One year ago today... Colorado trip!

Today marks the one year anniversary of my bucket list concert... Rush at Red Rocks!  It was something I had to do before I croaked.  I unearthed this (rather lengthy) journal entry from our trip to Colorado for the above-referenced concert spectacle, which also happened to include a ton of beer tripping all over the fine state of Colorado.  So, in celebration of the first anniversary of the concert I absolutely HAD to attend, here is a slightly edited version of my journal from the trip.  Enjoy!

8/11/10 – Harrisburg, PA > Atlanta, GA > Denver, CO > Boulder, CO

Headed over to Deuane & Carolyn’s house after the East Pennsboro School District strike rally (fun stuff) at around 6:30pm for dinner and a growler of Spring House Smoked Porter.  Great eggplant parmigiana dish with fresh Amish bread and cheese.  Blackberry pie for dessert.  Turned in early (around 10pm; Brandi stayed up until 11ish) because we had to get up at 4am to get to the Harrisburg Airport for 5am for our 6am flight.   I got up about 10-15 minutes early.  Must have been excited.  Deuane drove Brandi’s Civic to the airport and dropped us off.  Got checked in rather quickly and efficiently and had enough spare time to grab a quick breakfast sandwich and apple juice at Subway, which was right on the concourse.  Our plane was on time… surprisingly!  We had about an 80min. flight to Atlanta, GA or so… plane flew very smooth and effortlessly, which was pleasant, especially for so early in the morning.  Had a drink and a snack on the plane (soda and pretzels).  We were towards the front of the vessel, so we unboarded in a flash.  Had about a two-hour or so layover in Atlanta.  Had Chinese for lunch at 10am… spicy tofu and chicken with mushrooms over steamed rice and a Diet Coke.  Got back to our gate and the plane was running a bit behind due to security checks, safety inspections, etc.  They said 5 minutes but it was more like half an hour.  Bigger plane this time and a bit more rocky at takeoff and landing.  Same snack as the previous flight.  In-flight movie was The Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aninston, but I didn’t bother.  Instead, I caught up on Ghost Rider.  Got through a good chunk of it on the flight from Atlanta to Denver.  Woman next to us was friendly and pleasant, asking us some questions, etc.  Said she used to be a flight attendant, and that she was going to CO to visit a friend and go white water rafting.  Sounds fun!  Took a little longer to get off the plane, as we were second to last way in the back.  No hurry, though.  It was around 12:40pm Mountain Time… gotta love flying westward!  We jumped on the escalator down to the train to take us to the luggage claim.  Got our bag fairly quickly, which was a shock!  Then we jumped on a shuttle bus to get our Enterprise Rental car.  Got a sea blue Hyundai something or other, small but comfortable.  Service was great, although they talked us into buying $90 insurance because CO is known for Halestorms… ha!  We’ll see.

We set the Garmin for Boulder and set our sights for Boulder Brewing Co., or course.  First beer destination of the trip.  Had an absolutely fantastic barrel-aged pale ale brewed with a hop variety with which I was unfamiliar.  Simply delicious… got two of ‘em!  Also had a meal there… not sure which one, but I had a veggie burrito with mashed taters in it…. Pretty tasty.  Brandi had a salad and veggie chili.  Next stop was Twisted Pine, a small brewery not far around the corner from Boulder.  Cool little local-type place, not too big, but with ample outside seating.  Got a pint of Hoppy Knight, a black IPA, while Brandi opted for a sweet stout.  Both were satisfactory, though not exemplary.  They were handing out free samples of food, as their menu was getting unveiled the day we visited.  Grilled cheese, soft pretzels, odd hot dog concoctions with peppers and pineapples.  Before we left, I had a sample of Billy’s Chilies, which was a refreshing wheat beer brewed with 5 or 6 chili pepper varieties, including habanero and jalapeno.  Surprisingly very tasty and not too over the top.  Very drinkable.

Next stop, Avery, one of the big boys.  Located in a warehouse-type park, much like breweries in San Diego.  Got seats at the bar (at all the places today, might I add) and had a cool barkeep with a Scottish accent and tats.  Got a fantastic coffee stout, which was brewed with a local coffee company’s beans by way of a “toddy” instead of actually brewed into the wort, etc.  Awesome!  Also got a small IPL, or India Pale Lager, which was tasty as well.  Brandi had a citrusy IPA and a hefe.  Afterwards, we made a quick pit stop to Borders in one of those crazy outside mall towns so she could get a book for the rest of the trip, as she finished Thumbsucker on the way to Denver.  I still have half of Ghost Rider, so I’m good!

Final stop of the day was Mountain Sun, a heady brewpub in the downtown area decorated with Dead memorabilia, tapestries and other psychedelic decor.  There was also a head shop next door, where I purchased a Zappa sticker for my car.  Booyeah!  Anyway, the place was packed for a Wed. night, and we had to wait for a bit to get a table.  We weren’t too hungry, but I wanted to sit down and take some notes.  Had a nice conversation with two younger local guys who told us about some good beer destinations and hiking spots.  Can’t forget about Oskar Blues!  Had their flagship IPA while waiting for a table, and it was average.  Finally got a table and just got some tasty tomato and lime soup, which also had black beans, plus a small plate of fresh cut fries.  Nice snack.  I also got a small pour of their FYIPA, which was more citrusy than the other offering and definitely tastier. 
By this time, we had been up for about 19 hours and had had enough.  We made the quick 20 minute drive to the Crossland Motel in Thornton.  Hit the sack!

8/12/10 – Denver, CO

Got up and ate breakfast at Subway… again.  No wi-fi, so we had to book our room later.  Set the Garmin for Denver, CO.  First stop, Breckenridge Brewing Co.  Got the sampler, favorite was the Imp. Pils, shared a beer with Brandi, the Vesper French-style farmhouse ale.  Pretty solid.  They had wi-fi at the brewpub, so we booked our room for Colorado Springs.  Saw an older guy wearing a Primus T-shirt sitting at a table with two other guys, so I started talking to him about the concert, which was tonight, and said we were thinking about going.  He said they were doing a live podcast of the show and that we should go.  We discussed and decided to go because tickets were only $45 and when would we see another show at Red Rocks?

After Breckenridge, we visited Bull and Bush, which sported one of my favorite brewery logos I’ve come across in our beer travels: a baby boy and girl inspecting the front of their diapers to assess what they “have”: a bull or a bush.  Hilarious!  Brandi got a shirt.  Food was very good… shrimp tacos were delicious.  Beer was average to good; nothing spectacular, but solid.  Had their Man Beer, an English style IPA.

Hit Great Divide next and managed to get a tour of the facilities just in the nick of time.  Short tour but fun.  Met a brewery employee, Aaron, who talked to us about beer, music, etc. for about 30-40 minutes.  Gave us tons of free samples, free swag (stickers, etc.) and even a six-pack of Yeti.  Nice!  Great beer all around.  Glad we get them in PA.  Reminded me of Troegs… the tasting room, people and good beer.  Stayed for 2 hours.

After our enjoyable two-hour visit to Great Divide, we stopped by Falling Rock Tap House at the recommendation of Deuane for a quick pint and to check out one of the best beer bars in Denver.  Very cool place with a great server.  Talked for a bit about good beer.  Got a Ska Brewing Modus Hoporandi IPA which was pretty solid.  Reviewed it for BA.  Didn’t stay too long because I wanted to hit the record store (Twist and Shout; we actually drove past it and it looked more like a CD-based store).  Turns out the bartender said it was probably the biggest selection of used vinyl in the city.  Works for me!

Next stop was Twist and Shout, a pretty large record store I decided to visit upon the recommendation of the bartender at Falling Rock.  Perused the rock vinyl, as per usual, with the assistance of Brandi and came up with about $50 of records, the majority of which were in the $2.99 to $3.99 range.  Got some Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Wings Wild Life, Bill Joel Cold Spring Harbor and even an Armored Saint album I didn’t have.  $50 seems to be the magic number!

Stopped for a quick Wendy’s drive thru meal before the Primus concert.  Grabbed four grilled chicken snack wraps and began our 50-minute-ish drive to Red Rocks!  Not sure I wanted to have my first Red Rocks experience be any other band than Rush, but overall I’m glad we went to the show.  Nice weather, amazing view and overall good sound.  Missed first opening band, Dead Kenny G’s (great name) and Gorgolo Bordello was entertaining and pretty good, but played too long and were one-trick ponies.  I would describe them as Irish folk reggae ska with an Irish flair.  Band had like 8 members from all over the world, including drums, bass, percussion, a female singer, accordion, fiddle and two guitarists, one of which played classical guitar.  Interesting blend of instruments, though.  Finally, Primus hit the stage around 10pm and played until midnight.  Lots of Cheese and Frizzle tunes with a Tommy the Cat encore.  Pretty good show, just not into them as much as I used to be in my college years and early twenties.  Glad we went though.  How many shows am I gonna see at Red Rocks in my lifetime?  After the show, we got out surprisingly fast and back on the highway for about a 75-min. drive to Colorado Springs.  Wish we would have decided to go to the concert BEFORE we booked the room on priceline.com, but whatever.  The drive was fine.  Got to our Super 8 in Colorado Springs near the Air Force base and crashed hard.

8/13/10 – Colorado Springs

Woke up at 9:30am and went down for our free continental breakfast, which was pretty much a joke.  Two kinds of cereal, warm OJ, milk and packages of danishes and mini chocolate donuts… breakfast of champions.  Had a large bowl of Cheerios, coffee and a very small fruit Danish.   I’m watching my figure!  First stop of the day was Bristol Brewery.  They also brew a spin-off called Black Fox, which is a Belgian-inspired line of beers operated by one of Bristol’s associate brewers.  We each got a sampler and snacked on some pretzels.  Dog-themed brewery.  Pretzels in dog food dishes.  Cool.  Talked to one of the employees, an older man, for a bit and asked some questions.  Hooked me up with two additional samples for no charge… a wet hopped IPA and their flagship IPA on nitro.  Both pretty good.

Afterwards, we headed to Phantom Canyon Brewing Co.  This was one of the only times we had to pay for parking on the entire trip.  Inside, the brewpub was really nice and bright with lots of wood and a unique wood decor bar with splashes of color.  Sat at the bar, and the bartender was very friendly and attentive.  Decided to get lunch here, because the guy from Bristol said their food was very good.  Had fantastic fish tacos… probably the best I’ve had outside of San Diego.  Beer was pretty bangin’ too.  I had a half pour of their Peated Porter and also Phantom IPA, both on cask, then Brandi and I shared their 1941 New Yorker Beer, which was an old school lager.  Enjoyed all three quite a bit.  Brandi said this place reminded her of Harbor Brewing in MI.  I agreed, though the beer was better here.

Last stop in CO Springs was Trinity Brewing, where they were kicking off the weekend lager festival with a special event and tapping of a new chili beer (which we were too early for and couldn’t stay to sample).  Had a mug of their Awaken coffee stout on nitro, which was pretty good, though a little thin.  Had some other small samples.  Staff here was great.  We talked to several of the bartenders and some patrons at the bar.  We’d been lucky during the entire trip to be able to sit at the bar everywhere we went.  I love sitting at the bar, because you really get a sense of the beer culture and residents of the area you are visiting.  Gotta love talking to the locals and bar staff!

Drove from Colorado Springs to Garden of the Gods, a place where a few locals recommended we visit.  Stopped in the visitor center/ gift shop and got a postcard for mom and mailed it.  We tooled around for a few minutes and then drove through the park, which was only a few mile drive.  Took for pictures and made a few stops on the side of the road.  Sent mom a nice postcard.  Really beautiful place with red rocks and lovely vegetation and trees.  Glad we stopped.

After our brief visit to Garden of the Gods, we drove back to Denver, which was a fairly good haul, especially given the heavy Friday rush hour traffic on I-25.  Took about 95 minutes or more to get to Denver.  We decided to get Indian food for dinner, since I’d been craving it for the last few days.  We referred to the Garmin for recommendations, and there appeared to be several in the immediate area.  First stop was a bust… simply couldn’t find it.  Luckily there was another place up the road less than a mile away.  Or was there?  Couldn’t find it either.  Drove around the large parking lot until we gave up and went to Beni Hana’s for Japanese cuisine.  I had lemon chicken hibachi and Brandi had a few sushi rolls.  Good but a little pricey overall.  After dinner, we headed into the heart of Denver and decided to hit Vine St. Pub, which is an official tap room for Mountain Sun Brewing Co.  This time, I opted for a Deschutes Obsidian Stout on nitro, since they boasted a fairly impressive guest tap list.  Brandi had a half pour of Mountain Sun’s Raspberry Wheat.  Basically, we just chilled at the bar for a bit and then headed to our hotel for the evening, which was only a short distance from the airport due to the fact that we were picking up Spade fairly early at the airport the next morning.  I’d also like to point out that this hotel (Crown Plaza) was leaps and bounds nicer and had many more amenities than our previous two meager rooms.  The lobby alone was a sight to behold, with a huge volcano-like waterfall, lush foliage and upscale decor.  The lobby also boasted a nice-sized bar area and restaurant.  Our room also housed a comfortable king sized bed, to which we are more accustom!  No free breakfast here, though, but the free breakfast at the Super 8 really wasn’t worth its price tag… free.  Needless to say, it was the best night’s sleep we had on the entire trip, and was a nice way to end our hotel jaunt before being demoted to an air mattress for the next few days at Ryan’s bachelor pad.

8/14/10 – Spade joins the fun; Denver, CO > beer, beer, beer > Ft. Collins, CO

After a good night’s sleep at the Crown Plaza, we made the short drive to the Denver airport to pick up Spade in the good ol’ Hyundai.  The pick-up was easier than I had anticipated, partly because he was flying in on Saturday, so I thought traffic would be crazy.  Good for us, the whole transaction was pretty damn smooth.  Our plans for the first half of the day included meeting Spade’s good high school friend, Melissa Herb, for breakfast and a quaint little vegetarian eatery in Denver, where she now lives with her husband and 19-month-old (or as Matt said, one-and-a-half) son.  Melissa also has the unique distinction of being the first girl I ever went on a date with (well, three dates, and the number hasn’t gone up since then) as friends.  Spade took her to the Lourdes prom back in 1990 and I remember seeing the picture and commenting that I thought she was attractive.  So we had a few typical high school friend dates, like a movie, mall trip, etc.  I thought it was funny that she remembered I made her a cassette tape copy of Boston’s first album, and one of the songs skipped.  She listened to it throughout college.  I hadn’t seen her since 1990, right before she left for college, so it was cool seeing her after all these years.  Spade, Brandi and I all ordered the special, which was a scramble with fresh veggies, eggs, cheese and what not.  We also had coffee with sugar (not fake) that was challenging to get out of its glass container.  After breakfast, we dropped Melissa off at her doorstep, which was only a few minutes away by car.  We then programmed the Garmin for our first beer destination of the day – Left Hand Brewing.  This turned out to be one of my favorite stops of the trip for a few reasons.  First, Spade was with me, and as Brandi pointed out, we are the original “toxic twins” – a moniker she relegated to Dan and I as of late.  Add beer to the equation, and Spade and I become like a two-Lion Voltron.  Or something like that.  Second, we learned that our bartender was not only originally from Harrisburg, PA, but he was also going to be attending the Rush concert at Red Rocks on Monday!  Lastly, we got a great tour of the brewery (no free samples, though).  I had their RIS which was above average, though doesn’t hang with the big boys, in my opinion.  I also had a pint of their Sawtooth ESB on cask.  I just had a hankering for a quaffable ESB that day, and it hit the spot.  Spade had a few pilsners and some samples, I believe, while Brandi had a flight of four samplers.  We had a great time talking about Rush and drinking good beer.

After a great visit to Left Hand, we headed up the street to Oskar Blues for an obligatory Dale’s Pale Ale pint and a half pour of Gubna.  Picked up a Gubna T-shirt for Mugs.  We decided to get some appetizers, and both were tasty – nachos with beer can chicken and hummus with veggies and pita cracker-like bread.  Yum.  After a while, I noticed a pinball machine in the other room, and it looked like there was another arcade-type game in there.  Upon further investigation, I was pleased to find they had an original Asteroids game AND an Arcade Classic multi-game machine with 60 different classic arcade games from the 80’s!  Even though I am opposed to charging $.50 per game for these old school gems, I couldn’t resist getting change and playing games of Mappy and Dig Dug.  Man, I miss these old games.  Barcade Philly can’t open soon enough!

After Oskar Blues, it was time to head to Ft. Collins and rendezvous with Ryan Freese, the oldest son of Tom, who plays bass in my Beatles tribute band, Number Nine.  Luckily for us, we decided to arrive at Ft. Collins when we did, because the three breweries we wanted to visit all closed early.  Fortunately, we were able to get to New Belgium for three free samples before they closed at 6pm.  Unfortunately, we could not tour the facility, and they were closed on Sunday and Monday.  So this was our only opportunity to visit, so I am at least thankful that we could get there.  It was pretty packed with people, and we enjoyed our samples, although I think they are over-rated compared to other Colorado breweries, such as Avery and Great Divide.  Still, I like the fact that Fat Tire (their flagship brew) is readily available pretty much anywhere in CO and widely available in the western states.  Good for them!  Our next stop on the “wham bam thank you ma’am” mini-tour was O’Dells, my favorite of the Ft. Collins breweries.   We had to buy tokens for full-size beers, so since they were closing in 40 minutes, we opted to each purchase a single token.  I was also smart enough to get a few samples at the bar, and they were happy to oblige.  We got a table outside and chatted for a while and enjoy our beers.  We apparently had just missed a band, though.  Bummer.  At any rate, we finished up at O’Dells and headed over to our final destination of the day – Equinox.  They weren’t too crowded, but we opted for a table since there were four of us.  We each had one beer, and I can’t even remember what I had, due to the fact that it was a bit of a whirlwind visit and I didn’t even take notes on the beers at all three of these places.  We finished up and left to head back to Ryan’s, because we were getting up early (6:15am) for our hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

8/15/10 – Rocky Mtn. National Park

Woke up early at Ryan’s for breakfast before heading out for a 10-mile hike in Rocky mountain national Park.  Today was a free park day, apparently across the country at all national parks, so we saved probably $20 park entry fee.  The drive was a little over an hour from Ft. Collins to the park entrance, then a short distance to the actual start of the hike.  I wasn’t sure if I could hack it, and I was concerned I’d lag behind, but I surprisingly held up quite impressively.  Spade was actually the lagger.  Obviously, the scenery was simple amazing and awe-inspiring.  We don’t have mountains like this back on the east coast.  This is a long way from the culm banks of Shamokin, PA!  We got to see a family of Elk in their natural environment.  We also saw a pack of mountain goats eating at the side of the road before we got to the entrance of the hiking site.  Awesome!  Anyway, our destination was Sky Pond, which was a 5-mile hike from the entrance, then 5 miles back to the car.  The first stop for a snack and water was a beautiful lake with an amazing view of the majestic mountains.  Rainbow trout darted throughout the pond, occasionally coming up to grab bits of floating food.  There were several fisherman dispersed throughout the area, although everything in the park is catch and release.  We enjoyed the view for a bit and then moved on.  There’s really not much more else to say about this experience, other than the pictures will speak a thousand words.  Rocky Mountain National Park exemplifies the purest form of beauty in nature.  After hiking for 10 miles and six hours, needless to say we were in dire need of a rest (and cold drinks), so we stopped outside the park for Life Water and Cliff bars, the latter of which I just discovered on this trip and will be consuming on a regular basis now.  Healthy and yummy!  We headed back to Ryan’s to chill and shower up before going to meet his musician friend, Aaron and his wife, as well as their two beautiful dogs, Moxie and Scout.  We can remember the dogs names, but not his wife!  Oh well, 75% ain’t too shabby.  We shared some beers and some delicious-looking guacamole dip that I would have dove into had I not just eaten dinner.  In addition to the Yeti I brought along, Ryan shared some of his homebrews (a new hobby of his), which were actually quite good, I must say.  He had a chocolate stout and a Belgian witbier.  Later that night, he also shared a wheat beer brewed with grapefruit, which was my favorite of the three.  I liked it better than the O’Dells wheat beer Aaron shared with us.  After chatting in the kitchen for a bit, we decided to retire to the basement for an hour-long (give or take) jam session.  Aaron and Ryan play together in an acoustic guitar and bass duo, so Aaron had plenty of musical gear in his basement-turned-practice area.  I generally played drums for most of the evening, and we did a few originals and some covers, which ranged from Johnny Cash to Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Spade joined in for a few tunes on guitar (funny version of Tom Petty’s Runnin’ Down a Dream) and we jammed together on drums and bass for the first time since perhaps the Piranha Armada gigs I did with him about 7 years ago!  After that, we went back upstairs for about another half an hour, then retired to Ryan’s for more beer, including the aforementioned Grapefruit Wheat homebrew, then headed to bed to rest up for the impetus of the trip… RUSH!!!!!

8/16/10 – Ft. Collins; Day of the Rush concert

Got up fairly late today, most likely due to being ass-tired after the 10-mile hike the previous day.  After the shit, shave, shower routine, we headed to one of Ryan’s recommendations for our late morning/early afternoon meal at Rainbow, a vegetarian restaurant near the Old Town section of Ft. Collins.  We sat outside on the patio, which was pleasant.  Our server was great and very friendly.  The menu was fantastic, and I opted for the falafel and soup du jour, which was a tomato-based vegetable bean soup.  Brandi got a tofu dish with a salad and Matt got the special flatbread with fresh veggies and a spinach salad.  Good coffee too.  After our brunch, we headed over to Wilbur’s liquor store to pick up a few six packs for the concert tonight.  Got two mixers and found bombers of Alaskan Barleywine and Smoked Porter!  Very happy about that!  After Wilbur’s, we made our way over to Old Town and parked for about two hours and walked around, visiting various shops.  Picked up a nice postcard for mom and mailed it out.  We had a quick drizzle shower while Spade headed across the street to Starbucks for a quick bathroom visit.  Unfortunately, he had some toilet issues and clogged the shitter.  With no plunger in sight, he slowly backed away from the establishment and didn’t tell the staff.  Luckily, he purchased a coffee before hand, which made it ok, since he was a paying customer.  Afterward, we also hit a place for a quick $2.50 Happy Hour pint before heading back to Ryan’s to chill and eat before the show.  More to come later.

Ryan made a great dinner of seasoned tofu, couscous and veggies, which was delicious and filling.  As we were eating, it began raining heavily and a fierce wind picked up steam with each passing minute.  I was a bit nervous, not only about the impending hour-long drive to the venue, but also fearful that the show might be cancelled or postponed.  We left Ryan’s around 5:30pm, and the rain was steady but not threatening.  As we headed out of Ft. Collins, the steady rain transformed into a pretty serious thunderstorm with high winds and almost horizontal rain.  The highway filled up with water quickly, making it difficult to drive the speed limit.  Add to this the after-work traffic of a typical weekday and you run into some problems.  For about a 15 minute stretch, it might have been the worst rainstorm in which I’d ever driven.  Fortunately, it died down as we approached Morrison, and the bruised and sullen storm clouds began to subside.  The traffic up the hill to the venue was very heavy, so Ryan jumped out and grabbed a few beers for the remaining ride up to the venue.  Spade, Brandi and I enjoyed the beers we purchased at Wilbur’s, which Ryan drank his homemade concoction of Vitamin water and vodka.  Ooofa!  We chilled in the parking lot for a bit before the show, chatting about Rush shows past, enjoying some more beer as well as the amazing view.  I was glad I’d brought my hoodie and wore jeans and sneakers to the show, because the air was chilly in the post-rainstorm evening.  I had been anxious for the show since we purchased tickets however many months ago it was, but my enthusiasm had been building up with each passing day in Colorado, and it reached its zenith as we were standing in the parking lot with tickets in hand and the impending doom of inclement weather had passed.  Perhaps there IS a God, I thought… and he actually likes me!  We headed up to the entrance of the amphitheater (after visiting the port-o-potties) and finished up the last of our beers (and vodka) on the way.  Our seats were near perfect, in my opinion; only slightly off-center on Geddy’s side, and pretty much smack dab in the middle of the seating chart.  If I had to go on record, I’d say we were maybe toward the back of the first 1/3 of the seating at the venue.  Great view of both the stage and its surroundings, and much better than a few nights before at the Primus show.  We didn’t have long to wait, and rush took the stage perhaps 10-15 minutes after the scheduled start time.    As the lights went down and anticipation grew, I turned to Spade and gave him a huge, as this was surprisingly the first Rush show we actually attended together.  Despite physically being at many of the same Rush shows in the past, this was the first time we had tickets together, side by side.  I knew it was going to be a special show… my favorite girl to my right and one of my oldest and dearest friends to my left, and my favorite band of all time directly in front of us and perhaps the most beautiful venue on the entire continent of North America. The weather was in our court, the Gods were smiling… it was going to be a perfect show.  Light go down, and the opening video starts to thunderous applause.  Unfortunately, a few minutes in, there was a problem with the screen and they lost power.  Nooooo!!!!  After a few glitches in the screen, it turned completely blue and there was no sound.  What?  Aw man!  Then, Alex appears on stage sans Geddy and Neil, and patiently waits for the two tardy members to make their way onto the stage, at which time Alex begins the opening riff to The Spirit of Radio.  After a few minutes into the song, the video screen issues are sorted out, and although I’ve heard better Spirits in my now twenty Rush shows, the energy was electric.  The first few songs were a whirlwind, mostly because I was just taking everything in and realizing what was going on.  This was my bucket list show… something I HAD to do before I croaked.  At any rate, we knew the setlist since we also attended the Camden, NJ (Philly) show, so no new surprises, of course.  Subdivisions is always one of my favorites, and I never get sick of it.  Set two was really special, since Spade and I are huge fans of Moving Pictures (who isn’t?) and they played the classic album in its entirety.  I was really feeling Red Barchetta and Witch Hunt.  The Camera Eye was also great, despite a small boo-boo by Alex after a miscued drum fill from Neil, at least that’s how I heard it.  Geddy’s bass solos during YYZ were particularly tight on this night, and his bass tone was awesome.  As a matter of fact, the sound in general was superb at Red Rocks, even though Spade and Ryan though the guitar was a bit too loud sometimes.  After the final strains of Vital Signs, I knew the show was coming close to the end, but they still delivered great renditions of 2112: Overture and Temples of Syrinx, as well as the brand spankin’ new Caravan and a personal favorite, Far Cry.  Overall, it was an amazing show, if not only for the fact that it was Rush at Red Rocks.  Was it the best Rush show I’d ever seen?  Hmmmm… probably not, but it was perhaps the most special.  Sometimes life doesn’t suck, eh? 

8/17/10 – The trip home

Sitting in Newark, NJ now after a relatively event-free flight from Denver.  Actually got free food on this flight (salad with a chicken wrap and mini Hershey bar), plus soda and coffee.  Didn’t watch the movie again (some Queen Latifah affair).  Instead, I caught up on reading Ghost Rider, which is still keeping me interested.  How can it not, right?  After landing in Newark, we grabbed some Japanese airport food (chicken teriyaki for both of us) and made our way to gate 99.  So here we are sitting and waiting to board our puddle jumper bound for the capital of good ol’ PA.  I hope Carolyn remembers to pick us up tonight!