The Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado is a seasonal destination. Sure, tourists can be found exploring the century-old venue every day of the year, but it isn’t until Spring that the rocks really shine. The scene on the ground might change from night to night, depending on what acts are booked to grace the iconic stage, but if you are one of the many mountain bikers looking down on the various parking lots, the differences are slight — swirls of tie-dye when Further or Panic are in town, 80’s-era fluorescents when it’s a bass heavy evening, a few more Mercedes and BMW SUVs when it’s Sting or Robert Plant — the ages and costumes vary, but at the end of the day it’s a place where engineering meets art meets nature — it’s a place that celebrates Colorado in all its majesty. It really is one of the reasons I moved here in the first place. Nothing screams “Spring!” like rolling up on the Upper North lot with a cooler of Oskar Blues tallboys and Taste of Philly cheesesteaks. Besides food and drink (and tickets), all you need are your friends and family to complete a perfect night of entertainment in a place that will continue to surprise you, even after you’ve been there 50+ times.

There arn’t many venues that outshine the artists that play there. In fact, there are many venues I just refuse to go to, despite the great acts that perform there. Whether it be location, aesthetic or sound, some venues just suck. Red Rocks is the complete opposite for me. Granted, if I didn’t live 15 minutes away I probably wouldn’t make it to so many shows there, but as it is, I find myself at many shows that I wouldn’t attend if they were booked somewhere else. In fact, I found myself at a couple of those this past weekend. While my family celebrated the end of Colorado’s snow season down in Mexico, I was left home to fend for myself. My week as a bachelor found me at various breweries, BBQs and bouncing around the Baker Neighborhood, but more importantly, it really kick-started my 2013 Red Rocks Season with three events: The Postal Service with Ra Ra Riot, Alabama Shakes with Edward Sharpe, and Marilyn Manson with Alice Cooper.

Unfortunately, all this activity has left me with no time to write about these shows. The thing about sharing thoughts through word is that those thoughts have to be fresh when they hit the page. The more days that pass between experience and recall, the less life they are likely to have. I am at that point now. Too much time has passed and too many braincells have been sacrificed. All I can say is that The Postal Service absolutely blew away ALL expectations. Ben seemed more alive than I have ever seen him at a Death Cab show, Jenny Lewis was sexy as hell, and Jimmy Tamborello was able to breathe new life into those tracks that have gone a little stale on the album. Brilliant performance!

Alabama Shakes were amazing as usual. That band is always on point, and watching Brittany Howard’s expressions is never ending fun. I wish I could say the same for Edward Sharpe and his hippie cult of Zeros, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get into them. Despite that, it was one of those perfect nights up there. We spent a good portion of our Sunday Funday in the parking lot, so even though I bailed early, it still made for a rough Monday morning.

Monday night was a perfect example of a show I would only attend at Red Rocks. Masters of Madness brought Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper to town. I will admit to being a big fan of Manson’s music (if not the man). It’s a guilty pleasure that I have no problem owning up to, but I wouldn’t have gone to see him at a lesser venue. That being said, he put on an incredible performance to a less-than-full house. Cooper followed with a great performance of his own, but I will admit that I enjoyed Manson’s quite a bit more.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, if that’s true than I hope the visual aids below will make up for my lack of enthusiasm in writing this post. It’s been a good run, but I’m tired. Time to recharge. I promise a much better review of the next show. Until then, enjoy the photos and playlists…

Jenny Lewis

“Jimmy” Tamborello

Alabama Shakes

Edward Sharpe

Marilyn Manson

Alice Cooper

The Postal Service:
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
We Will Become Silhouettes
Sleeping In
Turn Around
Nothing Better
Recycled Air
Be Still My Heart
Clark Gable
Our Secret
This Place Is a Prison
There’s Never Enough Time
A Tattered Line of String
Such Great Heights
Natural Anthem

(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan
Brand New Colony

Marilyn Manson:
Angel With the Scabbed Wings
Disposable Teens
No Reflection
The Dope Show
Rock Is Dead
Great Big White World
Personal Jesus
mOBSCENE
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
This Is the New Shit
Irresponsible Hate Anthem

The Beautiful People

Alice Cooper:
Hello Hooray
House of Fire
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Billion Dollar Babies
I’ll Bite Your Face Off
Is It My Body
Under My Wheels
Hey Stoopid
Poison
Dirty Diamonds
Welcome to My Nightmare
Go to Hell
Feed My Frankenstein
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Killer
I Love the Dead
School’s Out

I’m Eighteen