Big Head Todd and the Monsters

Last night we saw Big Head Todd and the Monsters at Red Rocks. It was an excellent concert. The band apparently loves to perform, and they apparently love to preform for Red Rocks crowds, as they looked like they were having the time of their lives last night. Not only that, but it was a three hour-long concert, and nobody opened for them. Part of this, I am sure, is due to the fact that Todd and the Monsters are local boys who got their start at CU. (Really, they got their start in high school at my alma mater -- of which we Rebels are particularly proud). The audience at Red Rocks last night looked like the core of their fan base -- people who remembered them from back when, some of whom brought their children.

As for me, I went to university in another state, so I didn't get to follow their ascendancy in Boulder, but learned about them when I moved back to Colorado in 1993. By the time I first saw them in concert, they were playing venues as large as the old McNichols -- a place suitable for the really famous (Bob Dylan and Paul Simon played there, among others). I like their music, but what I really liked about the concert last night was when they got bluesy. They had a great horn section and started off with some selections deeply rooted in traditional blues. They sent the horns off when they played old Todd, but brought them back later to finish off the concert. Big Head Todd has for a long time collaborated with Hazel Miller, who also performed last night, so her blues background really contributed to what was going on on stage.

At intermission some guys came out to present a giant check to Crocs, the shoe manufacturer, for some charitable work it is doing in the developing world. That's when J looked at the stage and said, "Hey, I think that's T-- from R---." One of the presenters was one of J's business associates. We found out later that T has had a twenty year relationship with the band, and was lately asked to manage it temporarily, while they search for some one to manage them full time. J texted T, "Was that you on stage with the giant check?" and we promptly received a reply saying yes, and would we come back stage? We watched the rest of the concert from the VIP section, just thirty feet behind the drum set.