My second day at Red Rocks brought the heavy-hitters. The opportunity to see The Avett Brothers, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, The Kills, Band of Horses, TV On The Radio, CSS, and Justice over the course of one day was worth all the travel hassles endured.

After the cold weather crept up on me the night before I was thrilled to have the Colorado sun beating down on me during the Avett Brothers set. Already excited about their upcoming record with Rick Rubin it was a good opportunity to hear new material (“Standing With You”) mixed with their high-energy rockers.

Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings always bring the energy. After their set, my buddy and show going comrade Matt, dropped the knowledge on me that the 4’11″ Jones once called prison guard as her occupation. I’m not even going to check the validity of that, but regardless that woman knows how to get the masses to shake their asses.

I made it up to the top of the amphitheater to catch The Kills for the very first time. Midnight Boom was one of the year’s biggest surprises and their live set was great aside from the band seeming as if they wished to be anywhere else.

Band of Horses brought some new material with them, including a song dedicated to front man Ben Bridwell’s infant daughter and keyboardist Ryan Monroe also contributing one of his songs as well. Additionally the band performed a cover of Them Two’s “Am I A Good Man,” that’s been done before, but was knew to me and identified by Chris.

The recurring talk of the day was that TV On The Radio weren’t going to make it in time for their set due to a bus breakdown somewhere around Salt Lake City. Instead of throwing in the towel, the band rented two SUV’s to take them through the mountains and arrive at the main stage to perform a gorgeous set sprinkled with Dear Science, material and a “Starring At The Sun” closer. Not too bad for a band that was set up and playing without a soundcheck in about thirty minutes. If you’ve heard any of the new material, “Dancing Choose” is an absolute live staple, look forward to hearing that one at their shows for years to come.

I could have walked down from the mountains to my rental car a happy man at that point, but wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to catch Justice. In all honesty, I didn’t think my schedule or location would ever afford such a chance to catch the French duo, but I’m definitely glad things aligned. Though their set was plagued by sound problems, which would eventually lead to their premature departure from the stage after about 40 minutes, during their time on stage the crowd was absolutely batty. Easily the highest energy show on the main stage. I grabbed a video of D.A.N.C.E., which you can check out here.

I spent yesterday in a frustrated state of being at the Denver airport all day – not fun. Regardless, it was great to hang with my friends at Gorilla vs. Bear, My Old Kentucky Blog, You Ain’t No Picasso, I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, and Cause = Time.