A light blanket of snow settled on the still-green trees around the amphitheater, thin layers of ice coated wooden planks and steps, and expertly positioned heaters scattered the stage. It was October 4th at Red Rocks, and it was cold. But timing wasn’t much of a choice for Lotus and their supporting bands BoomBox and Break Science.

After kicking off what some are calling the Fare Thee Well Tour with two nights at Red Rocks, it was clear walking up the ramps that there was a sustained energy ready to boil over on Saturday night. After three consecutive late summers on the rocks, Furthur brought out all of the tricks on this run, and finally decided to not only give us the best of, like they had in previous years, but also lots of songs they’d never dusted off in Colorado.

We have all been to shows in which our objectivity towards the music is undermined by a more powerful force. Something happens apart from the stage that distorts, and often intensifies, the true sonic nature of each set. These are the shows that lay futility at the feet of those who try to listen to a recording later on to recapture the magic. This happened to me for the first time in October ‘99 when I saw Phish at Illinois State. I was smitten with a girl who would, very soon after, become my first love.

So, Widespread Panic played a show at Red Rocks on Saturday night. Honestly, for those of you who have seen them in that setting before, that’s about as good of a review as you need. All it would take is one glance at the set list, particularly from the second set on, to know that it was a spectacular evening.

The last time I saw Lotus was in April 2010 at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO where my friend – who I treated to the show - had the unfortunate experience of a bicycle accident on his way home afterwards. I’ll never forget the phone call I received the next day when he described the accident; it still makes me laugh.

A lot of people like to use the word “genius” when describing Jack White, and it’s easy to see why. His mastery of so many genres, including blues, gospel, country, and rock, place him in rarefied air of modern musicians. Oh, and he can play a bit of guitar too.

My Morning Jacket is considered by many to be one of the premier live rock outfits in the country. Suffice to say, they did nothing but bolster that reputation over the course of six ridiculously entertaining hours Friday and Saturday night at the unparalleled Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.

Last year My Morning Jacket played a single night at Red Rocks Amphitheater, but as they are becoming more and more of a household name, one night wasn’t enough for this year. The Louisville, Kentucky boys came in strong for the opening night on Friday with a 29-song set. It’s been over a year since the release of their sixth album, Circuital, and as of lately they have shed the “Victory Dance”/Title track opener in favor of a more random choice of opening songs.

When Wilco’s newest album, The Whole Love, came out last year, guitarist and lead singer Jeff Tweedy explained the rationale for making Art of Almost the first track.