Then it was off to Denver to see my sister-in-law. She and her husband have lived in Aurora for a couple years now. We shopped and ate and saw a ball game. A wonderful trip all around.
The whole thing had a particular purpose, though. We went to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at Red Rocks. The concert didn't disappoint. Krauss' voice is incredible live. Plant was infecting everyone with his grooving enthusiasm. And Red Rocks. It is the most spectacular venue in America. Breath taking. You could tell the performers were more excited to see this place than the audience was!
Now, all of that was great. I really hoped that would be my impression. But, they snuck one in on me, too. Plant and Krauss teamed up with T Bone Burnett. He's a legendary producer and a performer in his own right. They let him play a couple songs with just the band. The guy looked like an outlaw undertaker. He wore a long black coat, which just made his tall frame look leaner and meaner.
I had never heard his music before. It was good. Probably still not my style, but I enjoyed it. But, he played a song that just knocked me out. It's called The Primitives. I had to go look it up later; the studio version is just as stirring. The chorus makes me smile and damn near frown at the same time:
Primitives dress in feathers and masks
To scare away their enemies
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living
Scientists guess which is worse we will ask
The medicine or the disease
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living
I'll drink to that.
