Some fairy godmothers made it possible for this broke Muser to see them one more time in Denver. I could not afford the tickets when they first went on sale, then hoped to win the backstage pass contest, but got depressed and resigned to my fate when I did not. But it was only hours later that Terra Howard told me she had a spare ticket SQUEEE, time to scramble for transportation! It did end being an unusual journey, starting with a midnight bus ride for me & Wendy to Des Moines to meet our driver.
Wendy's photo
We quickly used the facilities and got out of there! attempted to sleep for a couple hours under a tree but it was a bit chillier than we were prepared for, so as soon as dawn broke we headed downtown looking for Starbucks. They were closed for remodelling, argh! Then we spotted a Panera and got some hot food and coffee and began enjoying the free wifi :-) as it turned out, for many hours! The staff there were wonderful , happy to let us park as long as we were eating and drinking so we had lunch there too. I did briefly walk around and found a spot to do yoga, but wasn't inspired to get touristy at all.
Jung found us after lunch and we began the long drive to Colorado.
Iowa and Nebraska are not ideal states to cross by car :-P though I should say here I was a driving wimp between tiredness and a new medication. I would never have been able to drive as fast as Jung & Wendy anyway ;-) they are pros! After singing along with nearly the entire Muse discography, we had to tap into a few other bands, but finally made it to our cheap hotel in Denver. Nothing special, a bit run down, but close to the Pespi Center.
Jung & Wendy crashed for just a few hours before joining the overnight campers in the queue. I decided I did not need to be that early as the others in my group of tickets would not be either. And as it turned out, Mary & Roger arrived only moments before me around 7 am. It was still nice and shady at that time.
After greeting people and waiting my turn to make a breakfast run, I was off to a Starbucks for my only coffee of the day. Took my obligatory mountain photo on the way back :-)
Then it started to heat up, quite a bit more than we expected, found some shade for a yoga break.
We were grateful that the venue was letting us use their bathrooms as we needed to stay hydrated. I was very happy when a few clouds moved in.
Finally it was time to go in. As usual we had numbered ourselves with a sharpie, but security did not seem to grasp how important it was to maintain this order going in, despite several polite conversations earlier in the day. So there was chaos at the doors, partially relieved by a special escort for our first few groups, but the order was messed up :-( Some young men right behind me in line who should have gotten a barrier spot did not. I went for Matt's side with Mary & Roger, who were happy to see Liam (Muse security) again.
Terra's photo
I had been forewarned about Cage the Elephant and Matt Schultz's half dressed, Jaggeresque style + crowd surfing! He did not get that near us so I did not have to decide if I wanted to stuff a dollar in his pants as some ladies did!
So that was a bit different than other support acts I'd seen! but I was ready for Muse. This was the first time I got to see the set open with Isolated System, but the pyramid soon rose to reveal our boys, Matt Bellamy looking delicious in red leather.
I was surprised that the Denver crowd did not shove at all, so I was able to really enjoy the music and the energy coming from Matt, Chris, Dom & Morgan. And they were very energetic, enough that Matt eventually took the jacket off :-)
Catherine took this totally hot photo!
Roger's photo
Most intense performance of Sunburn I've seen, but the most emotional song always seems to be Follow Me.
My best photo of the night, may have still been during Follow Me.
Then back to rocking hard with Animals and Liquid State.
Starlight was extra special for Catherine. Matt was laying down on the thrust stage, holding the mike out to the crowd as he has been doing lately, but took that oportunity to ask her how many gigs she's been to now? 103! "Crazy!" he said, I would love to put the video in here but that does not seem to be allowed. So a still photo will have to do.
Terra's photo
No chat for me, but I got this view ;-)
Then all too soon, it was the closer, Survival. I attempted the soprano choral parts, did not do as well as the spring gigs.
Dom came forward to do his usual "Cheers" speech as many of us went for drumsticks and plectrums. However, my mission was to throw another crazy pair of socks for Matt. They got on the stage easily, but he did not seem to see them :-( he crossed over and picked up something else, but then he spotted them crossing back! I must have gotten extra bouncy at that point because after he picked them up , he looked at me and made a thank you nod/bow!! I am crazy but not delusional; I have witnesses :-D if not a photo of that moment. But these are the socks:
Muse donated the proceeds of the merch sales that night to the Colorado flood victims, so anyone who had any $ went to the merch booth. Then I don't know if we did not feel like stalking the band ;-) or were simply too dehydrated, but we headed to Rock Bottom Brewery for drinks and snacks. We really did order water first! and that was all I had to drink, but I did decide to try a half order of nachos. So did several others at the table. We were all stunned to see the HALF order was a 10 " platter! They were yummy , so I did attempt to eat it up, but even with Catherine's help, I couldn't do it.
Then it was time to say good bye to some. So happy to have been able to see old Muse friends and make new ones. I survived the airport hassle and the flight back to MSP the next day, and then the remainder of the work week-barely. Today is my crash day, but I am re-living it all through photos, videos and friends' posts :-)
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