Climbing Narrow Stairs at Red Rocks
In legendary concert lore, only the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden can compete with Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre. These three venues are the Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Wrigley Field of rock. While I sadly failed to witness a show at the Hollywood Bowl during my two years in L.A., it took me less than 10 months to see Red Rocks.
Sarah and I ended our school year with a Red Rocks pilgrimage to see the indie-rock champion Death Cab for Cutie. (Strange name, I know. They are named after a 1967 song by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.) Only a 15-minute drive west of our apartment, it wasn't hard to see why the natural outdoor amphitheatre receives legendary status. Red Rocks is certainly not your average concert venue.
Acoustics architectured by God. A huge, tilted rock sits behind the stage.
The signature red rock angles up from stage right, and several large boulders
angle up from stage left.
First of all, the climb up to the action makes you wonder how Jerry Garcia or his deadheads ever found the lung capacity to witness so many shows. And they weren't alone in making the climb into Red Rocks lore. Some claim the Ute tribe used this gift from God, but the first documented performance took place in 1906. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Carpenters, Sonny & Cher, Stevie Nicks, America, Rush, and The Dave Matthews Band have all contributed with historic visits. The 1971 "Riot at Red Rocks" involving a few hundred over-zealous Jethro Tull fans resulted in a 5-year ban on rock shows. Hopefully the tear gas will not make another guest appearance when the band returns this August.
However, it was June 5, 1983 when both my little sister, Erin, and the ultimate Red Rocks moment were born. U2 electrified a cold, rain-soaked crowd with a performance for the ages. U2's Under a Blood Red Sky video forever cemented the epic event in rock history. So when you mention Red Rocks, the image of a mullet-topped Bono planting a white flag of truce in the audience after an extended version of Sunday Bloody Sunday is immediately brought to mind for most rock fans.
Eight days before the 25-year anniversary of this iconic moment, Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard made the obligatory reference to Bono's white flag. Gibbard said that the band considered their Red Rocks appearance a career highlight... and they played like it.
One of my favorite nights in Los Angeles involved Death Cab for Cutie. Looking at a long Saturday night of grading papers, my housemate Marshall and I took a break to go grab a bite to eat. After discussing KCRW's "Night of Eclectic Music" concert that began an hour earlier, we found ourselves taking a spontaneous turn onto the L.A.'s freeways en route to Universal Amphitheatre. Twenty-five minutes later we were scalping a couple tickets and finding our seats before Ben Harper took the stage. At the time, Death Cab was on the cover of every rock magazine in the country and were the headliners saved for the grand finale. However, KCRW unveiled a ridiculous surprise guest performance in the form of the heavyweight band Franz Ferdinand. The crowd lost their mind as the 90-pounds-a-piece British rockers jumped off speakers while blowing the roof off. Ben Gibbard & Co. had to feel like John Kerry having to follow Barack Obama's speech at the '04 DNC.
With no risk of being upstaged in Denver, Death Cab channeled their Red Rocks inspiration into a great show. Their new album, Narrow Stairs, is receiving some early "Album of the Year" consideration from the critics. (although a certain record due out on the 17th might have something to say about that!). While the band nailed their single, I Will Possess Your Heart, Gibbard blamed their failure to resonate with my favorite song (Long Division) on too many words for the thin air.
We didn't take this photo - our seats weren't that good!
With the album only 2 weeks old, most of the new songs were too fresh to really get the crowd going. But with a litany of hits to fall back on, they had no trouble amping up the energy. The crowd became a 9,000 plus member back-up choir on classics like New Year, Soul Meets Body, I Will Follow You into the Dark, Sound of Settling, and Marching Bands of Manhattan. This is where the band separates themselves with some meaningful substance in their lyrics to go with their style. The encore made Sarah happy with her favorite - What Sarah Said (go figure)- and they ended with an amazing jam session after Transatlanticism.
The boys from Seattle provided a show worthy of our first visit to Red Rocks - hopefully the first of many. Our next climb up the steep "narrow stairs" is scheduled for August when Jack Johnson comes to town.
Sarah and I ended our school year with a Red Rocks pilgrimage to see the indie-rock champion Death Cab for Cutie. (Strange name, I know. They are named after a 1967 song by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.) Only a 15-minute drive west of our apartment, it wasn't hard to see why the natural outdoor amphitheatre receives legendary status. Red Rocks is certainly not your average concert venue.
Acoustics architectured by God. A huge, tilted rock sits behind the stage.
The signature red rock angles up from stage right, and several large boulders
angle up from stage left.
First of all, the climb up to the action makes you wonder how Jerry Garcia or his deadheads ever found the lung capacity to witness so many shows. And they weren't alone in making the climb into Red Rocks lore. Some claim the Ute tribe used this gift from God, but the first documented performance took place in 1906. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Carpenters, Sonny & Cher, Stevie Nicks, America, Rush, and The Dave Matthews Band have all contributed with historic visits. The 1971 "Riot at Red Rocks" involving a few hundred over-zealous Jethro Tull fans resulted in a 5-year ban on rock shows. Hopefully the tear gas will not make another guest appearance when the band returns this August.
However, it was June 5, 1983 when both my little sister, Erin, and the ultimate Red Rocks moment were born. U2 electrified a cold, rain-soaked crowd with a performance for the ages. U2's Under a Blood Red Sky video forever cemented the epic event in rock history. So when you mention Red Rocks, the image of a mullet-topped Bono planting a white flag of truce in the audience after an extended version of Sunday Bloody Sunday is immediately brought to mind for most rock fans.
Eight days before the 25-year anniversary of this iconic moment, Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard made the obligatory reference to Bono's white flag. Gibbard said that the band considered their Red Rocks appearance a career highlight... and they played like it.
One of my favorite nights in Los Angeles involved Death Cab for Cutie. Looking at a long Saturday night of grading papers, my housemate Marshall and I took a break to go grab a bite to eat. After discussing KCRW's "Night of Eclectic Music" concert that began an hour earlier, we found ourselves taking a spontaneous turn onto the L.A.'s freeways en route to Universal Amphitheatre. Twenty-five minutes later we were scalping a couple tickets and finding our seats before Ben Harper took the stage. At the time, Death Cab was on the cover of every rock magazine in the country and were the headliners saved for the grand finale. However, KCRW unveiled a ridiculous surprise guest performance in the form of the heavyweight band Franz Ferdinand. The crowd lost their mind as the 90-pounds-a-piece British rockers jumped off speakers while blowing the roof off. Ben Gibbard & Co. had to feel like John Kerry having to follow Barack Obama's speech at the '04 DNC.
With no risk of being upstaged in Denver, Death Cab channeled their Red Rocks inspiration into a great show. Their new album, Narrow Stairs, is receiving some early "Album of the Year" consideration from the critics. (although a certain record due out on the 17th might have something to say about that!). While the band nailed their single, I Will Possess Your Heart, Gibbard blamed their failure to resonate with my favorite song (Long Division) on too many words for the thin air.
We didn't take this photo - our seats weren't that good!
With the album only 2 weeks old, most of the new songs were too fresh to really get the crowd going. But with a litany of hits to fall back on, they had no trouble amping up the energy. The crowd became a 9,000 plus member back-up choir on classics like New Year, Soul Meets Body, I Will Follow You into the Dark, Sound of Settling, and Marching Bands of Manhattan. This is where the band separates themselves with some meaningful substance in their lyrics to go with their style. The encore made Sarah happy with her favorite - What Sarah Said (go figure)- and they ended with an amazing jam session after Transatlanticism.
The boys from Seattle provided a show worthy of our first visit to Red Rocks - hopefully the first of many. Our next climb up the steep "narrow stairs" is scheduled for August when Jack Johnson comes to town.
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