I was very fortunate growing up. I live within driving distance to what I consider the greatest concert venue ever built, Red Rock Amphitheater. Every summer, I would pull out the concert schedule and pick one or two shows that I would go see in this iconic place. I have seen some of the greatest artists perform here, bands from Radiohead to the Grateful Dead, and artists from Ben Harper and Beck. If I consider all of the moments I have at this place, a few of my fondest come while I was here.
But I would not only come up here while there was a concert. I would come up during cross country practice in high school so we could run up the hill that is used as a load in station for bands, and though some of my students who run for me right now might disagree, it was the most difficult hill to run up. We snuck in a couple times on weekends during the fall to hang out with friends on the stage. I did a report on the place during my seventh grade, and I remember coming up during the winter months and watching the snow gently fall down on the empty seats and breathe in the silence. When I think of Denver, I instantly think of Red Rocks, and if I can share the same joy that bubbles up inside of me when I think of it, I want to do so.
If you have never been there, it is a natural amphitheater built during the 1930s as one of FDR’s ABC projects to get people back to work during the Great Depression. Two huge red rocks stand on either side of the seats creating perfect acoustics for the bands who play there. The venue cannot seat that many people as there are just under 10,000 seats, but even if you find yourself in the back of the theater, you still can enjoy the sound because there really is not a bad seat in the place. It is the Mecca for many bands, and if they get to play there that means that they have made it. During my disc jockey days, I actually got to perform a wedding in the restaurant that is situated in the back of the amphitheater, so when I talk to my musician friends about the fact that I had the chance to do this, they always get really jealous. To get there you need to drive through the quaint little town of Morrison that only get busy when an event is taking place at the venue, and when you are there you can look out over the plains as the light of Denver start to wake up for the evening. Many iconic bands have recorded live albums at the place including U2, O.A.R., Moody Blues, Mumford and Sons, and Dave Matthews Band (too separate concerts are available from him). And it has even hosted the likes of the Beatles and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. How can this not be the best venue in the world?
I still think about the place when I come home every summer. Around March I start to look at what bands have been scheduled to play there as I try to find one that I might enjoy, but all the good ones seem to be coming either before or after I am there, and if there is a band that I might be remotely interested in seeing, they are charging way too much to see their show that I wait until something better comes along. This is why Movies on the Rocks was a better option this time around.
Movies on the Rocks is a series of events that is put on by the local radio station, KBCO. They find six or seven cult favorite movies to show under the stars, but the party starts a little earlier than that. They also book two bands, and last night when I went to the event, they also brought out local favorite, and winner of the Last Comic Standing, Josh Blue. After all of this, they played one of my favorite Coen Brothers’ movies, The Big Lebowski. It might not have been one of the amazing concerts that I was able to catch in my past, but it was still a fun time. People came dressed up as some of the characters, and they served white Russians so people could feel like they were part of the story. It is a great way to get into the venue if you find yourself here for a short time, and there are not any bands that really appeals to you. It was one of my favorite nights so far on this trip because it was reminiscent of times that I used to have here. It will always be one of my favorite places.
John Collings 