24th June - Denver CO- Red Rocks
It's difficult to imagine our last show in Athens was a mere nine days ago and here we are in Colorado having kicked off the US. leg of this amazing tour. The UK. contingent flew out from London on Sunday on what for some of us is the only commercial flight of the tour. The dry heat here and the altitude immediately hits you as we struggle to regain post-flight hydration. Danny and I both woke at 5am on Monday morning so it was early tea in my room whilst bleary-eyed we watched the sunrise.
One bit of bad news we've had over the last few days was a problem for John McCusker with his US visa. Obviously all the Brits are required to travel to the States with valid visas and unfortunately there was a problem for John in acquiring his. This is something which Tim and Paul are trying to resolve and until they do I can't say any more about it so please don't bombard me with questions. It's been looking more and more likely that we'd be doing the first few shows as a 6 piece.
So....a day off to recover at the brand new Ritz-Carlton in downtown Denver and the first order of the day was to contact the Colorado NHT distributor. I'd arranged for a pair of 110v speakers to be delivered to the hotel for this leg of the tour and Ron Perron showed up at the hotel laden with goodies. I'd been thinking about adding the sub to the in-room system and Ron duly obliged. I couldn't wait to get it all up to the room and hooked up. May I apologize in advance to any hotel guests unfortunate enough to be in a room nearby. The sub rocks.
I forced myself to get the gym gear on and have a little workout to try and wake up and on the way to the gym dropped by Mark's room for a discussion about what we would do in the show considering John's absence. The gym is fab here and afterwards, Danny myself and Mark had a wander around the streets in search of shoes and a camera for Dan, the weak dollar making the shopping particularly desirable. An evening meal at an interesting restaurant called the Vesta Dipping Grill in which they explore the world of dips.
Show day. A very early sound check today for obvious reasons and we find ourselves at the venue at 2:00pm. Denver is known as the 'mile-high city' (5,280 feet) and by the time you've traveled the 15 miles into the foothills of the Rockies to Red Rocks, you're another mile high on top of that. So apart from the jet lag and the dehydration, those susceptable are fighting the potential for altitude sickness. It's noticeable every time you climb a set of stairs, let alone walk to the top of this beautiful venue.
One of the most spectacular gigs in the world and because it's so open, you're at the mercy of the weather and elements whenever you come here. Luckily the rain stayed away for the most part and the only thing the crew had to deal with was the occasional gust of wind. The on-stage temperature during sound check must have been over a hundred degrees and consequently we didn't spend any more time up there than we had to. A few minor alterations to the set and a few re-arranged intros and we were ready for the US.
Jesca Hoop, our support for the US and Canadian tour.
We took to the stage at 9:00 and were immediately reminded of what a fantastic audience it is here at Red Rocks. A truly fantastic crowd, great venue...we weren't so bad either!
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24th June - Denver CO- Red Rocks
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