The months have escaped from me again. It is now summer, in many ways my least favorite season. I love the long, delicious summer evenings, but often feel as though I spend most of the day waiting for the sun to sink behind the mountains so that its heat will finally abate. I am not a hot weather person (I sweat so much…ick!), and the western sun is a hot one, especially in June at over 5,000 feet. Thankfully, our deck is in the shade from about 3:00 pm on, so early evening cocktails can be enjoyed outside very comfortably. Sitting on the deck with some homemade guacamole, crunchy chips, and a cool gin and tonic to sip…that’s one of summer’s finer points. Husband and I frequently eat lovely summer dinners on our deck, too. Summer evenings really are magical. It’s the long, hot days I could do without. But I also know that those same long, hot days that are not my favorite are the reason for all the yummy fruits and veggies at the farmers market all summer long, so like so many things in life, it’s a trade off. I’ll take the heat if it means I can eat such delicious, fresh produce all summer, and enjoy my gin and tonics on the deck. :-)
We enjoyed a couple of magical summer evenings this past week. The first was a trip to Red Rocks, the famous Colorado amphitheater, to see Peter Gabriel. I can now fully appreciate why Red Rocks is such an iconic venue. There are certain places where the ancientness of the Earth seems to call out more clearly to me, and Red Rocks is one of those places. It is stunningly beautiful, a stage set down in a natural bowl between two towering and elegantly sculpted (by nature) rock formations. Looking to the east, you can see the Denver skyline, and beyond to the flat plains of eastern Colorado...maybe even all the way to Kansas on a clear day. To the west behind you are the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, full of those amazing “red rocks” in eye-catching natural formations. Just going to Red Rocks is worth the trip, and that’s before anyone plays or sings a note. We deeply enjoyed our picnic supper under the sky, just soaking up the scenery.
But the evening was about more than just the natural beauty of Red Rocks, and more than the incredible thunder storm that raged around us (and briefly on us) throughout the evening. We were there to see Peter Gabriel, and he did not disappoint. I had last seen him on his Secret World Tour in 1993 back in the Washington, D.C. area, and that was an amazing evening. This time around, Peter was touring with the New Blood Orchestra, a full symphonic orchestra made up of a combination of touring English musicians and local players. There was not a drumset or a guitar to be found. Peter opened with some of his covers of others’ music from a recent album, and then moved into a well-chosen set of older material from several of his earlier records. The orchestral arrangements were absolutely fantastic; they always captured the original spirit of the songs, but also brought new elements to them. The stand-outs for me were “Biko,” “San Jacinto,” “Digging in the Dirt,” “Washing of the Water,” “Blood of Eden,” “Mercy Street,” and a beautiful encore of “In Your Eyes.” One of his back-up singers for this concert was Peter's daughter, Melanie Gabriel...how cool is that?! The other was Ana Brun, a Norweigan singer who also did a short opening set before Peter's show began. At 61, Peter may have less hair and be a bit less lithe than he was in 1993, but his voice has lost none of its raw emotion and musicality. He is truly a marvel, and our evening with him at Red Rocks will always be a special night in my memory. We hope he’ll come back sometime!
Our second magical summer evening was a trip back to Middle Earth, the first of three to come over the next couple of weeks. Select theatres around the country are screening the three Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings films (extended editions, aka director’s cuts!) as a promo for their Blu-Ray release this summer, and Tolkien fans like me are loving every minute of it! I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings when the Peter Jackson films came out in the early 2000s. I saw the first of the three, The Fellowship of the Ring, for the first time in January 2002, having never read the books even though Husband had repeatedly told me I would love them (he was proven quite correct!). I was immediately intrigued by it, and felt that one viewing of the film was not enough to soak it all in. Sometime during my second screening of Fellowship in the theatre, I became obsessed. I ran for the books immediately after, starting with The Hobbit (Husband insisted that I start there even though I wanted to dive straight into the Trilogy, and he was correct again) and then tearing through The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I also continued to see the movie, over and over and over again. I was absolutely mesmerized by Middle Earth and all of its wondrous inhabitants. And I felt an instant kinship with the hobbits; I am now quite sure that I have hobbit blood…it explains a lot about me. ;-) I fell head over heels in love with Frodo, both the kind, wise Frodo of the books, and Elijah Wood’s ethereally beautiful and poignant film portrayal. I suddenly did not know how I had lived without Tolkien’s amazing world in my life for so many years. The excitement continued through the release of The Two Towers and The Return of the King. I saw all three films ridiculous (and wonderful!) numbers of times in the theatre. It was especially fun for me because I had friends and family who were just as excited about all of this as I was; we might differ in our favorite members of the Fellowship, but we all loved The Lord of the Rings! It was such fun, a really amazing part of my life!
I’ll never forget participating in "Trilogy Tuesday" on December 16, 2003, a triple-header of all The Lord of the Rings films in select movie theatres (extended editions of Fellowship and Two Towers!) as a promo for the theatrical release of The Return of the King at 10:30 pm that night; it was an intense, beautiful, and exhausting day and night, and so much fun! And the Uptown movie theatre in D.C. remains my favorite place to see any movie where the cinematography matters; I saw all of The Lord of the Rings films there MANY times, and that was the "Trilogy Tuesday" spot too! The Uptown is a fantastic, old, single-theatre movie house with a HUGE screen (at least a couple of stories tall) and a balcony. It has been slightly modernized with comfier seats and Dolby sound, but otherwise, you still feel a bit like you're stepping into a bygone era of glamorous movie theatres when you see a film there. Some of my friends (yay R and D!) quickly figured out the very best row (and seats within that row) for optimal viewing, so we always made sure to arrive early for Lord of the Rings screenings so we could sit in "our seats." ;-) When the lights lower and the curtains in front of the gigantic screen begin to open, you know you're in for something really special. What an amazing place to see The Lord of the Rings movies so many times during their first run!
So, back in the present, this past Tuesday here in the Colorado foothills, more than 9 years after my first trip to Middle Earth, Husband and I sat in a movie theatre with other excited Tolkien fans to see The Fellowship of the Ring (extended edition!) on the big screen. Even though I find the entire trilogy excellent, thrilling, and so deeply satisfying, Fellowship has always been my favorite of the three films. It is so visually beautiful, and I love getting to know the characters, especially the hobbits. I love traveling through the Shire and into the Elvish realms with the hobbits, and later, the whole Fellowship. It was magical to see the story unfold on the big screen again after so many years; I am in love anew with Tolkien’s world. It was delightful to share it with Husband, too; we kept squeezing each others' hands for all of our favorite moments in the film. And it was fun to chat with other Lord of the Rings enthusiasts before and after the film; everyone was so excited, and enjoyed it so much. The newly remastered print of the film looked absolutely gorgeous! The Two Towers is next Tuesday, and The Return of the King wraps it all up (sniff!) on Tuesday, June 28.
Wanna see if there are showings in your neck of the woods? Check out this link:
http://www.fathomevents.com/originals/series/lordoftherings.aspx
So that’s a bit of what’s been going on around here. More soon. Gotta sign off for now...the deck and a gin and tonic are calling me. ;-)
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