The Rainbow Music Hall: Remembering a Legendary Denver Concert Venue

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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 up! I've gathered the impression from these comments that working at the Rainbow was as fun as seeing the shows inside!

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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 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.

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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!

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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 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!

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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...

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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!