Red Rocks

Most people who know me would not understand if I didn't post about my favorite place on earth...  Red Rocks Ampitheater in Morrison, Colorado.  Having grown up in Denver, Red Rocks was THE place to spend your summers at concerts, or going up there just "to party" when there wasn't a show going on.  The great thing about Red Rocks is it's a public park owned and operated by the City and County of Denver.  So, it's an open space that is free to the public any other time than on show days....

Back in the day Red Rocks offered an amazing experience (it still does but the rules of the game have changed).  Red Rocks didn't have a liquor license ever.  That has since changed, but I'm still talking about the good old days.  The first 20 rows were all GA, followed by a narrow section of reserved then the back row were GA as well.  The parking lots opened at 10am on show days, the gates opened at 2pm on weekends and 4pm on weekdays.  You made a day of it.  A Red Rocks Day.  When peple asked what were doing on you said you're going to see Steve Miller at Red Rocks, then they knew you gone for the day.

They didn't care what you brought in, as long as it wasn't glass.  The rest was open for interpretation.  The day would start on getting supplied for the day.  Food, drinks, ice, maybe a hacky sack or something.  You would go and park and hang in the parking lot for a while.  Then you would catch just enough of a buzz to determine it was time to make the climb.  You had 2 choices to make the climb depending on where your seats were stairs or ramps.  Both were brutal especially if you had blankets, and various containers of beverages you're keeping cold.  Once you get to the gate you're now ready to make a run for it once they open.  During this time, there is more hanging out, you meet strangers, you may even see friends there, but you have lunch, and kinda chill.  Knowing that the next step is and it will determine your seats for the show.

Once the gates opened, the rush was on!  Tickets taken, bags and blankets checked for glass.  Then you would start at the bottom of the venue find you seats.  If was done properly, you were in the first 5 rows everytime, the first 2 if you were there early enough.  I was lucky enough to sit in the first 10 rows for most of the those days...  First row for Stevie Nicks once, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley(row 2), and lots of others.  I fell during Soundgarden and busted my knew wide open, moshed during Metal Church when they opened for Judas Priest, took dates there and puched my wife in the accidentally while grooving to Stone Temple Pilots (we were just friends at the time, but yet still married me!).  I've sat in the top rows and viewed the sklyline of Denver only 20 miles off in the distance, and once I fell out of the back of a pick-up truck and landed on ly feet...  magical place indeed.

If you were going to see somebody you REALLY liked this was the day...  You planned it, executed it, and lived it!  It added to the actual show experience.  There is NOT a bad seat at Red Rocks, but front row is front row!  This has mostly gone away these days...  Reserved seating for mostly all shows, Coors now has a piece of it (so they serve Coors products), and just like EVERYWHERE else the same rules apply.  They've also manage to add a gift shop and restaurant within the venue itself.  So, I won't say the've ruined it, but please stop messing with perfection! 

I encourage everybody to at least once and see band there!  Alot of bands have made their Live DVD's here, and it's no wonder.  The Beatles have played here, and every Easter Sunday Sunrise Service is breathtaking!  I've attended a wedding the chapel there once, climbed the rocks, and even got attacked by a racoon up there while hanging out...  It's Red Rocks, and it's awesome!   

-MD