For the past week, I have been at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. Yeah, if you want to say it, I’ve been in Denver. It’s like living anywhere around Atlanta and telling people you live in Atlanta because it’s much easier than having to explain where you actually are. To be honest, I haven’t know really where I am the entire time. Every time I’ve looked at device that tells me where I am, it has a different name. Morrison, Littleton, Highland Farm, and something else I saw last night. I just accept it and move on.
On Friday evening, the main act was an EDM DJ called Inzo. I had never heard of the man as I have never been into EDM. I can see how someone blitzed out of their head would get into the groove and sway back and forth to the rhythm. Not knocking it but not something I would go out of my way to find. The show, however, was really cool. I liked the lasers, fire, and smoke. The best part, however, was the little plastic flower things that were handed out to people as they came into the venue. When Inzo FINALLY took the stage later in the evening, he started out his set with music….sounds….that were actually relaxing. It was something I would play to fall asleep! I was like….”Dang, man! Play me out!” After a few minutes of clearing the “feels” and getting everyone in the space, the flowers illuminated and everyone became the bearer of light. Light! The one thing that can drive away darkness had taken over the audience and excitedly turned a dark venue into a glorious, cheerful, and loud space in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It sent shivers down my spine. I may not have liked the music, but the show…the entertainment…was amazing.
On Saturday, the main act was Boogie T. Once again, I had absolutely no idea who this person was. And, to be perfectly honest, I still don’t. Saturday was, in lack of better words, shit! It started raining around 3pm. It started out slow and got harder. I even saw some hail in the mix. I was here for work and had to go out in this mess to make sure things worked as expected. That was fine. It would have been better if the surroundings were conducive to having electronics. The elements and electronics do not go together unless those electronics are designed to be used in said elements. The ones installed are not. They are quite precious. During setup, a Reggaeton band played and we were all very impressed. They could have been the main act of the evening and I think people would have paid to see them. Given the weather, I would not have stuck around no matter who the acts were.
Around 9:30pm, the rain changed to devil’s dandruff. Yep, that slushy white stuff that falls from the sky and causes cities like Atlanta to become paralyzed. We watched it from inside and silently prayed that everything would go well and work as it should. For the most part, it did. There were some hiccups along the way, but it wasn’t anything terrible. We got to our car and it was covered in snow. It’s pretty, but I can deal with being in snow about once or twice a year and I am good. Any more and I’m over it and want it to go back to the north where it belongs.
What have I observed while being in Denver? I feel that thought processes are a bit freer out here. Can it cause people to seem extremely weird? Absolutely! That was on clear display at these concerts. The clothes, or the lack thereof, were expressive in the highest caliber. I saw things that my brain is still trying to erase. “Good for you , Big Bertha! You show everyone that fishnet can stretch.”
Food in the Denver area is not cheap. It’s a bit on the pricy side. I like that the restaurants we visited purchased much of their ingredients from local farmers. The one problem I did have…and I have to say I was a slight Karen about…was that people who do not know a cuisine should leave it alone. I did not grow up in Louisiana and I am by far not Cajun. I did grow up in Deep South Alabama. Saying that, there is a way to cook grits and there are many ways not to cook them. One of my favorite dishes of all time is Shrimp & Grits. Made correctly, they will invoke tears of joy from my taste buds. On the flip side of the coin, if they are made incorrectly, it can cause file feelings of hatred for the person who ruined the dish. One must give the dish at least two tastes to say that it’s one of the most God-awful creations. I gave it the two and left the grits pile where it lay. I ate a couple of the shrimp, but even those weren’t what they could have been. When the waiter came to the table, he said, “Did we not like our Shrimp & Grits?” I wasn’t a complete bitch about it, but I did tell him that it was someone’s interpretation of the dish and that I was sure they were happy about it. That being said, however, it was not what was expected for a correctly made Shrimp & Grits. Of course, he didn’t cook it, but I hope that he relayed the message to the cook who will hopefully use that criticism to correct his mistake.
Overall, the trip has been fine…except for the food poisoning I had on Tuesday evening. It was coming out of me at break neck speed…from both ends. Honey, destroyed! That’s all I can say about that bathroom. I did what I could to clean it up, but whoever cleans that room should pour Clorox all over the floor and the shower. That’s one shower mat they will never see again. I did leave the room as spotless as I could by leaving the trash in a bag and my empty plastic bottles in a brown paper bag. That was the least I could do after living in a hotel room for a week. I can’t wait to do it again!