As a grown man, traveling for music is a treat that brings me back to my youth (16-25). I am a married father of four and as such can't travel as much as I did for music in the past but when I do it is a real treat. Since I was young, I have wanted to see a show at Red Rocks but haven't been able to so, when I made up my mind to visit my buddy Todd and his family in Denver and go see Furthur at Red Rocks, I was psyched. To tell the truth, I was more excited about seeing Red Rocks and the mountains and thought Furthur would be a good excuse. The first time, I saw Furthur (at The Gathering of the Vibes), I felt that they were good but not great and made up my mind that I wouldn't be traveling for them again; their appeal was more sentimental than anything else. The second time got better and the third time this was a band that I would possibly travel to see.
Arriving at Red Rocks the grounds are beautiful. Seeing the huge red rocks from the parking lot can make one feel small. It doesn't even look real, more like a set for a Disneyland ride. The parking lot was getting filled with middle aged hippie types, old dead-heads, and a number of younger fans that looked like they belonged there but not a hardcore scene like days of Grateful Dead past. Going to see a show in the West is more mellow than the shows in the East, less yelling and screaming and sloppy partiers. When I was younger, I really liked the East scene but this is more my speed now.
On to the show! On the inside of the venue was simply majestic. The band comes out and opens up with Aiko and sounds great. Back to the seventies era with the Greatest Story Ever Told. Bobby's voice is sounding better than I have heard since the days of the Grateful Dead. Cold Rain and Snow showed us that John Kadlecik has come into his own. While I used to criticize Kadlecik for not being an artist but a craftsman he sounded like a fantastic musician with a good voice. Ramble on Rose was never a song that I got excited about but the version that the band played tonight was filled with energy and jams that were inspired, not contrived. Staying with Kadlecik, Loser sounded fantastic and inspired. As Todd (my host) and I were watching Kadlecik jam, we were discussing how stoked this man must be to go from being part of a Grateful Dead cover band (Okay Dark Star Orchestra is the premier Dead cover band) to being the lead guitar player in Furthur...it was obvious that he feels that way. On to what appears to be a Bob Weir original called Money for Gasoline. Phil Lesh closes the set with Box of Rain. I am not the biggest fan of Phil's voice but was impressed with this Box, he just sounded good. This shouldn't be the only mention of Phil. Phil is the premier and possibly truly the only world class musician in this band. His bass work is not only powerful, it is complex and gives the band the framework they need to get the job done.
Second set and I see a skinny hippie type with a beard on stage. While at first it looks like it could be part of the crew I notice a new microphone on stage. Hmmm, Jackie Greene? No, on closer inspection, it is Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes!!! What a treat! They open up with Bob Dylan's You Ain't Going Nowhere (occasionally covered by the Crowes). On to the more well known blues classic that made the Crowes famous, Hard to Handle. This was incredible. This song is not only a Crowes cover, this song is part of Grateful Dead history. Anyone who hears old covers with Ron "Pigpen" McKernan putting his heart and soul into it knows what I am talking about. They slowed it down still with Chris singing the seldom heard Two Souls in Communion; showing it doesn't have to be fast to be powerful.. Chris Robinson really brought it to Furthur. This combination could create big commercial success. When Chis left, Furthur brought the show back to the psychedelic old school Grateful Dead sound with Cryptical Envelopment> The Other One >Cryptical Envelopment> Wheel>Supplication (Supplication was more of a tease into a hot jam). They slowed it down to a heavy Death Don't Have No Mercy; lots of good Bob Weir screams during Death and Jeff Chimenti ripping it up on the Hammond B3. After sitting down during Death (I'm not that 17 year old kid anymore) they forced me to get back up and dance to the tried and true China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider. Everyone got a piece of China/Rider. Lastly, the band comes back out to encore with fan favorite Attics of My Life.
I really wanted to like this show and the show didn't disappoint. The crowd was right, the band was right and the venue was right. I normally like a small indoor show, where you can have a real connection with the artist but this was something special. The surroundings were beautiful maybe even majestic and the acoustics were borderline perfect. I look forward to tonight's show but am wondering if it can only pale in comparison to last night
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