This show was so random and unhyped that I’m not sure if anyone even remembers. Chris Whitley took the stage to a sold-out Warren Zevon crowd and barely looked up at the audience once. He quietly muttered hello, then grabbed the mike and turned his head to the floor, his greasy hair falling in his face, and started the most exposed set of music I’ve ever heard. His songs are totally raw and his lyrics are completely poetic and his sound is all his own. I left my seat and sat on the steps leading down to the dance floor, which was totally empty, and I sat there for about an hour just staring at him, hoping he’d look up or at least notice how amazing someone thought he was. He finished as quietly as he started, and barely anyone noticed, because most people had been talking the whole time. I watched him slink off and walk the perimeter of the club, sticking close to the wall the whole time, and then he disappeared. Warren Zevon came out, and the crowd went wild, but he took the first few minutes to gush about how talented Chris Whitley was, and what an inspiration he was for his own music. That made me feel better.

A few years later, Chris Whitley came back to town with his own show. I had to catch a flight to California later that day and couldn’t make that night’s show, but I did interview him on KSPN. It was almost as intense as hearing him live, and had I known it would be the last chance to see him live, in Aspen, I would have paid the $100 change fee and stuck around.

2.) Willie Nelson, Jazz Aspen Buttermilk
Willie, Willie Willie. Willie Nelson the first time I saw him here, not the second. The second time, I got to meet him, so that was memorable for a whole different reason. But when Willie played Jazz Aspen at Buttermilk, about 5 years ago, it was one of life’s perfect moments. It was a quintessential Colorado day, filled with sunshine and just-right temperatures and lots of good friends. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band played right before Willie; my dad used to play Mr. Bojangles for me when I was little, and hearing them perform it live almost made me cry. The rest of their set made me feel so happy that I lived where they lived, in the Roaring Fork Valley. When Willie took the stage, I followed my friends closer to the front and we found a spot big enough for all of us. I knew every word to every song and he played all the songs you could ever want to hear. I grew up listening to Willie, listening to my parents listen to Willie and I felt that I already knew him. When he started telling stories about things both scandalous and questionable, I felt I knew him even better. It was somewhere around “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” that my boyfriend put his arm around me, took off my token cowboy hat and kissed the top of my head. It was that kind of day.

3.) Rickie Lee Jones at the Wheeler, a few years ago
I’d seen her once, in New Orleans, and I still think about that show. When I heard she was coming to Aspen, I couldn’t believe it. She’s someone who doesn’t tour a lot, and I’ve heard that when she does, it’s kind of hit or miss, depending on her mood, state of mind, etc. I’d gotten a hit in New Orleans, and I was hoping she’d be as unreal at the Wheeler show. I went by myself, which is something I actually like to do. Same thing with movies; being alone allows me to concentrate. I sat at the end of the row, and listened through the first few songs, her voice as varied and soulful and heartbreaking as I remembered. Some of her songs make me cry, and sure enough, she told her story about getting off smack and how this song was about her lowest moment and she said it in this completely non-emotional tone of voice, then began to sing like it was the only song she knew. I was glad I was at the end of the row and alone because I started to cry. Then I started to laugh at myself for crying, but continued to cry, and saw out of the corner of my eye that the people behind me were leaving, in the middle of this completely soul-wrenching performance. That was so memorable for me, how I could be so moved and someone else could get up and leave.

4.) Fishbone at Iguana’s, a few years ago
Another kind of obscure best show, since Iguana’s isn’t the usual venue for music and there weren’t that many people there. Fishbone is amazing, every time I see them, but this show was so unexpectedly good that it was in the top 5, for sure. I went because a friend in “the biz” told me they were his favorite band; I hadn’t actually heard a lot of their stuff but thought I’d check it out, anyway. (See, open-minded!) The lead singer, Angelo Moore, is talented in so many different ways – he’s a performer, a performance artist, a poet and a totally funky musician – and the band was so tight, and full of rhythm, that the whole place was dancing in spite of them. Angelo jumped off the stage into the crowd, as is his M.O., and took the mike through the room as he danced with people, sang and pranced around. I only planned to go for a little while, and ended up staying till closing. Everyone there felt like they got in on a really good secret, and I think we all felt a little cooler for having shown up.

5.) The Kenny Wayne Sheperd Band, at the Bellyup, just last year
This was what rock and roll is all about. The place was sold out, and the dance floor was as packed as it could be. All the girls seemed to be towards the front, and my friends and I found ourselves (nudged ourselves) right in front. Kenny Wayne Sheperd is probably almost 15 years younger than me, so I didn’t expect to react the way I did. I felt like a 14- year old at a big-time concert, ready to run off with the band even if her mom was going to be waiting for her outside at midnight in her bathrobe, with the car running. I think all the girls felt that way, and the guys just felt cool. Kenny’s vocals and over-heated (in a good way) guitar were totally engaging, and lead singer Noah Hunt would grab the mike stand, hold it over his head and shake it at the audience to emphasize every searing lyric. The two of them totally took over the stage, the club and everyone’s imagination. I still have the poster on my closet door, and I’m not taking it down.

Top 5 Wish List (alive and dead) of shows I’d like to see in Aspen:
1.) Jeff Buckley
2.) Jimi Hendrix
3.) Jamiroquai
4.) Audioslave
5.) Aerosmith – come on, someone, make it happen!