It is 4:30 PM; as we have all day, we check the weather forecast constantly, and, as typical in Denver, Colorado, it has changed every time— from warm sunny skies to cloudy to scattered thunderstorms. With giddy eagerness, we pack in preparation for all three options and make our way to The Red Rocks Amphitheater for the show of a lifetime. We have come to watch and to support our local band— Mandolin Orange— as they play for the first time on the grandest of national venues.
We arrive in earnest as the clouds begin to clear over our heads. We scamper quickly along the red rocks lining the walkway, gazing over our shoulders frequently as we zig zag and climb our way higher and higher towards the clouds and into the sky. The view of the Denver skyline appears as we crest the highest rocks that blanket the entrance. We enter, and, of course, a distant rainbow blankets the distant city buildings as Mandolin Orange begins its second song of the set. Because everything is just too good to be true already and because rainbows tend to show up at those precious times in our lives when everything seems to come together. We take countless photos of the view and of the quintiessental rock faces as the music begins to fill our happy souls. They play 45 of the biggest minutes of their young musical careers, and they sound incredible.
We take it all in— every note and word, lines of musical poetry, every moment of the powerful experience in seeing a favorite band play at The Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater; in leaving out a dream.
For us, fellow Chapel Hill residents, we beam with pride for our local musicians. We were graced with an opportunity to see them play in Denver, and we were graced with sunny skies for their part of the show.
However, the fickle weather forecast was right after all.
It is 7:00 PM; the clouds return; the wind whispers a shrill ‘hello’ that chills the skin, and, as The Oh Hellos and, eventually, Elephant Revival take the stage, the rain falls. The scene, at this point, becomes cold and damp. But to us, it really does not matter. The spirits of the musicians and the show never waver but instead soar in warm embrace of the music and the place and the crowd, whose energy heightens in the less-than-ideal weather, who continue to dance and sing with glee for hours.
With the transition of one group to the next on-stage, so changes the surrounding setting— the setting skies change with an ever-darkening hue, from afternoon blue to early evening ember red to the twilight gray and eventual darkness. The towering ‘Red Rocks’ that line the crowd begin to glow with several spotlights as the sun sets, giving us the warmth of a surrounding fireside, despite the cold mountain wind and intermittent rains.
But the most heart-warming thing about these amazing groups and about this amazing experience was the hometown feel they bring with them to their shows. For Mandolin Orange, a small-town group from small-town Chapel Hill, North Carolina, they carry these roots in their hearts. They play as if it is at Cat’s Cradle back home, and we as fans feel as close to them as we would at home.
Like the ember glow of the setting sun and the spotlights cast over the Red Rock Amphitheater as darkness crawls over our heads, their music sings of the intimacy of tunes played around a campfire. They sing of home and friends; despite playing at one of the grandest venues in the country, they take the time to thank their North Carolina hometown fans, as they do when we go to see them in little Chapel Hill and as we always will when they come home to us.
They are the kind of people who, after playing a show at Red Rocks, approached us, as only somewhat-familiar Chapel Hill faces, the following morning at a market in Denver and said ‘hello’ and ‘thanks for supporting them.’ Even in a big city the morning after what potentially will be a big break in their careers, they are the friendly faces and kind words in a Market that they would be one thousand miles to the east after a local show or even just at a local restaurant or coffee shop. It made our whole trip.
And they didn’t even know it was my birthday that morning.
For your incredible music and for the best birthday present— thank you.