jackson@curium.DEC (09/10/85)
Just got back from Red Rocks, and i thought I'd share my experiences with the rest of you netheads. Seeing the Dead at Red Rocks was something I have wanted to do ever since I first heard about it back in 1978. Now that I've seen them there, I would strongly consider seeing them there again. Yep, it was great! I expected the place to be great. It was better than I expected. The rock formations that enclose the amphitheatre are just wild. What shall we say, shall we call it by a name? On top of that, you have a superb view of Denver behind the stage to the left, and a fabulous view of the valley and more red rock formations to the right. Besides the amazing scenery, the crowd was real mellow and friendly and the sun was yellow and the sky was blue. In fact, the sun was so strong that I had to stand in the shade for most of the first 2 shows (there are trees inside the amphitheater). I really have to wonder how the band was able to stand out there in the sun and play for 3 hours. The music they played sounded more laid back than at any shows in recent memory, and I attribute that to the hot sun (the shows were all at 2 P.M.). The first show was a standard, solid Dead show. The show was longer than most that I've seen recently, about 3 hours and 40 minutes from start to end. The highlights of the show were real good versions of "Let It Grow", "Scarlet/Fire", and especially "Eyes of the World". The song list follows: Cold Rain and Snow CC Rider Candyman Beat It On Down the Line Stagger Lee Me & My Uncle -> Big River Fennario Let It Grow -- Scarlet Begonias -> Fire on the Mountain Estimated Prophet -> Eyes of the World -> jam -> drums -> space -> Gimme Some Lovin' -> Wharf Rat -> Sugar Magnolia -- brokedown Brokedown Brokedown Palace The encore started with just Jerry strumming the opening chords to Brokedown Palace, with Brent joining in for the intro. Suddenly, Jerry changed keys about 4 times, and each time his singing became more and more out of tune with his guitar. He was really sounding pretty pathetic when Weir stepped up to his mike and said, "I think we ought to start over." They took it from the top, with the whole band playing on the intro this time. Funny, that's the second consecutive show I've seen where they had to start "Brokedown Palace" over again. After the show was the nethead party at Jon Corbet's apartment in Boulder. About 10 people showed up and we had lots of fun drinking John's home brew while listening to tapes and talking. Once again Jon, thank you for a real good time! The next day was spent hanging out with 2 netheads I met out there, Rea and Roy. Before the show, we went to the campground where many Deadheads were hanging out, and just walked around and mingled. The show itself was real short (2 hours and 40 minutes elapsed time), and the band sounded real drained from the sun, but it was a rather enjoyable experience nonetheless. The songs were: Hell in a Bucket -> Sugaree It's All Over Now Bird Song El Paso Don't Ease Me In -- Iko, Iko Looks Like Rain He's Gone -> Spoonful -> drums/space -> The Wheel -> Black Peter -> Throwin' Stones -> Not Fade Away -- U.S. Blues They ended Not Fade Away by fading away, and that left the crowd singing "You know our love will not fade away" right up until the band started playing "U.S. Blues". After the show, Rea, Roy, and I hung out at Red Rocks admiring the view of the sun setting over the valley, despite the fact that the park was closing. After we finally got kicked out, we drove up to nearby Lookout Mountain were we saw the tail end of the sunset, and then enjoyed a spectacular view of Denver at night. This was the most fun day I've had in a long time. The highlight of the third day was unquestionably the show itself. The weather was a bit cooler and there were passing clouds in the sky to give the band a break from the sun. This was the final day of a great festival, and the band was up to the occasion. The show started with some very strange goings-on that you will certainly want to have on tape. As the band was tuning up, Bobby announced that there was some maintenance being done. He then started talking into the mike with the digital delay turned on. He announced that, in observance of this special occasion, he was going to play a song. After warning us that he wasn't sure if he even knew the words, he began to play what I was told is an old folk song called "The Frozen Logger". He was joined briefly by Phil for some truly awful sounding harmony vocals. Then Mickey came out with this bicycle horn and started tooting it in rhythm to the song. Weir kept on going, occasionally pausing to think about the words, then informing us that he was skipping a verse, and finally quitting because he couldn't remeber any more. But that wasn't it! They band then started making weird space noises that evolved into a rather dissonant version of "The Star Spangled Banner". Then the show started. They played: Missippi 1/2 Step Uptown Toodeloo -> Minglewood Brown-Eyed Women Brother Esau -> Loser Dupree's Diamond Blues One More Saturday Night -- Shakedown Street -> Crazy Fingers -> Samson and Delilah Uncle John's Band -> Playing in the Band -> jam -> drums/space -> Dear Mr. Fantasy -> Hey Jude excerpt -> Dear Mr. Fantasy -> Truckin' -> Comes a Time -> Lovelight -- Johnny B. Goode -> It's All Over Now, Baby Blue The first set was real energetic, with Bobby playing some mean guitar throughout. Everyone agreed that it was a great version of Dupree's. What can I say about the second set? "Uncle John's Band" was laid back, beatiful, and melodic, and is still buzzing through my head 2 days later. "Comes a Time" was sung with such soul that I almost started crying. It sounded as though he was singing a personal message to each of us. He also did a great job singing "Baby Blue". In fact, the singing was great throughout, except that Brent sang solo on most of "Dear Mr. Fantasy", and I didn't really like that. He surprised us all, though, by leading the band into the "na, na, na, na, nananana, hey Jude" chant in the middle of "Fantasy". As an aside, this marked 23rd consecutive show I've been to without hearing "Touch of Gray". How long can it continue? The plane home was filled with Deadheads, as was the plane out there. As we arrived in Newark Airport, where most of the Heads got off, the flight attendant followed the usual "Thanks for flying People Express" annoncement with "and a special thanks to the fans of the Grateful Dead. Keep on truckin'!" As you can tell, Dead on the Rocks was great fun. I think I'm satisfied. At least until Worcester! -- "Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile" Seth