Picnic Under a Giving Tree

There's This New Trend in Concert Attire.....

At the exact moment pre-sale tickets for Mumford & Sons were available for purchase; I was logged in and ready to buy my pair. Only I couldn’t get through. So I tried the next day when tickets went on sale for the general public. What do you know.....still couldn’t get through......not even for a single ticket. The whole process was just entirely frustrating and I walked away with nothin’. I was quite bummed.

Well, several weeks later I was hanging with a fellow photographer friend, Jeff, when we got to talking about this particular band. I mentioned how much I wanted to see them live, but how impossible it was to get tickets. He mentioned he might have a connection or two. What do you know? .....he did! He scored two tickets from a friend of a friend, or something......and so I self-invited myself :)

When we got to the venue, there was a ridiculous line wrapped around the building. My first thought; does the venue hold this many people?? Apparently it was going to have too, as the line behind us just kept going and going.....and going. During the forty-five minutes we stood in line, we started questioning whether they would let our cameras in. Jeff went to check while I held our spots.

There’s this new trend in concert attire that doesn’t allow for cameras with removable lenses to be worn at the hip. It’s a frustrating trend growing ever so rapidly that this photographer is not so happy about. Two photographers lacking two cameras were walking in on a potentially brilliant performance. It was a bit torturous. Fortunately, Jeff had a smart phone with a decent built in camera. All I really wanted was one good photo to document the experience. It took us both opening bands to realize we weren’t going to fix what was wrong with his smart phone. For some reason, the camera was in permanent polarized mode. Discouraged at first, it ended up being a happy accident sorta thing. All the shots were turning out in a really cool artistic kinda way. I hogged his phone camera the entire show. It was really fun! Oh, and the show was AMAZING!

It’s funny watching how people react to one another when they’re crammed into a small hot place, elbowing past your personal bubble. On our left was a pot smoker and his girlfriend who couldn’t stop bumping into or stepping on the people around her. In front of us was the annoyed mother daughter duo that kept rolling their eyes and obnoxiously covering their noses at the smoke. They also liked to stand with their feet wide apart as to keep from any bubble invaders. They didn’t bother ME so much as to put a damper of a mood on the space in general. I was happy when they shifted out of the way; although not so happy when the 6'6" man came out of nowhere and took their place. A couple near us asked us to hold their spot why they went for the ridiculous $10 beer. They didn’t return till halfway thru the show. I kinda think it took them that long to wiggle thru the crowd. There were two girls to my right, with two sets of parents, who had some sort of irritated fixation with hipsters and cared to spend the ENTIRE time pointing out who was and who wasn’t, in a way that meant they were "so over". Behind Jeff was an ever annoying dude complaining to his girlfriend as to why she had to drag him to the show- Seriously?! Overall, once the music started no one really cared who was invading their space. It was just entertaining, on my part, to notice the level of "patience" on the crowded hot floor.

Anyway, I’ve listened to Mumford and Sons’ album backwards and forwards, upside and down, and I’ve never been able to nail down a favorite song or a song I could do without; they’re all so good. But I do remember "Awake My Soul" and "Thistle and Weeds" being my favorite LIVE performances. I was really sucked into the moment during those songs. "The Cave" was a perfect finale song as the entire audience was jumping up and down dancing. Ahhh, IT WAS ALL SOOOO GOOD!

See you next time at Red Rocks ;) {Just putting it out there}

Speaking of Red Rocks......The following night was Brandi Carlile opening for Ray LaMontagne. This particular duo and this particular venue had me squealing when I first heard the news. I love them both and have seen them multiple times, but together-? Well, that was ice cream and sprinkles for my icing and cake. Sadly, AGAIN......no "professional" cameras. I think I’m going to design a bag with a secret compartment. Wish me luck.

Brandi owned the stage from the moment she walked on to the moment she ended her set, what I’m assuming to be a first Red Rocks experience, with her brilliant cover of "Hallelujah". Amber leans over and whispers in my ear, "Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley who?" No disrespect though, seriously.....behind those two gents, Brandi owns this song. And with the cello beside her; that beautiful instrument perfectly pairing the tone in Brandi’s voice........ oh! It was magic.

Now Ray. I can’t put it any simpler than this. Red Rocks IS Ray’s venue.

The first time I saw him live, I had no idea what to expect. So to say that it was a mind-blowing first impression, as I literally jumped out of my seat when he opened his mouth....well.......that would be an understatement. His voice hit all the way back to the far wall where I was sitting, as if I were standing right in front of him. That was the first time. Red Rocks was my third Ray show, and he still managed to surprise me out of my skin at the drop of his first vocal note. I’m pretty sure I cursed in amazement.....The expected, yet so unexpected shock; the voice that resonates to the soul with purity and a power unheard. Now that’s just his voice. Mix in his lyrics, his band, and the ambiance of the crowd, and you’ve got yourself a really happy moment......for me, an emotional happy moment.

I remember at one point, I had a friend on my left (head on her shoulder), a friend on my right (hand in her hand), lightning on the horizon, a beautiful clear night sky above (on a day with so much rain), a slight breeze, a still happy moment and a gorgeous song.....just Ray and his guitar........ I realized I hadn’t felt that way since one specific cappuccino moment back in Spain. I took a mental photo of the moment, shed a little tear and lit a really big smile.

Putt Putt

Day @ DIA

I was driving home from Denver, after dropping off Cooper with my mother-in-law on her way to visit Cooper’s cousins in Kansas for a week, when I was approaching Peña Blvd. It was only a few short miles from our meeting point at E-470 and I-70 to Peña Blvd. In those few short miles, I thought to myself.... what does one do when you’re unemployed, child-less for a week, and with an absolute non-existent agenda? As Peña Blvd approached, without any regard to thought or planning, my car took the exit and off to the airport I went. When does one get the opportunity to just fly somewhere.... anywhere.... on a moment’s notice? Fortunately, I had a small backpack of clothes in the car. Unfortunately, I hadn’t showered yet. Regardless, I parked my car and hopped on the shuttle. I thought of all the places I could go. First I thought Chicago. I had never been to Chicago and it would be a wonderful place to explore.... spontaneously. But then I thought Los Angeles. I had a few contacts who might be able to hook me up with a couch (since unemployment meant budget), and I happened to know of a few shows playing at the Hotel Café that weekend. For awhile now, I’ve wanted to catch a show at Hotel Café, so it seemed appropriate that this was the place to go. I didn’t have much; just a basic phone, a few clothing items and an appetite for adventure. I had a "plan." I got a (standby) ticket. Then I waited. Aaaand waited. I wasn’t able to catch the next flight to LA due to a previous flight cancelation. So I waited for the next flight...... and waited. At this point I had been speaking with a couple of close friends and my mom, I think searching for some kind of justification that it was all still a good idea. For a moment, I decided maybe I’ll go to Portland instead. Wait, no L.A. No... Portland. Or Philadelphia(?). For goodness sake?!! What was I doing? I continued to stare out a big brightly lit window, watching planes and cargo-loaders come and go, completely at a loss. And quite honestly, not just at a loss about which flight to take, but with the entirety of my life (seeing how I was hanging out at an airport instead of looking for work). No job. No kid. No agenda. No direction. No clue what to do with myself. Just sitting there.... quickly gaining a headache, stressing about where to go. What seemingly was spontaneous fun became ridiculously irresponsible and stupid. I had no real good logical reason for doing what I was doing. So....somewhere in the mist of all that waiting, logic ultimately reigned in and a flight to anywhere just lost its spark. It’s okay to sit at home.... EVEN if it’s for a whole week, and you have NOTHING to do.... Well besides find a job, or hike a mountain.... Or get some rest. Or get your photography website together. Or read a book, meditate, bask in the sun. Anything! Anything AT HOME...... It’s ok. (I think I need to join a Traveler’s Anonymous addiction group or something). This opportunist just needed to go home.

And so I did. This was my sad pathetic day at DIA.

Sigh.

Gma Turns 32