By: Kristine Lambert
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Ship Rock at Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Photo by August Miller
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As our car wound through the curvy roads in the foothills of the Rockies, I could feel the excitement in my gut. I was going to Red Rocks. I was psyched to see Willie Nelson play, but my pre-show jitters weren’t just for Willie but for my first time at “The Rocks.” I’ve wanted to see a concert there ever since I ran my U2 Under a Blood Red Sky record ragged. In my mind, I kept dreaming of Bono yelling: “This is the Edge!” and hearing that famous “Gloria” guitar solo. We discussed what Willie would play, and talked about how he is not only a great songwriter himself, but also how his covers of other artists like Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash still have that unique laid back Willie phrasing.
We parked the car and began our half-mile crawl up to the mountain venue. Concert-goers smiled at each other and wished each other a great show. The crowd thickened as we reached the base of the stairs which seemed to ascend another half-mile. By the time we reached the bottom of the amphitheatre, the Yonder Mountain String Band was just finishing.
The venue is a space separate from the surrounding landscape. The bowl is carved out of ancient rock formations with two sandstone monoliths at the top of either side. To the south there is Ship Rock; and, to the north there is Creation Rock. These red rock cliffs provide the natural border for the theatre itself. The noise of the crowd was like nothing I have heard. The natural acoustics allowed sound to roll through the hills.
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Creation Rock - Photo by August Miller
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We made our way to the seats and Willie walked on stage. He greeted his fans by taking off his hat and bowing, seeming to revere his audience as much as we adored him. It reminded me of what he said in his autobiography about how he made contact with his first audiences: “Once I found a friendly face, I would sing to that person all night long. I would zero in and make heavy contact with their spirit. And it would grow. The flash of energy between me and the one friendly face would reflect into others, and it would keep growing…before long I would have the whole crowd caught up in my music and me.”
He started out with “Whiskey River.” I heard a little bit of Jerry Garcia when I closed my eyes and focused on the guitar weaving in perfect conjunction with the harmonica. The crowd was more like that of a Dead show than any I’ve experienced since Garcia’s demise. People were dancing and there was patchouli in the air. There was also a discernable weed presence—not just ditch weed, but Colorado kind bud. It was a great hippie vibe.
The stage presentation was stripped-down; the performance focused on the music—that, along with The Rocks, was the show. The band was hanging out close together on a rug in the middle of the stage. It seemed as though the band decided to get together and jam; they just happened to be doing it at Red Rocks. Willie and the band busted into the pure country “Good Hearted Woman,” followed by “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” which laid down solid guitar picking and a mournful background harmonica. The instruments of “Blue Eyes” fused perfectly with Willie’s guitar playing the lead. “Georgia” next proved how Willie can take any song and make it his own with his nonchalant phrasing and lazy harmonica. And, yes, he played Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee.”
After a while, my boyfriend and I made our way up the mountain to see the pavilion at the top. It’s a nice place to chill, go for a respite from the show and take in some history. There are little presentations of the various bands that have played at The Rocks. Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the Allman Brothers Band were all represented. There was a display of U2 with a picture of Bono in full mullet hoisting a “Sunday Bloody Sunday” white flag of surrender. There was even Beatles memorabilia from their show in 1964.
The monitors embedded in the floor were broadcasting the show. When I heard Willie start “On the Road Again,” I dragged my boyfriend down the mountain as quickly as possible to be with our friends. Of course it was almost over by the time we got there and “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before” began. This song brought out the worst in everyone. There was definitely a palpable mood change, but, alas, no cameo by Julio. I’d been waiting for him to play “City of New Orleans.” And when he began, a hush flowed over the audience that was followed by an anxious energy. Willie didn’t extrapolate on the song. He did a somber yet strict interpretation of it, bowed his head at the end and went right into the next song.
Location Info:
Red Rocks Ampitheater
Artist Info: Willie Nelson
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