Fun Time on the Concourse

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Back in the mid-1980's, having already seen them twice, I took a friend up to Denver to see the Pretenders on their Get Close tour. Iggy Pop was opening, so it had to be a great show, right? Right. And it was. This story, however, has nothing to do with either band, as great as they both were. This story takes place on the arena's concourse right after Iggy's set. For context, you have to know that my friend is black. For this particular show, he wore a leather trench coat, a black beret, and wrap-around shades. He looked militant, and as intimidating as can be. And intimidating he was. After Iggy finished, we hit the bathroom, then headed for the beer line. As we walked the concourse, full of nothing but white people, my friend, in his mode of dress, began harmlessly walking directly down the middle of the concourse. There were a lot of groups walking our way. It was like the parting of the Red Sea. These groups of people gave room. Plenty of room, enough room for four or five trenchcoat-clad men to walk through. I followed in his wake, chuckling at the scared facial expressions from those who moved out of the way, which would be all of them. We got to the beer line in record time. Ah, memories. Those few minutes made for some of the funniest concert recollection's I have. The link below will take you to the Pretenders' set opener, their version of Jimi Hendrix's "Room Full of Mirrors." It rocks, so enjoy!