Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

As soon as I found out Lewis Capaldi was performing in Denver, I decided I was going to attend. It ended up being a quick trip - just two nights - but it was just the little break from life I needed. 

I flew to Denver Monday afternoon, picked up my rental car (a GMC Terrain, more on that later) and made a quick stop at Safeway before heading to my hotel. I was able to stay at the same Marriott as in August when I was in Denver with my folks for the Josh Groban concert at Red Rocks. As is tradition, I had Maggiano's for dinner, though this time it was takeout. It would have felt strange eating alone at a "family style" restaurant...plus I was able to watch Dark while I was eating. 

So here's my Terrain rant before moving on. While it's a nice size for a small SUV and I liked how heavy/hearty it felt, it had some of the stupidest features. I won't even complain about the keyless entry (that's normal stupid - in case you couldn't tell, I'm not a fan) or the lag because it was a hybrid. Here's my beef - in order to put your car in park, drive or reverse, you have to push a button or pull a tab. No seriously...there's a row of buttons below climate control! B-U-T-T-O-N-S! On top of feeling weird as hell, I think it's a legitimate safety concern because you have to look and reach down every time you shift from drive to reverse and visa versa, taking your eyes off the road and decreasing your awareness of what's going on around you. Super hugely not a fan!

The hell, right?!

Tuesday I slept in and bummed around the hotel till about midday. Seinfeld, coffee and Reece's Puffs are a great way to spend a lazy morning. 😊 That is one of the best things about traveling alone...being completely in charge of your schedule and having the ability to do/not do whatever you want! 😁

It had been a while since I walked around the Denver Botanical Garden, so I decided to spend the afternoon there. I always enjoy wandering around the gardens/taking pictures. This trip was great because of the Fall weather. 🍂

I made it back to the hotel with enough time to eat dinner and drive to the Residence Inn in Cherry Creek. Since the neighborhood around the Ogden Theatre is a bit...sketchy, I decided to park somewhere safe and take Lyft to the theatre. My first driver was a nice 60-something lady who never drives for Lyft after 7:30pm. 🚙When she dropped me off, I was amazed to see a line about two blocks long of people waiting (in the misty rain) to get in the Ogden. I knew the show was sold out, but still! 

I was unaware there would be an opening act, which was a group called Saint Phnx - a pair of Scottish brothers and their guitarist. They were fun and had great accents...a good warm up for the main event! I posted some pics of them on my Wilde Photography Instagram page and Stevie (one of the brothers) liked them! 😁

On to the main event!!

Lewis Capaldi was super low key and there to have fun. After a couple songs he introduced himself and then asked how many people were unfamiliar with him, having just been dragged along to the concert. He asked if those people liked rock n' roll...then apologized, because that's not what this concert was going to be like at all.  He's a self-proclaimed chubby Scotsman who sings sad songs and if that's not something you're into, it's going to be a long evening. 😆

 He interacted well with fans, including drawing a picture of himself for a 7 yr old little boy named Atticus and dedicating a song ("Lost On You") to a couple - Patrick and Maggie, dubbed Paggie - who got engaged during "Maybe." He even changed up the lyrics at the end of Lost on You to make it a little less sad/break-uppy - ♫ "Cause I CAN take the weight of your love."♫

I was really happy he sang all my favorite songs - Grace, Mercy, One, Bruises, Fade, Hold Me While You Wait and, of course, Someone You Loved, which is #3 on the Billboard Charts (yay!). 

This has been a tough year, so a quick, fun break from reality was just what I needed. Thank God for free airfare (still working off that United Airlines credit*) and points to cover the hotel. It's going to be rough when I don't have those things to make solo travel affordable! 😖



~ Katie Q. 🐧


*When we flew to England last year, the plane from Chicago to London was waaaay overbooked, so they have us $2000 each in UA credits to wait and fly out the next day. Those credits have been used for me to fly to Denver twice, Mom/Dad/me to fly to Denver in August (Josh Groban!), Mom & Dad to fly to Arkansas, Mom/Dad/Matt to fly from Chicago to London (on their way to/from Malta) in January and for Mom/Dad/me to fly to NYC twice (last year and then later this month!). We've sure made good use of those credits!!