Denver, CO (July 31, 1999)
Red Rocks Amphitheater

 


[this review is from a special Dan Fan, Kelly Shock, who my wife and I met at
Dan's concert in Ft. Worth, TX in 1993.]

The day dawned cool and cloudy, with much needed rain in the forecast. As the day wore on, the citizens of Denver did indeed "Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain." The venue for Dan's show was Red Rocks Ampitheater, a gorgeous natural outdoor ampitheater nestled in the foothills of the Rockies just outside Denver. The seating gently flows down the side of a mountain, with the stage located at the bottom. Great towering Red rocks run parallel to one another, with the seating area in between. The accoustics are phenomenal, and on a clear night, the sights and lights of Denver can be seen in the background behind the stage. While I don't know the capacity of Red Rocks, the place was packed regardless of the rain! (Click on the Red Rocks Ampitheater on the main page of the review section to take a peek!)

On this night, the opening act was Eliza Gilkeson, who frequently opens for Dan in this area. There is evidently quite a history of their shows together, in that it rains during her act, but clears by the time Dan takes the stage. Eliza said "It's great to see so many fools for music!" Thankfully, the temperature was pleasant, so the rain was no great deterrent to Dan's fans. History did repeat itself, as the rain ceased prior to Dan's set. When he came on stage, he remarked that Eliza was his Sacrificial Rain Goddess.

The song play list was almost identical to the previous shows, with the exception that he added Captured Angel, Longer, and There's a Place in the World for a Gambler, and deleted Believe in Me.

His "patter" between songs was quite different than reported in previous reviews though. I think perhaps this is because this is "home" for him, and he seemed to enjoy being surrounded by his Colorado "family." As I'm sure is the case in most places, Coloradans truly love "their own" - Dan, John Denver, Russ Freeman & The Rippingtons, etc. The combination of the "feel" of Red Rocks and the esteem of his audience seemed to empower Dan with almost a magical energy throughout his performance.

After Nexus, Dan talked to the audience, thanked them for coming out in the rain, and said "I know it's really wet out there, so I'll give you a choice. I can play fast and do a short show so you can go home and get dry, or I can do a long show... What do you want?" Of course, you guessed it, the audience wanted a looonnnggg show - hence the added songs.

We saw the "props" as described in the previous reviews - the lighted Christmas tree, the stocking, and plastic horse. His toy of choice for the evening, though, was a "cow in a can" - you know, those kid's toys that moo when turned upside down. We got to hear that several times throughout the evening between songs...

Dan introduced a friend of his from the Vail Valley, a fellow by the name of Jimmy Huga (sp?). Jimmy was one of the first men from the USA to ever win a gold medal in downhill skiing, and was unfairly stricken with multiple sclerosis 2 years later. Jimmy now runs a center for MS patients in Vail. Jimmy wheeled himself out on stage to take a "bow" and was given a big bear hug by Dan, who then dedicated "Road Beneath My Wheels" to Jimmy. Another touching moment of the evening was prior to playing The Reach. Dan talked a bit about the loss of John Denver last year, and John's love for Colorado, the environment, and the sea. He said "We've lost a good man," and dedicated The Reach to John "wherever you are."

His second encore was There's a Place in the World for a Gambler. It was amusing and a little obvious that he'd not done that number in awhile, as he forgot the words. He said "You guys probably know it better than I do!" Anyway, through audience participation, he got through the song beautifully. Always a favorite!

Brief impressions of the evening include how reverent the audience was during his performance. Total silence during the songs, very few people moving around, etc. And you know how at many concerts, the crowd begins to thin toward the end of the show with people trying to beat the traffic? That didn't happen here - probably 97% stayed till the very end! The friend who went with me hadn't seen Dan for several years and remarked how she had forgotten that he was such a talented musician. She said she knew he had beautiful voice, but was blown away by his instrumentals.

Overall, it was a truly special evening. I've seen Dan in concert 15 times over the years, and would rank this peformance at the top of the list. Bravo, Dan! Thank you for sharing your music and spirit with us.

Kelly Shock


This was my 15th Dan concert dating back to 1983, and I've enjoyed watching him mature as an artist and performer. It poured rain from 6 PM through the opening act, then subsided just in time for Dan's show. Having been to so many of his concerts, I most enjoy the "surprises"-- the non-standards-- and this show was great in that regard. He played Captured Angel early in the show, which was wonderful, as well as a fabulous instrumental rendition of Eleanor Rigby as a tribute to the Beatles. Before playing To The Morning, he told the story of how he had written it at age 18, and how it was one of the first songs that he had actually felt was good music, and how that had encouraged him to pursue music as a career. The song took on new meaning for me, and his always-great performance of it was somehow even better. But the biggest surprise of the evening was Longer. Never a favorite of mine in the past, Dan sang it with such Heart that it was one of the most captivating songs I've ever heard him play. I was so moved that I couldn't even applaud after the song. All in all a wonderful concert.

Thanks for reading,

Richard Nuzzi, DC


Just returned from a GREAT show@ Red Rocks. It rained for a couple of hours before the show, but stopped between Eliza Gilkyson's opening set and Dan's. I took that as a sign! He opened with Nexus, then played Captured Angel!!! Haven't heard that in concert for 20 years. High points were The Reach, To The Morning ( the best I've ever heard ), The First Christmas Morning, and his jazzy instrumental version of Eleanor Rigby. All the songs were wonderful, but these were especially good. He played two encores: Same Old Lang Syne, and an extended version of Place in the World For A Gambler. Dan was in fine voice and was very talkative during his 2 hour show. What a treat!!!! Keep up the good work with your web site, I refer to it often.

Steve Bernhard


I had the privilege of attending my first Dan Fogelberg concert at Red Rocks last Saturday. If there is a more beautiful place in the country for an outdoor concert, I can't imagine where it is. Dan told us it was his favorite place to perform, but he might say that to all his audiences!

We had a very rainy weekend in Colorado and I was dismayed to see "Rain or Shine" on the tickets. Driving down to Red Rocks from Ft. Collins, I could barely see the road it was raining so hard. It was still raining through the opening act, a solo female performer named Eliza (Gilkyson), whose last name I didn't catch. She was quite good, but it was a pretty tough crowd since we were all cold and wet and just wanted to see Dan.

Then, miraculously, the rain stopped and we stayed dry through Dan's entire 2-hour set! When he came out, Dan remarked incredulously, "It stopped raining!". He thanked Eliza for serving as his "sacrificial rain goddess". He expressed amazement that the place was packed, given the weather, and asked since we were cold and wet did we want "the short show or the long show". You can guess which one the audience picked.

My wife and I both thought the show was absolutely superb. We were blown away how one person could singlehandedly hold thousands of people spellbound through the sheer talent of his singing, songwriting, guitar, and piano skills. I didn't keep a detailed set list but it sounds similar to most of the shows in the previous reviews. Off the top of my head I remember "Nexus", "Captured Angel", "Old Tennessee", "To the Morning", "Hard to Say", "Make Love Stay", "Todos Santos", "Eleanor Rigby", "First Christmas Morn", "Run for the Roses", "Longer", "The Reach" (he gave tribute to John Denver and his love of the sea, perhaps a special Colorado touch), "Leader of the Band", "Part of the Plan". I'm sure I missed a couple and got the order mixed up.

One thing that did seem different from earlier concerts is that we got *two* encores! His first encore was, as expected, "Same Old Lang Syne". While he couldn't quite hit the high notes like on the original recording, it was a beautiful performance and had the crowd in tears. Then, after a very extended standing ovation, Dan came back and did "There's a Place in the World for a Gambler". Perhaps we got the extra encore out of appreciation for coming out in the rain, or maybe it was a "home crowd advantage" thing. Or maybe we just clapped louder :-)! Anyway, all of us standing up, swaying back and forth, joining in on about 25 repeats of the "Let it Shine" chorus was nothing short of a mystical experience.

All in all, an outstanding concert. We were really glad we didn't let the weather scare us off (I actually know someone who got to the Red Rocks parking lot and decided to go home because of the rain! Unbelievable!). Dan was very talkative and seemed truly appreciative of the audience. The audience was most definitely appreciative of Dan for giving us our money's worth.

I was a big Fogelberg fan in high school and had all his albums, but I had sort of lost touch with his music recently since we only have "Innocent Age" on CD. So this concert brought back a lot of memories for me. Needless to say, I have some CD purchases to make in the near future!

Al Sanders


In a word, awesome! This was my first Dan concert and what an absolutely wonderful experience it was. Seeing Dan Fogelberg at Red Rocks.....I just can't say enough. My husband and I flew in from Atlanta, Georgia just for the concert, a birthday gift from me for my husband. He is a longtime (as far back as the '70's) Dan fan who has seen him in concert many times. The weather was stormy and rainy for most of the afternoon and evening until about 10 minutes before Dan took the stage. The skies parted and it remained dry throughout the concert, we were blessed! Dan opened with Nexus, did two encores, Same Old Lang Syne and There's a Place in the World for a Gambler. Every song in between had me captivated. As the crowd began to venture from their cars wearing ponchos and rainsuits, I became more and more skeptical that this large, rainsoaked crowd would not be respectful of this marvelous musician. I was in awe at the respect shown by this crowd of 9000+ fans. Dan was very conversational with the audience, and as I would expect really seemed to enjoy playing in Colorado. It was obvious that he was having a great time, actually quite comical at times, and very entertaining. He performed a selection from his about to be released Christmas CD (First Christmas Morning), dressing up the piano with a lit-up Christmas tree and stocking. He added a small plastic horse to the set for his energetic rendition of Run for the Roses, one of my all-time favorites. Others that he so magnificently performed were:

Leader of the Band, Captured Angel, Todos Santos, Old Tennessee, Hard to Say, Longer, Part of the Plan (which was vocally requested from about the 50th row), Make Love Stay, Forefathers (before which he made mention of his 105 year old grandmother), To the Morning (the first song he ever wrote, at the age of 18....quite insightful for an 18 year old), The Reach (dedicated to the late John Denver), Morning Sky, Don't Lose Heart, Road Beneath My Wheels and a Fogelberg rendition of Eleanor Rigby. I could have sat and listened to him for more hours that I can count. He is absolutely THE BEST!!! I am thankful every day that my husband introduced me to this masterpiece of an artist. He is definitely one-of -a-kind. This may have been my first time to see him perform, but I don't intend for it to be the last. I look forward to the next tour that he makes. Dan, please come back to the southeast!!!!!

Fans forever......Jeff and Beth (Fayette County Georgia)


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