Red Butte Garden Now Cares More About The Money Than The Music

Deb and I went to the very first Red Butte Garden concert. I think it was in 1987. It was billed as, a night with Texas song writers. A young guy named Robert Earl Keen Jr. (he was still using the, Jr. at the time) opened the show. Townes Van Zant, now long gone was next, and Guy Clark finished out the night.

It was an intimate little setting, kind of off the path in a grassy area with a little stage. Might have been a couple of hundred people there. I think it was a Sunday night. While, Guy Clark was singing, "Home Grown Tomato's" a lady walked right up to the little stage, and set a plastic grocery bag full of tomato's on it for him. When he was done, he picked up the bag, and said, "Thanks for the mayters!" and left the stage.

As we were walking out, I literally BUMPED into Robert Earl on the path, got to say, "Excuse me! I'm a big fan by the way." He shook my hand and said, "Thank you very much." It was a laid back place.

Over the years we spent a lot of time up there, mostly Sunday nights, in the company of Nancy Griffith, Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine, Asleep At The Wheel, John Hiatt, Emmy Lou Harris, folks like that. Even had tickets to see, Little Feat there one time, but it rained so hard, they moved the show to Kingsbury Hall. All the folks you have to listen to, Sunday Sagebrush Serenade on KRCL every week to hear.

It was THE place to see what has now come to be known as, Americana, or, Outlaw Country. Too rock and roll for country, too country for rock and roll.

I got to meet Robert Earl a few years ago before a concert at The Depot here in Salt Lake and told him about seeing him at that show years ago. He got kind of misty eyed an said, "Oh, man. I remember that. I was with Townes, and Guy! That was a great place."

Four years ago, we went to Belize for the first time for, "Camp Belize" with Jerry Jeff Walker. On the night of the, "meet and greet" where you get to have your picture taken, and autograph's signed, that kind of thing, I shook the mans hand and said, "We're Jeff and Debbie from Salt Lake City." As soon as I said that he said, "The Garden! That's as beautiful a place as I've ever played. But it's so hot! It's hard to keep the guitars in tune." He didn't say, "I remember playing, Judd's Frontier Lounge there in 1979!" But he remembered, The Garden. I told him they were changing the stage, and hoped he'd come back.

As with all things good, change comes. It evolves and grows. That isn't ALWAYS a bad thing. And much about the changes at Red Butte have been good. But it's just not, ever going to be the same.

I don't think I'll ever see Jerry Jeff Walker there again.

The list of this summer's concerts came out this week. I saw it in, The City Weekly, and there isn't one show I'm willing to pay to go see. I love Lyle Lovett, but we saw him there a year or two ago, and it was an hour long dirge. He just didn't rock the place. And it will be sold out and crowded.

I'd go to see, Toots & The Maytals, but I don't want to see the headliner. Ani DiFranco I'm not that familiar with, but I like what I HAVE heard. But I like the warm up act, Greg Brown. He's awesome. I like, Pink Martini, but probably not enough to pay a lot to see them.

K.D. Lange has a great voice and I'd like to hear it in person, but probably not enough to sit through a whole show on a Tuesday night.

I just can't get excited about this years line up. I've heard of, Cake. Didn't they do, Meet Virginia? After they did that, I'd leave. I really admire Sheryl Crow for all she has accomplished, starting out as a school teacher from Missouri. And she's one of the prettiest people on the planet. But you hear her stuff ALL DAY if you turn on a radio.

I prefer to remember, Peter Frampton with his hair. Not just a lot to move me to stand in line and buy tickets like I have before.

Oh, I know they will sell them out. They don't need me. But I'll miss the intimate, friendly setting that it used to be when you could take you kids and not worry about getting in a fist fight over a space for your blanket, and hear some music you couldn't hear any where else except a bar.

I remember reading some place, I think in, The City Weekly that the guys who opened, The State Room either did or still have something to do with booking the acts at, Red Butte. I'm glad they opened, The State Room. Now, it it just had a convertible roof, and I could bring in a picnic basket...