Warren Haynes handled some of the singing duties and did an amazing job. His voice is very gravelly, soulful, & bluesy. Warren also added some nice slide work to the evening, but mostly let Jimmy Herring handle the leads as Herring really could channel Jerry's technique. You see, aside from missing Jerry's voice and presence, we also missed his guitar work. You may not know this but Jerry was a phenomenal guitarist.

A nice surprise in the setlist were two Beatles songs. The Dead never covered the Beatles before, and almost strictly did Dylan covers. Another great aspect of the show is that it did not rain at all, the whole time! It rained for the whole drive there (about 10 miles West of Metro Denver) and all the way back... but never once during the show.

The band looked great, and just as I remember them... except for Weir. Perhaps he is channeling someone, because his hair was all big and gray and he had a huge beard. The setlist was really varied, but keep in mind the band does not do the same song twice in the same stand. So, they played for 3 hours a night for five nights, never doing the same song. The band played very well through almost the whole show, and I think they had fun too. We are going to see them again in two weeks in Seattle. The music highlights were definately China Cat/ Rider jam, Built to Last, Strawberry Fields, and Brokedown Palace.

The moral of the story, I guess, is this. If you love music, there are two things you need to do before you die. See a show at Red Rocks, and see the Dead. If you ever get the chance to do both, you are a lucky person. For some strange reason, Jerry became a paternal figure to so many of us. Before you say 'bad role model', remember I came from the land of heavy metal and hair before I got into the Dead in High School. I'll take Jerry Garcia as a role model over Axl anyday. Most importantly, last night I could not help but think how much I miss Jerry Garcia. I miss being right in front of the stage in those football stadiums. I miss him always being there. I miss being able to look up at his fat, wasted, smiling face.