The Daily Dave

Live, laugh, logorrhea

Am I Your Passion, Your Promise, Your Opening Act? Yes I Am.

Filed under:

We went to Red Rocks to see the Indigo Girls. Full stop.

If Elvis had come back from the dead to open for them, I’d have shouted, “Go back to Graceland! I wanna hear ‘Galileo’!”

So, when the very-much-alive Melissa Etheridge took the stage to open the show, I thought, How long am I gonna have to wait for Emily and Amy?

I quickly changed my tune: Holy fuck, she’s incredible.

Then: How’d I forget about all these awesome songs?

And, when Melissa closed with “Like the Way I Do”: Don’t leave me, you rock goddess. I need more.

Don’t worry, Amy and Emily were still the highlight of the evening.1 But Etheridge was the opening act I didn’t know I needed. She wasn’t the sad salad you have to choke down before you get to the entree. She was the five-star appetizer that made the whole meal perfect.

A female rock star on stage with her arms in the air.
Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends ended around 8:30 p.m.
Rock star performing on stage and pointing to someone in the audience.
I swear she pointed at me just after this.

Incredible Seats. Incredible Venue.

This was the Complimentary Spouse‘s and my first concert at Red Rocks and … just wow. The splendor of the place more than makes up for the lack of oxygen.2

A stage at an outdoor amphitheater.
Red Rocks, you’ve ruined me for other concert settings. Our Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheater3 has all the charm of a pile of corrugated metal.

Our nephew arranged for us to have the best seats in the house: seventh row center, right in front of the sound booth. As soon as we sat down, I texted:

These seats are INCREDIBLE. Thank you thank you thank you.

Britt took a more Dave-esque, sarcastic tone:

Is this the best you could do?

An outdoor amphitheater at twilight. There are red rock formations in the background.
The view at twilight between sets. This place takes your breath away—partly because of the beauty, but mostly because there’s no oxygen at this altitude.

She Rocked Red Rocks

Melissa started the show strong with “All-American Girl” from Yes I Am. She was energetic, present, and engaged the audience fully. Britt googled her age. “She’s 64 and doing this without oxygen!”

Damn. I’m much younger than that and got winded walking up to the amphitheater.

Somebody bring this woman some water!

Her outfit was part grit, part glitz: cowboy hat, mustard yellow jacket, graphic T-shirt, and leather (or, more likely, pleather) pants. I’m glad I didn’t wear the same thing. It would have been embarassing.

People at a Melissa Etheridge concert hold a window made out of paper.
There are no windows carved into Red Rocks, so fans had to bring their own windows for “Come to My Window.”

Lying Down on the Job

Melissa gave us a floor show at one point. Apparently, this is one of her signature concert moves.

A rock and roll performer sitting on the ground and playing the guitar between her legs.
At such high altitudes, it’s important to sit down every once in a while to rest up.
A rock and roll performer sitting on the ground and playing the guitar.
While my guitar gently sleeps.
A rock and roll performer sitting on the ground and playing the guitar.
I can’t imagine Emily doing this. Amy? Maybe.
A musician smiling at the audience while paying her guitar.
Back on her feet.

The Beat of a Different Drummer

Etheridge joined drummer Eric Gardner on “Like the Way I Do,” the last song. I thought it was cool, so I sent the video to a drummer I know. I asked if she was any good. His response:

She’s great.

He continued:

Now if Melissa would just fuck off that would be great, since she’s not adding anything to the drummer’s solo. Lead singers are so annoying, always needing the spotlight.

Good point! I mean, how would I feel if Melissa came to my work and took over an email drip campaign?

Actually … that’d be awesome.

How soon can you get here, Melissa, and are you HubSpot certified?

A guitarist bending into a power stance.
I wanted a PowerPoint presentation, not a rock ‘n’ roller power stance.

Recreate the Melissa Red Rocks Experience Yourself!

Here’s all you need to do:

  1. Find your nearest 300-million year-old sedimentary rock formation.
  2. Reduce the effective oxygenation level by about 15%.
  3. Optional: Buy tacos.
  4. Hit play on my setlist:

Footnotes

  1. Didn’t you see my overwrought thank-you note? ↩︎
  2. Red Rocks has an altitude of 6,754 feet. That’s exactly (does math) 6,754 feet above where Britt and I live. ↩︎
  3. It once had an even worse name: the 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre. ↩︎