As Red Rocks is gearing up for its set of summer shows, we decided to do a little bit of research about its vibrant history. Not surprisingly, we learned that the ancient venue has its fair share of myths and rumors, many of which we've collected below. Feel free to share your own, and, most importantly, beware of stray Juggalos.
10. Insane Clown Posse members live in a hole in the rocks This myth started after the first annual Hatchet Attacks Super Show in 2008, but has yet to be verified or dispelled. While it seems likely after the band released the video for "Miracles" that the band did indeed live in a hole somewhere, we aren't certain if the hole is question has anything to do with this myth. Unless, of course, magic and miracles are hiding their true location.
09. Jethro Tull inadvertently caused a riot While Jethro Tull's only responsibility is the fact they had too many fans, it is rumored that before the show Ian Anderson played a flute solo that invoked the god DPD, who showed up with tear gas and frowny faces.
08. The Beatles performed there on August 26, 1964 While the documentation for this event taking place is dense, it's next to impossible to find anyone who actually clearly remembers the event. This leads us to believe this is a hoax on the same level as the moon landing. Closely looking at pictures reveals the American government may have used this to cover up the fact they were doing top-secret testing near the amphitheater.
07. On the June 6, Ship Rock turns into a spaceship and flies around the perimeter Confirmed by several hundred people last year, the spaceship reportedly looked like a floating steam-punk version of James Cooks' "Endeavour." After making a pass around the area, the ship powered down, settled in and reverted to its rock form. We'll have a full video team out there this year to document the event if it happens again.
06. The Grateful Dead's dog, Blinkie is buried behind Creation Rock. Blinkie, the Grateful Dead's basset hound died of a heart attack during one of the bands shows at Red Rocks. As the story goes, Jerry Garcia and company hired a team of spirit guides to communicate with the animal to find out where it wanted to spend eternity. The dog reportedly stated, "Here." A small, dancing bear picture marks the burial site.
05. One of Steve Martin's survival caches is located in the parking lot While he may not seem like the type to have a series of survival caches around the country, Steve Martin's survival skills are on par with some of the best. It is said that he buried one of these caches in the amphitheater itself in case of an attack on American soil during one of his concerts. The so-called-cache houses thirteen canteens of water, several MRE's, a pistol and a piece of flint.
04. The easy way out of the parking lot Yeah, we know your friend totally knows a shortcut that can get you out of the parking lot in five minutes, but that spot doesn't actually exist. In fact, unless you happen to be on a bicycle you won't be moving for at least twenty-minutes, so get used to it.
03. By reading the suns location from the sixth row on Sunday, May 23 at 3:03 p.m., all of Lost's riddles will be revealed Obviously we won't be able to confirm anything about this myth until Sunday afternoon, but in S3E5 of Lost, there is a stone that looks a heck of a lot like one of the famous red rocks, and the time is revealed by the location of sun on the show to be 3:03 p.m. The date was derived from a Lost fanatic who watched S5E15 backwards and reports Sawyer mouthing the words "Sunday, May 23."
02. U2's treasure map While barely a myth of global recognition, it has been rumored that Bono wrote a treasure map on the back of a set list in 1983. The treasure map, which has never been seen by us or anyone we know, supposedly leads to a chest filled with sunglasses and hair gel.
01. The spot on the hill to watch for free A long standing hot spot and point of contention for cheap-ass concert-going wannabe's, the elusive spot on the top of the hill where "you can hear and see everything just fine" does indeed exist, but we won't reveal its true location. It might be best to beware of several dangers associated with the area, though, including, but not limited to, bears, poison oak, cacti, the ghost of John Denver and strange random bags of weed.
