6-3-02, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO>

Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2002 01:32:24 -0400
From: Jonathan jbkendall76@yahoo.com
Subject: Trey Reviews:  6/3/02


6/3/02:  Made the drive to Denver in the middle of the night and if you have never driven through
the desert in the middle of the night I highly recommend it.  The stars were out and we were the
only car on the road....setting the cruise at one point to 100 mph for about 60 miles.  We made it
to Denver and slept all day before heading over to the Red Rocks lot.  This was my first Rocks
show and I could not contain my excitement. We wondered the lot, which was a really nice lot, with
exceptionally nice people.  The security to get into the show was extreme.  These guys were
hunting through every crevace in my backpack, but yet they somehow missed my digital camera.  I
guess my poker face I had been working on in Vegas paid off.  We found a seat on the 13th row
Horns side....and I immediately begin snapping pics of this venue.  If you haven't ever been,
please go!  It was the premier venue I have ever seen in my life (haven't been to the Gorge yet)
and you felt like you were on sacred ground.  The rain was steady the entire night, but I loved it
and felt like it created a special atmosphere for a really special show.  Chris did some excellent
things in the rain and it looked like gold and green raindrops dripping from heaven at certain
times.  Trey was extremely excited about the venue, as was the entire band, and they played what I
think was a really full-sounding show.  Each tune possessed many of Trey's "power chords" and the
band was playing with strong notes and sound....the acoustics of the venue contributed to this and
you felt the sound 360 degrees around you.  The highlights were Push On (always a highlight),
Simple Twist Up, and an amazing Money Love -> Night Speaks that had everyone bouncing around the
ample dance room given to you at the Rocks.  This was the first true great segue I have heard from
Trey band. Anyone agree?  The venue was amazing and even though soaked at the end of the night,
the residue from the musical experience was much longer lasting. The only downer was the security
that seemed to enjoy herding the fans out of the lot as quickly as possible.



Date: Wed, 5 Jun 2002 16:53:39 -0600
From: Eric Barndt Eric.Barndt@mactec.com
Subject: Review of First night at Red Rocks


Oh yea boy - Trey and Band at Red Rocks 6/3/02.  The weather did not look all that promising -
especially when I looked out the windows of the Noodles and Co. as we waited for our food and I
remarked to Brad - “man look at just the size of the visible flash of the splatter of those
rain drops bouncing off the roof of that car - the drops must be golf ball sized”.  But
then in the upper parking lot of Red Rocks, once we landed, it just drizzled some as we feasted. 
There really wasn’t much lot activity.  Brad needed a ticket so he worked on that while
Marny and I enjoyed the incredible landscape.  With lots of low clouds blowing through the
hogback mountains and red rock scarps, the views were dynamic and changing constantly.  Brad
hooked up on a ticket and we entered Red Rocks from the back of the theater.  They have been
working on the venue since I got out here in October of last year (they being the City of Denver
- they own and operate Red Rocks park and theater).  I had not been in the actual theater,
although I’ve hiked around it and ride a trail that crosses over the road we drove in on to
get to parking after work as part of a good technical 5 or 6 mile loop.  From the outside you can
see that some of the highest rock formations were used to create the theater.  It is in a sort of
bowl and from where we entered you end up high above the stage looking down.

Getting beers was easy.  With that done and Marny’s squad of friends greeted and in tow -
we moved down into the incredible natural theater.  Trey and the band were already doing the
thing as we descended.  I think we missed 20 to 30 minutes of music.  That was ok - there was
much more to come.  Since the stage is down from the crowd the PA system is, depending on where
you get down to, almost certain to be level with your head.  And where are your ears? 
That’s right - ON your head.  So this all made good sense to me.  And we had advanced to a
point where we could easily see everything cleanly on the stage.  The horn section sort of forms
this part of a sideways to the crowd S and Trey is to the right of them.  Trey stands on this
circular carpet and has his monitors and a bizzillion petals in a semicircle in front of him that
finishes the S that the horn section starts.  Russ is behind Trey up on a big ass riser and Tony
is situated behind the horns.  The key player is to Treys left.  The horns, during the first set,
all seemed to be wearing sweat suits.  Like the old-school sweats you got for track or swim team
with the dual white strips on the sleeves and pant legs.  Jen was the exception to this, as she
was wearing a sequined sort of gala dress that fit nicely.  I’m not sure what the sweats
were all about.  It made them look even older than I’m guessing they are.  Remember the
Seinfeld where Krammer is hanging out with Jerry’s parents in FLA?  The sweats looked like
the ones Jerry’s dad and his pals at the Bocca Del Vista were wearing.  Sort of odd.  Trey
was looking good, although we were soon to learn that his voice was another matter.

I’m not good on song names.  But the sound was just unreal.  Everything was very clean.  I
had worried that I’d made a mistake going to the first of the 2 night of these shows at Red
Rocks, thinking that they would get the sound lined out the fist night and the second night would
then be better.  I now - really don’t think that will be possible.  And with the sound
coming directly to our ears (which - if you remember are ON our heads) it didn’t matter
that the horns looked like they could do a Geritol add.  They sounded hot.  The whole thing
churned and chugged through some intricate instrumental sections.  Trey seemed to be taking lots
of solos and so were the horns, both as a section and individual’s.  When a tune ended Trey
approached the mike and told us there is no better place in the US to play than where he stood at

that moment.  And as I took a 360 view in, with the sun finishing it set, and imagined it from
his perspective - I’d be pretty certain that his comment was true.  Now at the same time
and at that moment, as he told us this I became aware of another truth of the evening.  This
truth was that Trey’s voice was stripped.  He could barely get his voice into the mike.  It
was sandy, raspy and gone.  I, later in the show and rightfully, got shushhed by a guy in front
of me while Trey was singing, because I was saying something to Brad.  While I agree with the
said shushher (for his request), this was not to be a night of exceptional vocals.  I’m not
sure where the band was the previous night (Las Vegas??), but he gave his voice away before
getting to Morrison, CO.  Hey - this shit happens.  I was ok with it.  It made Trey have to rely
on his guitar more.  Fine by me.  I was looking forward, especially after hearing the new album,
to hearing more of Treys guitar work than last year’s tour.  And, be it voice failure
default or not, there was a ton of jamming going on.  Tunes at the tail end of the first set
swirled, dipped and peaked seamlessly.  The musicians seem much more comfortable this year than
last too.  As the first set ended the winds picked up and started to wash sheets of rain in on
the crowd.  It didn’t feel like much, but when the lights were on us you could see that it
was raining.  But this is CO, everyone got their shells out and stayed dry as the set closed. 
And since the sound was at our ear level, it was not getting blown away like it often can at
outdoor venues.

I’d say this show was 2/3 to ¾ sold.  We moved out of our spot to make some fluid level
adjustments during the break - but getting back to a place that was as good or better than where
we had been for the second set was easily accomplished.  It continued to rain into the second
set.  Then it started to rain hard enough that the thought of putting rain pants on crossed my
mind.  Hoods were now up.  I adjusted mine so my ears were sticking out with the elastic
shock-cord keeping the remainder up around my head - but giving me good access to the great
sounds wafting to us.  Things were getting soaked - but it did not matter a bit.  The band
continued to expertly whirl and swerve.  Thick layers of sound ozzed out everywhere.  Russ
Lawton’s drums were really miked hot (which with few exceptions - is a great ting) and he
is singing this year.  While Trey’s voice was a discount last night, Russ and Jen were able
to make up some of the ground on choruses.  The second set was extended and, although I’m
sure Trey was aware of how much rain was coming (the skirts of the stage were now getting wet
with the rain swirling in the bowl), he made no effort to cut things short.  The lights are very
cool with lots of ring and round figures moving around the stage - but at this point SCI’s
lights are more bitchin’.  They dusted Sultans of Swing off for the encore.  With
Trey’s voice where it was, he was able to take the vocals for this on without damaging
effect.  Mark Knopfler has a Clapton-like blues rasp anyway - so it totally worked.  As the
extended guitar section of the tune came up I got ready to hear Trey rip it.  But he only
introduced the idea of that segment.  Instead of picking all that out - the horns took it on.  In
layered textures, the disappointment of Trey not taking those leads was lost on the concept of
having the horns blow it, and how they had arranged it.  I sort of got the impression that THEY
had made this choice and said to Trey ‘lets do Sultans for an encore - we’ve worked
out some horn parts so all you need to learn is the melody and words’.  Yea - or something
like that, I’m sure.  Anyhow - once the show ended Marny, Brad and I moved quickly out to
the car for a fast get away.  We bugged to Denny’s stripped off our soaking shells and dug
into some grand slammin snacks.  Veggie burritos in the lot can be something I can wait to get
after any of the 3 Widespread shows that I will see at Red Rocks at the end of June.  So
I’ve got that going for me….  Which is nice…

Date: Wed, 05 Jun 2002 17:22:30 -0400
From: Gworm767@aol.com
To: dws@gadiel.com
Subject: Trey Red Rocks 6-3 Review

It rained hard- but what a fun show.  I felt really lucky to get to see the two Red Rocks shows
that just happen to occur on one of the five days between when Red Rocks reopened after
construction and when I am heading back home to CT.  I had been to Red Rocks a few times during
the year- it is such a cool venue that it is really cool to hang out in even when there is not a
show.  Anyway, I had been really looking forward to both getting to finally see a show in the most
beautiful venue I have ever been in and seeing Trey perform with his new line-up, whose new album
I love.  I saw the PNC and Jones Beach shows last year and his Oysterhead shows here in Denver and
was long overdue for a dose of Trey.

The gray day through which we drove to the venue didn't really put a damper on my excitement.  
The lots at Red Rocks have to be the coolest I could imagine.  Many of them feature great views
and the scene is really chill- plenty of commerce to be found.  Despite that, I decided to head
right into the venue and find a nice spot, and it was already after 7.  It was strange to see the
same place I have been to a bunch of times with a small group of friends full of people and with a
stage all set up.  The venue was half full at the most, and we moved to the back of the crowd and
found a nice spot in about the 38th row, center (just high enough to see over the roof of the
stage towards downtown Denver).  Ended up being great because we had tons of space.

When Trey came out, I was expecting "Simple Twist Up Dave" to open the show, but was stunned when
they got right down to business with "Last Tube," generally their biggest jam song and the meat
and potatoes of most shows.  This version was solid, but not as monumental as many other ones, and
I kind of wish they had saved it for serious second set jamming.  "Acting the Devil" is a nice
bouncy little tune, I was still awaiting a big jam though.  "Push on 'til the Day" is probably my
favorite song of their's and got the crowd moving a bit more.  The crowd up where I was did not
seem to into the show though, lots of talking.  "Discern" really didn't do much for me.  It was at
some point during the first set that Trey said there is "NO PLACE like Red Rocks and that it is
his favorite place to play in the world."  "Caymen Review" and "Burlap Sack and Pumps" were both
solid jams, but the best was yet to come.

Setbreak was nice- I love just walking up to the top and seeing the view.

The second set was where everything intensified- the rain and the band.  They came back out with
the "Simple Twist Up Dave" that I had been waiting for and it was a monster.  The rain was really
coming down and this was the most monstrous version of this song that I have heard.  Needless to
say it went on for a LONG time.  I wasn't minding the rain at all- it just made me want to get
movin!  "Flock of Words" and "Sidewalks" were fine- but it was pouring so I really wanted them to
keep things upbeat.  "Money Love and Change" was fairly standard (still a great song with a long
jam) but it was "Night Speaks to a Woman" that suprised me by being my favorite tune of the night.  
I don't even like this song all that much on the album but tonight it had a really long jam with
it that was amazing!  By far the best version of this song that I have heard.  Everyone was dancin
and loving it!  You have to hear this version to believe it is "Night Speaks"!  At the end of the
song, Trey made some funny band intros, including himself as the "Crimson Dago."

The "Sultans of Swing" encore was cool- they played the song VERY well.

Overall, I was very impressed with the show and the new line up.  Cyro is a really cool addition-
he reminds me of one of those Brazilian soccer hooligans- pretty crazy guy.  Trey seems to really
enjoy himself- more so than with Oysterhead.

Can't wait to go back up to Red Rocks tonight!  See you there.

Jimmy Macauley
Gworm767@aol.com

Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 14:54:34 -0600
From: steve gilmore stevegilmore1@hotmail.com
Subject: Trey Red Rocks Night 1 Review


So, that time of year has finially arrived again. After the release of his 
first solo album, last summer's warm up solo tour, and the Oysterhead (dare 
I say fiasco?), Trey dog is back in our humble back yard here in Colorado.
We got into the venue at about 7:15 pm, and immeadiatly snagged some prime 
seats right behind the soundboard and tapers section. The vibe was great, 
yet the weather was not. Rain was threatening from the time we entered the 
venue, and I'll just say now that the skies opened up pretty much all night 
long. So, of course, I was expecting a show that was better than last years, 
but still in the same ball park, well, let me just tell all of you who are 
planning on attending shows further down the line on this tour that you are 
in for a true treat. All that work that Trey did with his band in the studio 
has paid off in the form of what I would say is probably the tightest band I 
have seen since Phish circa 1997. The fluency of the jams, the power of the 
guitar solo's, the brilliance of it all!! Ahhh!! I just have to wonder if 
last night was an anmolie, or if that's what this band sounds like night 
after night (this question will be answered in about five hours at night 
two!! Yes!!)
On trying to guess the opener before the show we knew it would be something 
dark, that the night's song lineup and over-all musical vibe would be a dark 
one because of the spookey weather that was swirling around us, coming in 
big dark batches of rain and lightning clouds springing out from behind the 
mountains one after the other like evil twins of themselves. The band came 
out, took their places, and the percusion and drums started it off and and 
we were launched into a grooving Last Tube. I'd say this song clocked 
anywhere between 30 and 40 mins, it would come to a complete stop and then 
bam, Trey the conductor would bring it back in again with a horn peice, or a 
drum solo, ahhh, wonderful. So, the set list:

Last Tube
Acting The Devil
Push on 'Til the Day
Discern
Cayman Review
Burlap, Sack and Pumps

Set II
Simple Twist Up Dave
Flock Of Words
Sidewalks of San Francisco
Money, Love and Change
Night Speaks to a Woman
E: Sultans of Swing

Acting the Devil, and Discern were down points in the set, while Cayman 
Review was the hottest overall song in the first. The 'Burlap' was super 
tight too, with an jam to end the first set that was like rock and roll 
mixed with Gershwin.

The second set was a monster. By this time it was torentially raining, I 
mean coming down baby, and cold and windy. Everyone was locked in their own 
worlds under hoods and rain coats (except for those poor souls who wore 
shorts and t-shirts!). I hadn't heard Simple Twist up Dave, and oh my lord!! 
This song went for I'd estimate a solid 20-30 mins with what may have been 
the most powerful jam of the night. I couldn't believe my ears as they 
brought this tune to musical lands that non of us have ever visited before!! 
The rest of the set rode out this energy, and was one of the best solid sets 
of music I have ever heard in my life. The driving rain and wind seemed to 
be mystically controlled by the band, when they would reach a peak the wind 
would gust, when they would slow down, as would the wind, it was strange, 
beatiful, and totally proper. I didn't stop dancing the whole set, and after 
a while it was a rain dance that fed my soul cleansed energy!
The 'Sultans of Swing' encore was a great ending. The lyrics in this song 
seem to describe the band, Trey being aware of this made nods to the horn 
section and such as those lyrics came about.
Alright, I can hardly think straight today knowing that in a few hours I'll 
be back at the best jam on the planet tonight!!!

Peace Y'all
steve g.


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