I saw tiny sparkles dancing before my eyes. I am singing on stage at Copper Mountain and seeing stars. It’s like I’m starring in the road company of  “Avatar…The Musical!” At ten thousand feet above sea level, I am lucky I am seeing anything but dirt. I have a little spray can of oxygen in my pocket, “just in case.” That blows my mind. I have emergency air.

It is August and I could see my breath. We were playing early in the day, so the crew had to set up VERY early in the AM; and when they were working there was ICE on the stage. You can tell how dramatic that is by the capital letters I use. ICE. It’s not quite that cold now, but the weather is not very cooperative. The rain is coming down. They tell us that this time of year rain cells blow in but don’t stay very long. That sounds just like something they WOULD say. We were huddling in our tented dressing area waiting for that prediction to come true. Very glamorous. There was no floor, so when we changed our clothes and shoes we were standing in mud and getting our feet wet. I’m pretty sure the Beatles at Shea Stadium had the same problem. I remember John’s feet being particularly damp in the video.

Sure enough, the rain stopped. The sun didn’t exactly come out but it was definitely lurking in the area like an out of work teen…
We held the show for about ten minutes… got the green light… and we went onstage to play for a very nice, very enthusiastic, very moist crowd. They take the rain in stride up here on top of the world. They cheered and sang along and had as much fun as if it were 80 degrees and sunny. I kept my air in my pocket even though every few lines I swooned almost as if I was caught up in the rapture of standing so close to Kenny Loggins. (That has happened to me a few times, but usually only when he wears a certain outfit that I quite admire.)

One of the fun things about this event was that a lot of our friends from Nashville were on the bill, as well. The great Bill Lloyd brought his Long Players to play Beatles and Stones all weekend; and some old friends in a band named Savannah Jack made us feel like we were playing in the hood!

A nice early show gives us a nice evening off. We stayed in and watched “The Devil Wears Prada.” (Insert joke about my manhood here)

One more show Sunday, in Aspen, and then we head home. We are dropping to 7000 feet above sea level, so I am hoping that the sparkles will decrease and the temperature will increase. I will be keeping my air in my pocket just in case.