Rush & Red Rocks - - An Outstanding Combination

         Allow me to indulge for a bit and stray from my usual posts.

     As one might have gathered by now, I am a life-long fan of the progressive rock band RUSH. I became interested shortly after hearing my first song "Spirit of Radio" way back in 1980 which still resonates with me to this day. Then the fan I was to become was firmly set in iron after the release of their quintessential hit "Tom Sawyer" released in 1981.

      I have had the great privilege of seeing them in concert countless times but none have ever been so impressive as those at the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre and National Park in Morrison Colorado. Red Rocks is an outstanding venue that not only offers perhaps the best acoustics in Denver but also boasts a spectacular view of the Denver skyline.

      The walk to the stage and seats from the parking lot is an uphill battle in every sense of the word. You must traverse a long and winding ramp leading to the stage in excess of 100 yards only to be greeted with another 200 steps to your seats depending on your assignment. As you look over the stage and past the bands awesome set up, you can see downtown Denver on the horizon and the surrounding metropolitan area. The venue itself is surrounded on all sides by incredibly beautiful red-ish brown sandstone cliffs, hence the theaters name. The park is a popular destination for hikers, mountain bikers, runners and even your every day get out and explore people. The amphitheater was founded over a century ago and has been home to numerous concerts and attractions. Possibly the most famous concert ever held at Red Rocks has got to be U2 -Live at Red Rocks during their whirlwind WAR tour.

      RUSH's latest tour, The Time Machine (Moving Pictures in its entirety), which of course came through Denver and Red Rocks in August, was another great example of an outstanding concert. The night could not have been a better one for music. There was a threat of rain, but true to form the rain stayed away and we were left with a cool and breezy 80 degrees. You could not have asked for a more perfect evening. My seats were about 1/3 of the way up and to the right of the stage. Oddly enough for the last 3 years, I have sat virtually in the same row and seats, or close to it, every time. The highlight of the concert was talking with the other concert goes that I met during the festivities. The first was a father and daughter combo who flew from Dallas just to see RUSH at Red Rocks specifically because of its fame and history. It turns out the 10 year old daughter was the big RUSH fan which intrigued me immensely. I was blown away by the notion that RUSH would appeal to music lovers even in this generation, but you know, I'm not at all surprised. The second and even more unexpected group I met was a nice family from, believe it or not, London England. This family of four wanted to take a vacation to America with the sole purpose of seeing RUSH at Red Rocks along with their two daughters ages 9 and 7. The father told me that it had been a dream of his to see RUSH here in Denver and he was elated to have finally made it happen. He was almost as giddy to see them as I was. I'm sure glad I am not the only RUSH-FANnatic in this world who loves to travel and would go anywhere to see them. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about their trip and of our mutual love for RUSH. Meeting these families and listening to their stories made the concert that much more enjoyable. Which brings to mind a little dream I have: I would absolutely love to travel the globe and follow RUSH on their many adventures during a concert tour. Or, even better, I would without-a-doubt love to accompany Neal during his motorcycle treks from venue to venue. Oh well, someday I may have the courage, money and time to do just that, but there is nothing wrong with dreaming now is there! I say so long to the boys for now and I hope their tour is a successful one. I know it was for me.

Safe Travels everyone........