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It’s been nearly a month since I swooped into Denver for a 36-hour whirlwind visit to witness the reunion of Christie Front Drive for Denver Fest.

At this stage of my life, it takes a lot for me to jump a plane cross-country just to see a band. There’s precious few I’d do it for, and this was one.

It was definitely Gared that first turned me on to CFD…must have been ’95 or ’96. I remember when I heard the first record for the first time, I was less than impressed. It wasn’t long, though, and I was hooked.

I remember taking off work and driving up to the Fireside solo—for some reason, no one could go with me that night—to see them play at the Fireside. This was mere weeks before they would break up, must have been early ’97. I bought the second LP at the show along with the Broken Hearts are Blue record.

Nothing brings me back to my ghetto days at Frink (officially, Dec ’96 – Aug ’97) like that second Christie Front Drive record. That drum machine intro is permanently mapped to the blue light glow of the living room in my mind.

I remember how excited I was to move to Denver—the hometown of Christie Front Drive. The Blue Ontario were together, and they were a close match, but ended shortly after we got there.

I’m stoked to have gotten to know Jason of CFD briefly before he took off to Portland. Seeing him several weeks ago for the first time in seven (!) years was amazing. We reminisced about watching Lee Scratch Perry in Boulder and the insanity of Fourth of July, 1999—when I nearly set myself on fire, literally, among other things.

I was at the club early with Gared and Mike and witnessed the sound check. I was practically in tears I was so incredulous and euphoric and moved. I even called Jodi and held the phone up so she could hear a song. Unbelievable—it was everything I had hoped for and more.

And the show was simply beyond words. They played as if not a day had gone by—I couldn’t believe how tight they were. It was truly one of the most inspiring shows I’ve ever seen. So inspiring, in fact, that I started writing….uh…oh, I’ll just say it…poetry again, sorta kinda. It may even have played a hand in the creation of this blog.

I am more than likely to post a CFD-inspired poem at some future date. How’s that for clarity?