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
I worked there too, best
I worked there too, best shows it was a good thing to be able to work there and enjoy all the wonderful bands that came through that door. Sorry to hear the building will be gone now.
Hi Steve - Thanks for posting
Hi Steve - Thanks for posting up! I've gathered the impression from these comments that working at the Rainbow was as fun as seeing the shows inside!
Some of the shows I saw there
Some of the shows I saw there: Police, U2, R.E.M., Eurythmics, Bob Dylan, Santana, Pretenders, English Beat, Specials, Squeeze, Ramones, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Berlin, Devo, Miles Davis, too many to remember. Tickets were so cheap it was stupid not to go.
Hi Terry - You're right. Even
Hi Terry - You're right. Even adjusted for inflation, the ticket prices for those shows were just ridiculously cheap and really open the door for a lot of young people to see some really amazing shows.
I too saw so many great bands
I too saw so many great bands there (and a few not-great bands too). I do remember at least one bad seat- there was a giant concrete beam stage left, and if you were unlucky enough to sit there, you couldn't see around it. Of course, there weren't very many shows that I actually SAT in a seat. I met some of the coolest people sleeping out in the parking lot - some of them I even stay in contact with to this very day! Great memories here- thanks for the flashback!
Hi Stepho! You've hit the
Hi Stepho! You've hit the nail on the head, there were some really great people hanging out in that parking lot!
Is it possible to get a
Is it possible to get a complete list of the acts that played the Rainbow? I went there quite a few times, saw acts like Chubby Checker, Del Shannon, Little Anthony, and many others, but can't quite remember them all. Was hoping for a complete list, so I can at least say, "Hey, I remember watching them at the Rainbow"!!! Thanks for the article, Brian!
Hi Daryl - This site called
Hi Daryl - This site called Setlist.fm seems to have a pretty thorough list (they're listed in reverse order). Other than that, I haven't seen a locally produced version. Hope this helps and thanks for reading our blogs!
Stevie Ray Vaughan w/ John
Stevie Ray Vaughan w/ John Long, Jack Bruce, Jerry Garcia & John Kahn, The Band, Leon Russell, Hot Tuna, Vital Parts, David Bromberg, Little Feat, Midnight Oil, John McLaughlin w/ Weather (Report) Update, Phil Keaggy, Spirit, Rachel Sweet...
Great article! Thanks for the
Great article! Thanks for the memories. My band Aviators got to play there a few times, opening for the Psychedelic Furs, Berlin, Missing Persons, and Duke Jupiter(?)..There were a bunch of baseball hat guys at the Duke Jupiter show that kept yelling "Fags" and the like at us..maybe a weird billing? But I had a great time there. My buddy and future musical partner in Pigmy Love Circus, Mike Savage worked the door there and snuck a bunch of us into the U2 concert.. He was fired for a day or two but then got his job back. His band Mau Mau 55 (which became PLC in L.A.) headlined a fashion show gig at the Rainbow. I saw the Ramones there among other great bands. It was the loudest show I've ever seen, Actually had to step back at that one. Great venue, great times!