Annual Colorado Trip-Friday Night Concert in Denver!! 10/2/09

I embarked on what has become my annual trip to Colorado Springs, needing to get out of the lingering heat in the Valley of the Sun, and get away from work for a while. My good friend Doug is always willing to host me. He shares my love of food and good wine, as well as hiking and music.

We started our evening by having dinner at The Blue Star wine bar & restaurant in Colorado Springs. I mention this restaurant every year in my blog post, and will continue to do so. It's the best wine bar I've ever been too. The menu changes with the seasons, and I've yet to have anything that even approaches lacking in taste. Doug & I shared a Malbec, ordered a couple tapas to share from their wide selection on the menu, then each got an entree, with more sharing. We did manage to hold ourselves back and only order one dessert, with coffee.

After stuffing ourselves, we hit the road to Denver and the BlueBird Theater to catch Better Than Ezra in concert. The BlueBird is one of the cooler venues I've been to for live music; I highly recommend seeing a show there. There wasn't a bad spot in the house, and if you don't mind the crowd, you can be extremely close to the band.

Josiah Leming opened up the night, playing solo on his keys and singing. He was followed by a Denver based band, the Knew, who are bringing back Hair Bands!! They rocked, and I enjoyed getting to hear their music for the first time.

Finally, Better than Ezra took the stage, and right away they had the crowd in the palm of their hand. I have loved Better than Ezra since high school, when I first heard "Good." It was my anthem, the song I played with windows rolled down speeding down the highway. Soon after came "Misunderstood," and I was hooked on the band. I'm a little ashamed that this is the first I've actually seen them live, but they were worth the wait.

At one point the audience was singing the chorus to "A Lifetime" and it gave me chills. That's such a poignant song, and to hear everyone pouring their heart into the lyrics was amazing.

BTE rocked out, and Doug & I had a blast.

After the crowd threatened to tear the place apart they came back out for an encore set of 3 songs, the first with the Ken Griffin doing an acoustic song, then the rest of the band joining in for the fun. It was the day after KG's birthday, and the end of the tour for BTE, so they were willing to go all night long. Keep rocking, and thanks for the great show guys!!