Members of The Dead had already embarked upon an ambitious summer tour, Getaway 2003, by the time they arrived at Red Rocks. Expectations are always high at Red Rocks, though this extended run had added mystique as it would recognize the 25th anniversary since the Grateful Dead originally played the historic venue back on July 7th and 8th, 1978. And further adding to the Rocks aura, this series of Dead shows was void of supporting acts; it was The Dead on their own. With all of the above and more, this five night stand was primed to be a special occasion, and the audience, by and large older, seasoned Deadheads, were well aware of the hype and energy potential.
Weather at Red Rocks can always be a factor, though this run was simply hot. Each day was quite hot. The first night, at the beginning of the second set, there were a few drops of rain, but we were fortunate that rain never became an issue. Tapers, out in force each night, most being there for the entire five nights, did have wind to deal with, so that may eventually benefit the Official Concert Recording Series being released this tour.
The July 6th opener show was so pumped full of energy that it just hung in the air. The first set started with an extended “Scarlet Begonias,” followed by a briefer than usual “Fire on the Mountain,” likely due to technical difficulties with Mickey Hart's equipment. Nevertheless, the place was pumping as they went into “Good Lovin'.” Phil Lesh and Joan shared beautiful vocals on “No More Do I,” and Joan sang an incredible version of “It Must've Been The Roses” before the first set grand finale, a perfect performance of the entire “Weather Report Suite.”
Second set was one entire tapestry of woven music. “The Eleven” was performed in full as on Live Dead, but split between drums and space. Certainly, the overriding highlight this evening was the “Fennario”/“Peggy-O” out of “Space.” Phil, Joan and Bob Weir alternated singing solo verses and harmony to exquisite satisfaction; really a remarkable standout from the entire Red Rocks run. “The Music Never Stopped” closed the set including the musical bridge.
The energy on Monday night's show was somewhat lower than Sunday, but the performance was still very good. First set highlights included Joan Osborne covering “She Said, She Said,” Hart's “Self Defense” and Weir's “October Queen.” An interesting song selection prevailed the second set starting with “Til' The Morning Comes” and just before “Drums” the second
Beatles song that evening, “Come Together.” “Drums” was particularly intense Monday evening with Kitaro sitting in for a good portion. The post “Space” song selection left a little to be desired, but nevertheless was well performed.
July 8th was the performance before a break from the action, and The Dead went all out with one of the best overall performances of all five nights. This was also Joan's birthday and at the end of “Space” there was an ethereal instrumental “Happy Birthday” played as she was presented with cake and roses. Although the entire show was a highlight, selections that stood out were “New Speedway Boogie” and the very rare performance of “Deep Elem Blues” sung to absolute perfection by Joan and Bob. Although “Stagger Lee” was rough around the edges, Joan performed a killer version of “Mr. Charlie” to close the first set. The second set, including the tremendous “Drums/Space” is highly recommended for your listening pleasure, although it will be interesting to see how the wind was dealt with.
Everyone had a break on the 9th and re-energized for the fourth show on the 10th. I thought the July 10th performance was a great show, but many others thought this was the weakest of the five night run. Most likely this was due to the brief pre-drums second set. Certainly, the first set started very strong with a nearly nine-minute intense version of “Help On The Way.” After “Slipknot,” they went into “Here Comes Sunshine” with Rob Barraco on vocals. Mr. Barraco sounded great on his only solo vocal performance at Red Rocks. The jam out of “Here Comes Sunshine” went into a lengthy “Hard To Handle” that was notable for incredible improvisational jamming more than the adequate vocals. The end of the first set was just as inspirational with “Broken Arrow” -> “Dark Star” -> “Bertha.” Second set highlights included “Drums/Space,” “China Doll,” “The Wheel” and the jam back into the second verse of “Dark Star.” “Loose Lucy” was indeed a curious, although appropriate encore selection Thursday evening.
While waiting in line the fifth evening, there were the regular faithful discussing all we had seen the prior evenings and wondering how they were going to top the previous night's performances. Somehow, this was definitely one of the best, if not the best, first set performance. After a standard “Hell In A Bucket,” the first set sailed, making history as one of the most unique and tremendously played setlists in the post-Garcia era.
Second set was equally amazing, starting with an extended “Drums” and “Space.” Once the band went into “China Cat Sunflower,” the remainder was like a surreal moment, where the set went by so fast, but the musical journey was intense. “I Know You Rider,” being performed in Colorado, was extra special with an equally strong performance by Phil on “Terrapin Station.” A very nice jam proceeded out of “Terrapin” and after covering some nice instrumental terrain, landed into quite the spunky version of “The Golden Road.” Afterwards, a brief, but odd and quiet jam took place. The stage lights were themselves lowly dimmed. Then, in a few dashing seconds, The Dead was absolutely blazing into “Lazy Lightning.” “Supplication” was not left out by any means. After a brief pause, they launched into “In The Midnight Hour” and just pleasantly shattered all dreams and expectations, with the final song, “Stella Blue,” sung respectfully by Joan.
