Denver, Newman Center

[Betsy]

I had a great time at the Denver Concert. I met some “Ledgies” and am pleased to say that I have met some friends who will be friends for life.

RE: The Venue:
There was no “threatening” security. It was a beautiful theater with about 16-20 ushers dressed in uniform. The place looked very classy. The t-shirt guy was set up in the main area and had a wireless/cordless credit card machine, which broke about 20 minutes into sales and never worked for the rest of the night. It was cash only, I believe, no checks. Since the venue was a college campus, some people found an ATM machine and were passing the word.

All Ledgies had row 1 and I was representing the first balcony. I have attended 5 Lindsey concerts and have had front row in three of them. The last concert in 2008, I was very reckless in my behavior, buying 5 tickets, trying to get closer with each try. I decided to be responsible this time and choose a seat which fit my budget and enjoyed watching the floor attendees in their enthusiasm and excitement.

Not sitting down front, allowed me to see what sorts of people were attending and to visit with them. By this, I mean the 12 high school kids who sat in the same row as me. They had seen the GLEE Rumours episode and wanted to check out Mr. Buckingham and his music. Then there were the 6 dads who brought their sons, aged 7-10. But the majority of the crowd was aged 40-50-60 and were not only Fleetwood Mac fans, but Dead Heads, ZZTop, and a few bands, whose names I did not recognize.

Lindsey started performing right at 8:00 with no talking or introduction....he began singing and playing SHUT US DOWN. The one-handed playing at the end, brought applause and appreciation from the audience. The first song, and he got a 80% standing ovation. By this I mean, that much of the crowd was clapping and standing. He seemed touched and bowed a few times. Then when he sang his second song....the crowd did it again....another 80% standing ovation after GO INSANE. I was surprised if he wasn’t.

He explained that music for him began with a boy and his older brothers records. He tried to imitate what he heard and to learn to play the guitar with them. The guitar is very special to him and so he was re-creating and reflecting on his youth, by playing the first part of the concert with just his voice and his guitar.

There was playful bantering with the crowd...one guy yelled “BLUE LETTER” as Lindsey was tuning, Lindsey stopped, stepped up to the microphone and said “No.” and then stepped back and continued tuning. Everyone laughed.

There was a lot of shouts...”You are the best!” “You ARE the machine.” “Thanks for the new music.” “Keep playing” etc. etc. After another standing ovation, which had quieted down and then the clapping started again, Lindsey put his hand on his heart and stepped to the microphone and said...”I love you too.”

There was a nice atmosphere....he did three songs on the ovation....and with each one, people shouted MORE. When Lindsey announced, “This is the last one.” Someone yelled KEEP PLAYING...DON’T STOP. Lindsey said, “I can’t. It’s this high altitude.” And the guy replied, “Then stay awhile.” Everyone laughed, clapped and cheered.

After the final song, TREASON, Lindsey did not leave the stage. He waved, he bowed, and stayed on stage for about 4-5 minutes. I was surprised. I didn’t see things being offered for autographs, just the front row, telling him (I presume) thank you.

With this venue, one could not approach the stage....the front row got all the love.

The coolest thing, I observed was GYOW....EVERYONE was dancing and swaying and clapping and singing....the ushers included. In the one doorway, I saw two female ushers (one African American in her 50's and the other a White gray-haired lady) dancing with each other, bumping hips...in another doorway, the male usher was getting his groove on doing, some dance from the 1960's. It was hilarious, touching and such a pleasing atmosphere. Everyone was smiling. Mr. B. authored a classic with that song.

When the concert was over, the t-shirt vendor was inundated with sales, even though the credit card machine was still down.

It was raining heavily outside and on a whim, a group of us decided to drive to downtown Denver to the Ritz Carlton to see if anyone special was staying there. I think one of the best memories of the night, was seeing DavidMN, eat his Taco Bell in the bar of a 5 star hotel. Other Ledgies were camped out at the venue but alas, no sighting of Mr. B. and the band exiting. Our group left the Ritz at about 11:30. I had had, 3 cups of coffee to keep me fueled. I had gotten up at 4 that morning and did 4.5 miles at the gym and gone to work, so that I could leave work early. I was constantly thinking of Jackson Browne and “Running on Empty.”

Which reminds me of one final note. There was lots of filming of video and cell phone cameras and digital cameras being in use at the concert. I did not see any hassling by the ushers. There might have been more security down front, but the ushers left us “back of the bus” people alone.

I was reminded of a European concert, where Jackson Browne asked the attendees to put down their filming devices....in his words....”I want to sing to you, not Youtube.”

Before I forget, the wife of a Ledgie, gave Lindsey flowers in the middle of the concert...he was talking about life and circles etc. etc., stopped and said “What is this?” walked over and accepted the flowers. It was a very cool moment...wish I had a better word than “cool” to describe it.

I have seen some wonderful footage and photos from Ledgie photographers. My skills pale in comparison. But I include a photo of what I experienced.






"Gulliver" getting ready for more traveling....




Rose, Randy and me.... These are two of the kindest, friendliest, and most generous people, I have ever met. Their generosity and friendship, brings tears of gratitude to my eyes... P.S. the venue was HOT.... in the middle of the concert, I took off my sweater and put my hair in a ponytail. I think it was all the dancing in seats that fueled the heat. There definitely was a feeling of "love" for the man and his music that night.