Bill Kreutzman Signing Posters
Billy's Artwork
The Dead at Red Rocks Amphitheater
Tour Book Entry #2
6/16/04 - Day 2
After a wonderful first night, what could the Dead possible do to top it? The
day started out very dreary, the cold rain finally joined the wind and created a
fog settling over the mountains and descending upon the amphitheater. We got to
the venue early enough to get out of the weather and go check out the new
visitor's center where Billy was having an art show. He has some wonderful,
colorful pieces that I would've loved to purchase but unfortunately they were
out my price range. He was signing autographs, shaking hands and getting his
picture taken with all the appreciative heads.
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Bill Kreutzman Signing Posters |
Billy's Artwork |
While waiting in line the day before, we learned the secret of getting into Red Rocks from a really nice guy from Boulder. There's an entrance at the top that hardly anyone uses so we checked it out on the second day and sure enough there was only a couple of tapers in line. Then as usual in Dead land, the circle came around again when our friend Mick, who told us about the gate the day before, showed up to be with his friend Ken in front of us. We stood in line for 2 hours, braving the wind and rain, making new friends and having good conversations that made the time pass less miserably. We ended up much closer than the night before, in the sweet sound spot right next to the sound board. We also ran into another friend, Shelby, who was escorting her handicap friend that had front row seats. I gave my camera to Shelby's boyfriend Andrew Norton for the first set so thanks to him, the pictures from tonight are outstanding!
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The Dead did not disappoint at all, another fine set list, featuring new interpretations of classics like Half-Step, After Midnight, and a scorching Just A Little Light to close the first set. There was a completely different feel to the night, the power of the amphitheater not as strong as the music. The songs resonating more with my emotions and forcing me to reflect about friends and family. Half-Step about my disagreements with some of my siblings, No More Do I about how much I love my wife, Death Don't Have No Mercy about my father's ongoing battle with cancer and Golden Road to remind us how great it is to be able to join the party with your new found friends. Its been said that there is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert and it still holds true for me on many levels. Once in a while you can get shown the light, you just need to check out of the hectic day to day struggle and listen to the music play!
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If you've looked around the rest of my web site you probably discovered my strong connection to the Juggling Suns, a great under recognized jam band from New Jersey with a wonderful family of fans. One of the Juggling fan's dreams is to see them break out of the East coast, hit the big time, and play places like Red Rocks! Tonight near the end of No More Do I, an Eleanor Rigby tease emerged which immediately made me think of my favorite guitarist, Mark Diomede, slipping the same melody into one of his jams. A little later in the set, I got a double take when After Midnight appeared, it being one of the signature songs sung by Mark and his wife Brianne when he first started doing acoustic Mark & Friends shows. I wish Juggling could have been the opening act instead of Warren but they were certainly there in spirit for a few moments!
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The second set opened with a real surprise. When I first heard the notes of Cortez The Killer, I couldn't believe the Dead were going to cover a Neil Young classic but sure enough it developed into a full blown version with Warren singing sweet and Jimmy soaring when it was his turn to step out. Not a blow your ears out version like Crazy Horse would do but a great start to our last set of music.
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The Rhythm Devils laid down a more subdued Drums this night, Mickey didn't bother to put on the lab coat and goggles to play the beam, not spending much time shaking the foundation.
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Phil made up for short Drums by dropping a nice bomb leading into The Other One. He along with the drummers are definitely the main ingredients in the X factor that makes or breaks a good show for me, when Phil is on, we get to a whole other level.
The first night I got the dream encore of Ripple, one of my all time favorite songs which I never had the pleasure of hearing Jerry perform live. Tonight to send us out on the long 300+ mile road back home to Ouray, we were treated to a double encore of Going Down The Road followed by We Bid You Goodnight. The boys sure looked happy when they gathered onstage to lead the crowd in this sing along and take a final bow after another outstanding performance.
It took 25 years to get to Red Rocks and it was certainly an unforgettable experience. I highly recommend catching a show there or just visiting the area to experience the grandeur of this magical place. I'm confident that like me, you won't be disappointed!!!
Here's a short video clip of Golden Road (2.4MB)
Set 1:
Jam>
Feel Like A Stranger
Mississippi Half-Step>
No More Do I>
Alligator>
Lazy River Road
After Midnight>
Jam>
All Along The Watchtower>
Just A Little Light
Set 2:
Jam>
Cortez The Killer>
Night Of A 1000 Stars>
Scarlet Begonias>
Fire On The Mountain>
Drums>
Space>
The Other One> Jam
Death Don't Have No Mercy>
Jam>
Golden Road>
Lucy In The Sky>
Midnight Hour
Encore:
Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad>
We Bid You Goodnight
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