes and remembrances happen on the bus, perhaps the best "behind the scenes" dialog occurs backstage at the Fillmore. A constant battle within many Cheese fan circles is the development of the band away from the
bluegrass roots to the more prominent focus on funk and groove. As they create the night's setlist, soundman Jon O'Leary begins pointing to the sheet saying which songs they should perform more often. When it gets a rise out of the band, JonO explains he is just "looking at it as a complete fan of yours before you got to funky". The tongue and cheek continues with some humorous comments and ribbing that show the strong comradery within the band.
Waiting For The Snow To Fall does allow an insiders look at the colorful history of the Cheese, though it doesn't provide the amount of ski footage a Warren Miller stamp would lead you to believe. In conjunction, it also has a very limited amount of the concert footage one would expect. There are snippets of both throughout the film, but a majority of these aspects are attached as DVD special features. For spills, the Colorado Crashes section shows some classic wipeouts with Billy taking a nice faceplant on his teles. That one is worth the slow pause. The Live Cheese section offers full versions of crowd favorite "Miss Brown's Teahouse" and the newer song "BAM!" both performed at the Fillmore. For those looking to play director, there is a multiangle option for both songs that allow the viewer to switch between four different camera shots. It is entertaining, but doubtful that is would be utilized more than once or twice.
This rare look at the early days, and the places and faces that formed this unique community is essential for the avid fan, but will also provide a foundation for the uninitiated. Full of tour stories, one-on-one interviews, bar shots, tequila shots and pee shots, the DVD unveils the essence of the what makes the Cheese experience such an eclectic collection of musicians and friends. Back in Travis' apartment in Crested Butte, Billy tells a story culminating with what String Cheese, and in doing so, the movie, are all about. He explains his thought process as "well I'll go to Crested Butte and have one last year of ski bumming before I...really get my life together, ya know...". Keith pipes in "How many times did you say that?", to which Billy replies "Well I'm still sayin' it".
For those looking for more live Cheese than this DVD has to offer, SCI Fidelity plans to release a full length SCI concert DVD of the 3.23.02 Fillmore show this summer.
