On Friday, January 26, 1979, Denver concert promoter Barry Fey launched The Rainbow Music Hall, which sat on the corner of Monaco and Evans (6360 E. Evans) from 1979 until 1989 when it was shuttered and converted into a Walgreens. During that nine-year period, the unassuming little concert venue (it held about 1300 people) hosted hundreds of artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Black Flag to U2, and just about everyone in between.
Despite its relatively small size, the Rainbow Music Hall filled a huge hole in the Denver concert scene of the 1980's. Not only did the Rainbow boast a spectacular PA that complimented the acoustics of the space, it was also an all-ages venue that played host to smaller, up-and-coming bands like R.E.M. and New Order.
Building a Rainbow
Barry Fey was not known as a particularly soft or sentimental man, but the Rainbow clearly occupied a special place in his heart. He bought the former triplex movie theater in 1978 and set out building a theater that would be much more than your average concert hall.
He described his relationship with Rainbow in a January 19, 1979 article in the Rocky Mountain News saying:
This place means more to me than just opening a concert hall. This is pride, man. I'm partners with the kid. They're the ones that made it possible. Music means more to Denver than someplace else. You couldn't make this happen in Cleveland and Detroit. We're caretakers for the kids who go there. It's their place.
How serious was Fey about making the Rainbow a place, "for the kids"?
For starters, he stayed up nights fretting about the service charges that would be tacked on to each ticket by Select-a-Seat. Select-a-Seat's service fee was a whopping $.60 (about $1.73 in 2016 dollars), but concert-goers who bought tickets at the Rainbow box office could knock that down to just $.10 (or $.29 today).
In 1980, the average concert ticket for a Rainbow show hovered between $7-$8 ($20.23-$23.12 in 2016) and Fey boasted that, "All the seats will be good seats. No one will be more than 70 feet from the stage."
Parking at the Rainbow was free, but there was only room for about 400 cars. (This would prove to be a thorn in Fey's side as we'll see in a moment.)
In its first month, the Rainbow hosted 12 concerts by 9 artists including Jerry Jeff Walker (who played on opening night); Cheech and Chong; The Dirt Band; Elvin Bishop; Al Jarreau; Leo Kottke; and Willie Nelson.
Not All Sunshine and Rainbows
While music fans fell immediately in love with the Rainbow, not everyone was thrilled to see rock and roll pay a visit to the corner of Monaco and Evans.
After about a year and a half of operation, the operators of the Villa Monaco shopping center, whose parking lot bordered the Rainbow's parking lot, were sick and tired of concert-goers using their parking lot as an overflow lot and filed a lawsuit against Fey. The suit contended not only that Rainbow employees were directing patrons to park in their lot, but also that, "loud, raucous and ill-behaved," fans were scaring away customers from the Villa Monaco's stores.
In the summer of 1982, Denver District Judge Harold Reed ruled that concert goers actually could use the Villa Monaco lot. He pointed to an earlier agreement between the Valley Tri and the Villa Monaco allowing overflow parking from the theater in the shopping center. He did, however, point out Fey's obligation to, "prevent any nuisances to shoppers."
A Night to Remember (or Forget - Depending on Where You Were Sitting)
On April 25, 1984, the Rainbow hosted Black Flag, a seminal hardcore punk band from Los Angeles in an evening that would go down in Colorado concert lore.
Black Flag's opening acts that night included the Meat Puppets, who would later score a few alternative hits in the 1990's, and a lesser known act called Nig-Heist.
Nig-Heist was comprised of Black Flag roadies and, as the article above indicates, the show ended with two members of the band spending the night in the Denver County Jail after being charged with indecent exposure. What the above article does not indicate, was what Nig-Heist did onstage to earn that night in jail. At least two Nig-Heist members walked on stage in various states of undress (mostly undressed) and, shall we say, danced as if no one was looking.
In a 2012 interview with Westword, Fey recalled the night as follows:
I had never heard of Black Flag. Their roadies opened for them, and this one a*****e took off all his clothes. I went up on stage, grabbed the mike and said, 'You'll never see a piece of s**** like that again!'
Black Flag front man Henry Rollins also recalled the night in his book, Get in the Van saying:
Mugger and Tom were arrested for being naked on stage when they were playing their set as the Nig Heist...We got them out of jail at 3:30 this morning. Barry Fey is the promoter, a real scumbag. He's horrible and will probably be around for many years to come.
Though Black Flag did return to the Rainbow, Nig-Heist never graced the stage there again. The incident has since faded into lore and legend, and in 2012, Westword placed it #18 on its list of Twenty Fabled Moments in Denver Music.
The End of the Rainbow
Nothing lasts forever and the Rainbow Music Hall was no exception. Fey sold the property to Walgreens in 1989 and the Rainbow Music Hall faded into the ether.
Well, almost faded into the ether.
For reasons that aren't entirely clear, Walgreens elected not to tear down the Rainbow Music Hall marquee when they took over the property. So it was that, for nearly 20 years, anyone driving through the intersection of Monaco and Evans was reminded of the glorious slice of Colorado rock 'n' roll history that took place at that location.
In 2009, the Rainbow sign was torn down to make room for a small strip mall that was built in the east corner of what had once been the Rainbow parking lot. With that, all physical traces of the Rainbow faded away for good. Memories of the Rainbow, like so many other lost venues and buildings, live on in memories and, of course, its own dedicated Facebook group.
If you enjoyed this blog and want see more content like it, be sure to like the Western History and Genealogy Facebook Page.
Comments
It was definitely a different
It was definitely a different world back then, Nick and it's very hard to picture a parking lot full of rowdy teenagers pre-gaming for a concert at Monaco and Evans in 2016! Thanks for reading and commenting!
I had just moved to Denver in
I had just moved to Denver in '81 and quickly found the Rainbow Music Hall . . . I was hooked from the beginning! I was used to going to huge concerts so this felt like a whole new thing - great bands in an intimate setting. I felt soooo cool bringing friends to this little gem! Thanks for the memories, Brian.
Thanks for the kind words,
Thanks for the kind words, Patty. Barry Fey wasn't joking when he said every seat would feel close to the stage!
It was a fun place - my uncle
It was a fun place - my uncle worked as a bouncer and would introduce me and my friends to the bands - cant COUNT the number of buses we were on LOLZ
We're assuming that what
We're assuming that what happens on the bus, stays on the bus? (Even 35 years later!) Thanks for sharing and reading!
Great article. I was there
Great article. I was there for the BF/Nig-Heist debacle and thought it was epic. I was young & dumb enough to think Barry Fey was "authority" and loved that he was upset. "Stick it to the man! yeah!" Little did I know how much he was doing for all of us with the Rainbow. Wanna-be punk that I was. One of the Heisters got on the mic and said something along the lines of "due to the travel schedule I haven't had any time with the ladies..so I had to <"pleasure himself">. He then threw a handful of white.. opaque.. sticky stuff into the crowd. Which thank God was Arby's Horsey Sauce.
RMH was where I saw the 1st concerts my folks let me go to: Fabulous Poodles and Boomtown Rats. Saw something like 15 other shows too and the sound was amazing. Took it for granted because I didn't know any better. Saw Journey <embarrassment>, Pretenders and remember the Romantics rocking the walls. They were an amazing live outfit. Their tour bus got high-centered trying to exit onto Evans and we had to help push them off. Single worst move ever: sitting in the parking lot for the 1st Police show and trying to decide whether to go in or not and deciding to go to a party instead. Genius.
Hi Sonofa - Thanks for the
Hi Sonofa - Thanks for the kind words and thanks for sharing your Rainbow Music Hall memories. I was at that show, too but, fortunately was standing back quite a bit further back that night! The bottom line is that there were an amazing number of really great shows at the old Rainbow!
I went to Regis College from
I went to Regis College from 77-81 & saw so many amazing shows between McNichols & The Rainbow. I remember like yesterday watching all the Ramones come from the back & walk right past me down the aisle & up to the stage & break out into Blitzkrieg Bop!!!! F'n Amazing!! The smell of Colombian Red Bud in the air. Also saw the Police from about 5 rows back when they were considered a "new wave" band. The other show I remember like yesterday were The Fabulous Poodles!!! What an absolutely Awesome band!!! I remember rolling & smoking a Cheech & Chong size joint in the van before we got there to see them. They have a great song called "Roll Your Own". Damn those were the best of times!! That place is part of all of our hearts & souls. I also sold T-Shirts at McNichols for all the rock concerts during that time. Ted Nugent's 1977 Tour when he wore a wolf's tail on the back of his pants & jumped off a stack of Marshall's a mile high!! Boston's Don't Look Back Tour, Van Halen's 1978 World Tour (I still have the T-shirt from that one!!), Kansas with The Cars opening up for them!! & Frank Zappa when the girls would cut off their panties & throw them up on stage & he put one on his head!!! I'm telling you Barry Fey was right when he said Music means more to Denver. There was nothing like it!!! Thank you Rainbow & Old McNichols for the best music memories of my life!!!! & Thank you Brian for giving all of us the opportunity to relive & share those beautiful memories!!! Cayla : )
Hi Cayla and thanks for the
Hi Cayla and thanks for the kind words. You really made the most of the Rainbow! On a personal note, I desperately wanted to see that same Ramones show, but as an 8th grader, my parents weren't thrilled about sending me there. Thanks for sharing your Rainbow memories with us!
Well, I'd like to add some
Well, I'd like to add some facts. My band, The Jonny 3, was the first band to ever play at The Rainbow. We played there the night before it opened. Check Morris, Barry Fey and Dave McKay were the only 3 guys in the hall. It was a "practice" concert. The concession stand was open, the ticket people were in place and we did the gig. I met Dave at a party on York Street hosted by the three southern girls, Aleece, Denise and Sandra. I walked in on him when he was pissing. We were playing at the party. It was so crowded that he never saw us, but he told me he loved the band. I told him I was in the band. He subsequently booked us for several gigs at the Rainbow. I believe Elvin Bishop was the first one. We opened for him. I have a recording of the interview we did for KFML that was played for about a week before the show. The crowd threw empty whiskey bottles at us. It was not a good fit. We also opened for Tom Robinson Band, Rachel Sweet and headlined a Denver punk night. Barry was all biz, Dave was cool, but Chuck and I hit it off big time. I never paid to go to a show there. He and I would go to his office and drink. I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers with the original lineup and thought "Punk rock is dead."