Opening with the encore...

Which is the show to end all shows? What makes one show incredible to me and medicore to another? Isn't that part of the fun of this passion, this hobby of touring and show attending? We all have our favorite songs, and sometimes an entire show can be made or broken if one of them is or isn't played. I used to love drums and space, but I'm a spacey drummy kind a gal. Others tune into the guitar chords and insist on perfection with each riff. My husband prefers to hear guitars, guitars and more guitars! I've heard some people grumble when lyrics are forgotten or messed up. I'm a pretty forgiving fan and always think, "let's see, they're playing about twenty songs tonight, last night and tomorrow night, that's sixty-ish songs, let's give a little room for human error." Okay, people?

In the past year, nearly everytime I've seen FURTHUR on a Saturday night, they've closed with One More Saturday Night. Appropriately so! However, last night, they opened with it, which made me wonder what would be the closing song? It was, Uncle John's Band, where the moniker for this site hails from, "...It's a Buck Dancer's Choice, my friend, better take my advice. You know all the rules by now and the FIRE FROM THE ICE..." I've never met anyone who doesn't love this song, which apparently was first performed in December 1969 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco.

The first set started off with a winding assortment of tunes. One authored nearly eighty years ago, Sitting on Top of the World, by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon of the Mississippi Sheiks. The standout tunes for me were Mexicali Blues and Next Time You See Me.

Last night's second set opened with an amazing jam that flowed into Eclipse. The sound was so inspiring that the cacophony of air guitars being played around me was nearly deafening. The St. Stephen, Dark Star, The Eleven trio was as good as it gets and truly classic Grateful Dead. But, the true jewel in last night's crown was Morning Dew. As Judy from Boulder told me this morning, "I just stood there with tears in my eyes." My husband sent me a mid-song text saying, "that song makes me cry like a baby."

You can view the full set list HERE.

Conspicuously absent from the set list for the past two nights were any Beatles tunes, which always provide delight and sing-along familiarity.

One great aspect of traveling solo is not having to keep to anyone's schedule but my own. I left for Red Rocks a little late, fearing I'd miss the opening. On my way up the mountain, I stopped at the "Tickets" area to see if anyone wanted to buy my 'extra.' Two women, Jen and Tracy, were in a perplexing situation without a ride up the hill. They rode up with me. We took our chances and backed into a ditch to park on the side of someone's driveway; crossing my fingers that my rental car would still be there at the end of the show. As we began the arduous hike to the ampetheatre, a yellow cab (yes, a yellow cab!!!) drove by and asked us if we wanted a ride up the hill for $5.00? Seriously??!! As we made our way up the hill, there was suddenly an armata of yellow cabs ferrying fans from one altitude to the other. Genius, I tell you! Genius! The 'cabbie' said they make more on those show nights than in a regular day.

I met some really nice people last night, including Dennis, a builder from Denver. He had the seat next to mine and collectively we held our ground when some young newbies tried to stake a claim to the space directly in front of us! Last night's crowd was rowdy and well fueled by Colorado's apparent elixir of choice, beer. I saw two too many ambulances. And, oddly enough, two racoons just hanging out on the asphalt in a parking lot. They behaved like tamed house cats.

Today, my family is on a musical voyage of their own at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. My kids, along with friends' kids are holding a lemonade stand for parched concert goers to benefit the SF-SPCA. Tonight, I'll sit in the FIRST ROW for show number three, then get ready for Las Vegas. I've had a few minutes to wander around downtown Denver and like it here very much. The people are welcoming and kind, no-one is in a hurry and what the locals refer to as traffic makes me laugh!