Red
Rocks
~
Denver,
Colorado
June
26,
2002
Thanks To David For The Pictures!!!
 |
Can't
quite
explain
the
feelings
evoked
by
attending
a
concert
here.
While
approaching
the
venue
by
the
winding
road
which
lead
to
the
first
glimpse
of
the
rocks,
I
felt
an
element
of
change,
a
difference
in
anticipation.
And
then
when
it
came
into
view,
when
all
the
pictures
I
had
seen
over
the
years
became
a
reality,
the
twinge
became
a
certainty
~
I
was
at
Red
Rocks
and
this
night
was
going
to
be
unlike
any
I
had
known
before!!
Teresa
and
I
walked
the
ramp
to
stand
in
line
10
minutes
before
the
opening
of
the
gates.
Wrapped
in
a
aura
of
wonder
and
with
senses
tuned
to
full
alert,
I
used
my
binoculars
to
check
out
the
surrounding
area.
Soon
after
we
found
our
seats
Kim
and
her
family
came
to
join
us.
After
enthusiastic
greetings,
playing
with
the
kids,
and
showing
them
the
pictures
taken
on
the
farm
a
few
weeks
before,
we
settled
in
to
hear
some
music.
Just
as
Cindy
Bullens
started
to
play,
robhamster
was
kind
enough
to
come
over
and
introduce
himself
to
us.
We
exchanged
a
few
greetings
and
then
we
listened
to
Cindy
play
some
mean
guitar
and
nice
harmonica
sounds.
She
told
some
haunting
stories
with
her
music
and
said
it
was
the
death
of
her
daughter
that
inspired
her
to
get
back
to
writing
and
performing
again.
Sad
material.
But
the
sadness
soon
disappeared
with
the
entrance
of
the
main
attraction.
Dan
and
the
band
appeared
on
stage
with
huge
smiles
and
greetings
for
the
crowd!
All
those
smiles
stayed
in
place
for
the
rest
of
the
concert,
I
have
never
seen
Dan
as
animated
and
happy
as
he
was
for
this
performance!
After
a
few
songs
he
told
us
Red
Rocks
is
his
favorite
place
to
play
in
the
whole
world
and
was
greeted
with
cheers
of
agreement
from
the
audience!
We
listened
to
pretty
much
the
same
set
list
as
before
but
had
the
bonus
of
Forefathers
and
Rocky
Mountain
Way
~
this
one
brought
us
to
our
feet
to
dance
along!
Before
the
last
set
Dan
gave
an
elongated
explanation
for
each
member
of
the
band,
how
they
were
associated
with
him,
each
other
and
a
bit
about
their
musical
histories
with
other
bands.
It
was
a
nice
little
bonus
to
learn
more
about
them.
It
was
about
at
this
point
that
Dan
asked
if
we
could
see
the
moon
yet,
said
it
looked
beautiful
and
told
us
it
was
coming
up
from
behind
him.
As
they
were
getting
ready
to
play
Strange
Way,
Dan
had
a
little
surprise
for
Mark
Andes.
He
announced
that
the
original
members
of
Firefall
were
joining
them
on
stage!
Out
they
came
as
Dan
told
us
it
was
the
first
time
in
twenty
years
they
had
all
performed
together!
Everyone
was
hugging
and
laughing
and
the
look
on
Mark's
face
was
one
of
astonishment!
The
crowd
was
ecstatic!
After
the
song
Mark
gave
Dan
a
big
hug
of
thanks
and
all
the
guys
were
hugging
each
other,
shaking
hands,
patting
each
other
on
the
back
to
celebrate
their
accomplishment.
A
very
touching
tribute,
to
me
it
was
one
of
those
defining
moments
in
musical
history
that
deserves
some
kind
of
acknowledgement
~
I
hope
there
will
be
a
record
of
this
event
written
somewhere.
They
played
a
longer
version
of
Gambler
for
the
first
encore.
Dan
and
the
band
seemed
to
be
really
into
listening
to
us
sing
it
back
to
them.
The
second
encore
was
If
I
Needed
Someone
with
Jean
joining
them
to
sing
back
up
and
play
the
tambourine.
They
all
formed
a
line
together
for
their
final
bows,
Jean
and
Dan
walked
off
stage
with
their
arms
around
each
other
and
once
again
we
were
left
on
our
own
to
recover.
I
don't
think
that
will
happen
for
me
for
a
good
long
while.
The
sounds
of
music
at
Red
Rocks
are
hard
to
describe
but
I
will
give
it
a
try.
Each
instrument
emits
its
own
contribution
and
they
bounce
around
the
acoustics
of
the
rocks
before
joining
as
one
song
as
it
reaches
your
ears.
I
would
equate
it
this
way
~
in
other
venues
the
music
is
like
listening
to
a
CD,
at
Red
Rocks
you
hear
it
as
if
you
were
listening
to
the
same
song
through
headphones.
The
view
as
we
left
on
our
journey
back
to
our
cars
was
an
added
bonus.
We
finally
got
a
glimpse
of
the
full
moon
hovering
over
the
lights
from
the
cities
below!
A
sky
full
of
twinkling
stars
above
the
moon
and
a
horizon
of
twinkling
lights
below
it.
I
had
to
stop
and
walk
to
the
wall
to
gaze
at
it
for
a
few
moments.
It
was
inspiring,
took
my
breath
away!
I
met
a
woman
from
Colorado
before
the
show
began.
After
explaining
to
her
that
this
was
my
first
time
to
see
a
concert
at
Red
Rocks
she
turned
to
me
and
said
once
you
see
a
concert
here
it
will
be
an
experience
you
will
never
forget
and
one
you
will
want
to
have
again.
We
can
learn
a
lot
from
the
wisdom
of
strangers.....
~~Sylvia
 |
I flew out to Red Rocks from Washington DC to see and experience Fogelberg where he calls home. It was the BEST show I have seen yet and this was worth the plane fare!
Same play list, was wishing for Nexus and Illinois since he had a great and talented band with him. A pure highlight was when they got to the one Firefall song on the play list (which is incredibly giving to share the stage), he began talking about Firefall as a Colorado band and for the first time in 20 years, the band was going to play onstage. Out walks the other members! Seems Fogelberg used to hang out with them in Nederland, CO back when they too were popular. It was awesome! They had so much fun with Fogelberg. What an experience.
The concert was not a sell out which I was surprised. Would have liked to have seen a three hour show, but he had an opening act.
After the show, I was ready to jump in my rent a car and drive to Salt Lake to see the next show! What a rush. To the Morning, Gambler and Part of the Plan were at his best. See Dan at his best while you can!
Jeff Conley
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