Ben Howard | 10.01.18 | Red Rocks Amphitheater
I swear I always discover musicians when they’re in between album cycles or on extended hiatuses OR when they just played a show in my city…. which I understand, greatness takes time. So when Ben Howard starting dropping new music, I figured there had to be a new album, which meant a tour coming soon. I told myself if he played a show at Red Rocks I’d make a trip out to Colorado just to see him. Well, he announced a show there and I snatched up a pair of tickets as soon as they went on sale, not knowing details of how I would get up there again, only that I would figure it out somehow. A week or so before the show, I was feeling ambitious and told myself I would at least ask to see if i could get in to photograph the show. I didn’t think I would hear back especially since I had no idea if I’d reached out to the right person after all. but to my pleasant surprise I heard back within a couple hours. I was honestly in disbelief that I was going to actually finally getting to see Ben Howard live, let alone photograph him, and I was also in disbelief that I was getting the chance to photograph at Red Rocks for the second time until i picked up the pass from the box office the night of the show and got into the amphitheater.
I definitely got pretty misty eyed standing at the bottom of those steps, waiting for the opener Wye Oak to take the stage: looking up around me at the massive crowd that filled that space and reflecting on how I never would have imagined I’d be able to photograph again at this legendary venue that many musicians aspire about getting to perform. I never would have thought in my wildest dreams that photographing at Red Rocks would be my reality…. but here I am and I’ve lived that reality not once, but twice.
I’ve wanted and waited to see Ben Howard for a few years now, and with that kind of anticipation there’s always a pretty big chance that your expectations won’t live up to your reality… that you’ll be disappointed somehow. I fell in love with ‘Every Kingdom,’ but everything he’s put out has shown such growth and depth and I so cherish every album for how different they are from each other; it’s one of the reasons I respect him so much as an artist and musician. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t hear some of my favorite songs because at this point, they’re such old songs and sonically a bit removed from his current sound. I knew all these things and let me tell y’all, I can barely describe what a beautiful, majestic performance it was. Ben is such a wonderfully talented, brilliant musician. Naturally, most of the set was comprised of cuts from the latest album release ‘Noonday Dream.’ which i’m sure not every fan of his music loved. I personally thought it was beautiful to begin with, but my goodness, seeing those songs live from that album in all their glory was absolutely magical. He practically has a touring orchestra behind him in which you can hear all the nuances of the melodies that I missed on the record. It was so beautiful to actually get to see just how much of himself he puts into his music while he’s performing and on top of that, just how much thought went into the production with the atmosphere and the lighting. I even managed to keep my tears at bay until I heard the opening notes of Conrad during the encore, which in retrospect I am quite impressed with myself that I lasted that long without crying.
One of the (many) reasons I love live music so much is these beautiful moments you share with these perfect strangers for such a fleeting period of time; everything about it exists only for a moment in time and it’s such an incredible thing. During sound check when I first heard Ben’s voice echoing off the rocks that surround the amphitheater, I ran into a girl who could barely contain her excitement trying to get closer to hear. We shared a hug and we told each other how happy we were that other was there to see this musician we both love. I had a brief conversation with the guy next to me in between sets and it was just such a simple, genuine connection that is so rare outside of events like these. It’s truly such an amazing thing.
