IN THE MILE HIGH CITY AND ON THE SANTA FE TRAIL… (AUG 2000)

August 7th saw me setting out again to see some Cheap Trick shows, this time on my first trip to Colorado and Santa Fe. With the British summer being cool, damp and changeable, I was both hoping for good weather as well as three great Trick shows. Strange to be setting out just 4 weeks after getting back from shows in California and Vegas… guess those kickbacks to my boss (and my credit card company) must be working!

Another hot day. Up early, and out in line at the US Mint downtown by 7.50am. Like I wouldn’t be in line enough later in the day! Well, the wait was only 25 minutes before I was allowed in to see where a vast number of US currency coins, from pennies up to dollar coins are made. An interesting and free tour, made all the more worthwhile by the free samples! OK… I’m kidding, they "didn’t" give us each a roll of quarters! Watching all the coins spill into large wheeled bins, I thought I was back in Vegas!

Had brunch with Steph at Wendy’s on Denvers "colourful" Colfax Ave, just a block from the Ogden Theatre (venue of the show). We were lucky, just two minutes after we’d got our order, the power went off. So we sat and ate, surrounded by about 20 Wendy’s staff who couldn’t work. A little weird. We finally finished to find that an area of several blocks had lost power, and police were directing the traffic on the busy Colfax Ave. The theatre was affected too, though had a backup generator. The band arrived for soundcheck a little after 4pm, and I got a brief but close up look at some of RNs new guitars before s/c started. There was a black Norton guitar of which the main body was in two halves, top and bottom. Difficult to describe, it was like someone had taken the guitar body and cut it in half horizontally, and the two halved were just connected by the pickup (?). I’ve never seen Rick play this cool looking guitar. Also got a look at the new checkerboard Chandler Electroslide with the vinyl "In Color" LP beneath the pickup; a burnt orange coloured Hamer Monterey, and a close up look at the Girl Brand guitar, the one covered in Japanese character’s. That thing is just beautiful, a real work of art.

The theatre was sized to hold perhaps 1500-2000. It seemed fairly old, with an ornate surround to the stage, with gold coloured edgings. There was a front stage floor area, then two further raised floor levels back to the bar, each level had white crush barriers in front to prevent accidents. There was also a small balcony at the back of the theatre, above the bar and foyer area.

The line lengthened before doors opened, and it was nice to meet some of the local fans as well as friends who’d travelled from Wisconsin and Texas. It was a surprise to see two Japanese girls who I’d never met at a CT show/event in the US before. They were visiting from Yokohama, and taking in two CT shows during their trip. The theatre was very hot, I have no idea if it had any air conditioning, aside from the afternoon power cut. It must have been approaching 100 degrees as we waited for the show to start.

Openers were Nash Kato (ex Urge Overkill) and his band. They played a short but good set from 9-9.30, and got a decent reception. Of particular note was their drummer, looking and playing like a young Keith Moon! The whole band were tight, and one of the better opening bands I’ve seen.

The set list was: Ain’t That a Shame, ELO Kiddies, Top of the World, Downed, IWYTWM, IKWIW, Wrong All Along, 70’s Song, 8 Miles Low, Voices, Heaven Tonight, Southern Girls, Surrender/ Tell Me Everything, Dream Police, Lot to Lose, Goodnight.

Despite the heat, the band put on as good a show as ever. I heard (though didn’t see) that RZ occasionally got oxygen sidestage between songs. It was that hot, as well as being at altitude. The band looked in good spirits, particularly Tom who briefly came over and chatted in the dark just before the band launched into IWYTWM. The marbled blue Chandler bass that he played for much of the show is a beautiful instrument. Rick pointed out a few fans before the 70’s Song including the Japanese girls, when one local shouted out to Rick that it was her 20^th CT show. Quick as a flash he replied "Big f*ckin’ deal, I’ve been to every one"! He soon made up with her, of course! RN played the checkerboard Chandler during 8 Miles Low. Nice Bun E solo ending to Heaven Tonight, with two white CT logo’s (the top one upside down, the bottom one the right way up) projected onto the stage backdrop. The MFH flat thrown out during Surrender boomeranged back near the front, though not near me. The usual piranha-like frenzy ensued. I’m surprised people don’t lose digits or limbs trying to get that thing… Rick seemed to glare for several seconds at a guy near the front on his side of the stage, apparently holding up a mobile phone for the listener to hear the show, or at least that song. After Dream Police, Rick stood by his amp, back to the crowd, and tipped his whole cup of iced water down his shoulders and back. I’m not surprised, it was that hot. Tom looked pretty relaxed and happy throughout the show, as ever Robin’s vocals were awesome, Bun E was d’King, and Rick was, well, Rick.

Just before the show started, I was jotting down the set list from the one taped down by RN’s mic, when his tech came over and added "Invaders of the Heart" at the bottom. He talked loudly to another tech that it was some song they were adding on... "Yeah" I thought, "this is just a wind up!". As it was, the band didn’t come back on to play it.

Rick and Tom left as soon as the show was over. Robin was very obliging (as ever) to several fans who asked for autographs and pictures with him as he left the theatre. When the band’s shuttle bus came out of the side alley to the theatre, Bun E rolled down the window and apologised for not having played Invaders, it had been too hot up on stage to play any more. Cool to think they even "thought" of playing it, though a shame it didn’t happen! Still, it had been a good day and evening, and it was nice to leave Colfax Ave, its pimps, whores, dealers and other night life behind, head to my room and crash for the night.

THURSDAY 10^th AUGUST– COLORADO MUSIC HALL, COLORADO SPRINGS (CO)

Another hot and sunny day, and we left Denver around 11am to head on the short 60 mile journey to Colorado Springs. To be honest I was a little disappointed with the scenery close to Denver, and it was nice that the further from the big city we went, the better the scenery became. Of course we weren’t going to see the best of Colorado which lay to the west of the Rockies. The drive was enlivened not only by the scenery, but by the AMCT Tribute #3 CD which we played on the in-car CD player (that made the 20 cassette tapes I’d brought over with me somewhat redundant…) As I’d heard in CA a few weeks ago, a terrific selection of covers by a lot of talented fans.

We reached Colorado Springs around 1pm, and checked into the Rodeway Inn, ideally situated right next to the venue. Though we only got to drive through, Co Springs seemed a pleasant town, dominated by the mighty Pikes Peak (and other mountains) nearby. From the motel we had a fine view of the town and mountains. Checked out the venue after lunch, and the band arrived around 4pm to play "House is Rockin" for soundcheck again. Very cool. It sounds like the band will be off the road Oct through Dec, some of that time to be spent on new material.

The set list was: Ain’t That a Shame, ELO Kiddies, TV Violence, Downed, IWYTWM, IKWIW, Wrong All Along, 70’s Song, 8 Miles Low, Voices, Heaven Tonight, Southern Girls, Surrender/ Tell Me Everything, Dream Police, Lot to Lose, Goodnight.

Bun was unhappy with one of his snare drums from Downed onwards, and his tech frequently had to make adjustments. During IWYTWM, Rick placed a guitar pick on the stern security guards shoulder (the one standing at centre stage spoiling the view for those at front centre). The guard didn’t flinch, smile or anything, and the pick sat on his shoulder for at least the rest of the song. Early into Wrong All Along, RN had to change his guitar, which happened again during Lot to Lose, no idea why. During Heaven Tonight RN gave his guitar to one of the girls from Japan (which was soon retrieved by his tech!). Two MFH flats got thrown out during Surrender, I don’t recall that happening before.

A few friends came back to our room for a couple of hours, and we taked and had cold beer. And yes, I even had TWO Corona’s… no wonder I slept well that night!

FRIDAY 11^th AUGUST – CAMEL ROCK CASINO, SANTA FE (NM).

Yet another hot, sunny day, and we left at 11am for the 300 mile drive to the Camel Rock Casino, just north of Santa Fe. The traffic hold up just a few miles south of Colorado Springs was frustrating, we lost 15-20 minutes in that. We made up the time though by flying down I-25. The scenery still wasn’t as picturesque as I’d hoped for, but we did see more mountains as we approached the state line for New Mexico, "The Enchanted State". Hmmm, the dark clouds and thunderstorms over the mountains to our right didn’t seem too enchanting to me! Still, we didn’t get the rain and continued to drive through flat scrub until we started getting more hills as we got closer to Santa Fe. We even passed through Las Vegas… though it was nothing like it’s glossy neon-driven namesake in Nevada! We had to drive through Santa Fe to get onto the road for Camel Rock, and finally reached the venue just after 4pm.

The Casino was on a Reservation (the Tesuque) so was dry. As in no beer. Hmmm, Rick will have a problem with his customary Rolling Rock tonight then… The friends from Boston and Texas drove in just after we’d parked, and we went in to find a fan from Los Angeles already there. The casino was small by Vegas standards, and fairly quiet at mid afternoon. The concert venue (normally "The Rock" bingo hall) was to the left as you walked in, and although you could hear what was going on, curtains pulled across the doorway prevented us seeing in. There were quite a lot of security too, at every entrance to the hall as well as around the casino.

Tom, his wife, and Robin arrived a little later, popped into the hall, then came out again to look around and maybe gamble a little. Some 15 minutes later Tom and his wife came back, and were stopped by the security guard at the main entrance to the hall. "Do you have any business in there?" asked the guard. Tom was stunned, and then the guard asked for ID! We pointed Tom out on the poster advertising tonight’s show, which was helpfully placed by the entrance, and asked the guard if he noticed any similarity with the man standing in front of him. After a few seconds the guard relented and allowed them in! A few minutes later, Robin came back, though by now the guard had twigged that as well as asking for ID he could check the concert advertisement. He got in somewhat more easily.

Rick and Bun E had obviously arrived at the stage entrance, because soon after we heard (from behind the curtain) all four warm up and then launch into "House is Rockin" for soundcheck. This was followed by "Lookin’ Out for Number One", the first time I’ve ever heard this done live. Cool.

At 7.35pm we got let into the hall. It was big, with a soda and popcorn bar off to one side (no beer, remember?). There was a floor area stretching some 30 feet back from the front of the stage, then rows of seating. They didn’t bank up or anything, all at floor level. And almost everyone who was in line for an hour or more rushed in… to take a seat at least 30 feet from the stage… Good to meet some local fan’s that I’d corresponded with. Early entertainment was provided by a bat which had got in, and was flying around the front stage area in an increasingly vain effort to find a way back out to the desert. After some 10 minutes an elderly man walked in with a fishing type net, and after a couple of attempts caught the bat to go release it. I could only breath a sigh of relief that Ozzy wasn’t in the room…

Nash Kato were first up, and were allowed to play a 50-60 minute set which included covers of "Dirty Work" and "Girl You’ll be a Woman Soon". Another fine set from the band out of the Chicago area, definitely worth seeing. What sucked was the security, again. There was no barrier in front of the stage, which I guess was 4 ft high or so. However, the crowd up front were pretty mellow. But shortly before the show started, 4 security people came up. Two of them went to each side of the stage, but the two others moved in, asked folks to step back, and one stood in front of the Robin/Tom spot, the other in front of the Rick/Robin spot. So I stepped back like everyone else, and this elderly guard stood pretty much in front of me and stayed there for the night. Bah. Of course by then those affected couldn’t move elsewhere.

Nash Kato finished at 9, and without warning thick drapes swept in to hide the stage. I had no chance to pick up my soda, which I’d helpfully put on the floor in front of me rather than on the stage front. So that got knocked over and emptied before I had a chance to react.

The crowd in front of the stage had swelled, though a lot of folks were still in their seats when CT took the stage at 9.35pm.

The set list was: Ain’t That a Shame (short ending), ELO Kiddies, TV Violence, Downed, IWYTWM, IKWIW, Wrong All Along, 70’s Song, 8 Miles Low, Voices, Heaven Tonight, Southern Girls, Surrender/ Tell Me Everything, Dream Police, Lot to Lose, Goodnight.

It was certainly a nice, lively show until the middle of IWYTWM when the stage lights failed. The band kept playing, though RN kept getting onto his steps to get an uplight. At the end of the song, there were probably 3 minutes whilst we saw frenzied activity backstage and men with torches. Of course Rick talked to the crowd in between, including a variation of a standard line. "You may not be able to see us, but we’re Cheap Trick!". The lighting people managed to get a couple of white spotlights working, so the band started up again. During IKWIW, the rest of the coloured stage lights came back on. Rick came back on after Surrender in the way that he does, "Do you wanna hear some more?". He came over and asked me if I wanted his beer, and handed me a red cup… of iced water! Still, it was very welcome!

Despite the lighting problem, it was a nice show with an enthusiastic audience, at least up front. This was borne out by the merchandise stand doing brisk business after the show. Seven of us fan’s went and had a late meal in the casino buffet… where I kept bumping into Nash Kato. Was the guy following me or what? <g> After the show we drove the hour down to near Albuquerque, and this latest 3 night CT stand was over. As always, three great shows, each interesting in different ways (good and not so good). But as always, the band delivered.

THE REST

Had a couple of days down near Albuquerque, to wind down and do some sightseeing. This included a circular drive up through the Jemez Valley, Valles Caldera through Los Alamos and back through Santa Fe. Some fabulous scenery, who said New Mexico is all desert? As we climbed up past Jemez Springs, the trees in the valleys became thick conifer forests, and it was almost like driving in Oregon or Washington. Saw quite a lot of forest fire damage too. Some of the views at the highest points, across vast plains of New Mexico towards distant mountains were just breathtaking. Passed by the Camel Rock Casino on the way back, and actually saw the Camel Rock. From one angle, it "does" look like a camel! That night we had a fabulous New Mexican meal back in Corrales, including my first introduction to sopopilla, fried bread pockets, which we ate with honey. Mmmmm… <drool>! The next day saw another drive, this time up to Santa Fe but skirting Sandia Peak on the "Turquoise Trail". That was scenic too, and cool to stop and have a drink at the Mine Shaft Tavern in Madrid. This was obviously a popular spot with local bikers, the front of the bar saw a long line of Harley’s and other sparkling chromed hogs, and many of their owners sat on the rail outside the bar entrance. A local band were playing inside to a full room of drinkers and eaters, and were a good accompaniment to my "Alien Amber" ale! Mid afternoon saw us in the plaza in Santa Fe. All the buildings were very low rise, St Francis Cathedral looked nice, and their was an air of festivity as at least one wedding was taking place in the plaza park, as well as a mariachi band playing on stage. It was cool to be there, though the buildings surrounding the historic plaza didn’t look like they were 400 years old, which disappointed me a little. Oh well, it was still good to visit…

Dinner that night was in the High Finance restaurant, atop the 10,000+ ft Sandia Peak near Albuquerque. This could only be reached by riding a "seriously" scary sky-tram… Did I ever say that I hate heights? The view, and the spectacular views from the top made it worthwhile though, and cool to eat and watch Albuquerque light up as the dusk turned to night. Saw a small town light up in the opposite direction too, though it wasn’t the glow of thousands of street lights. Ah, must be the nuclear research place at Los Alamos…

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