AS ALWAYS, DENVER RELAXES
by Zach Dunkin

The Indianapolis News
6/14/82

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ROCK PILE RATING
 * * * *  
John Denver, Market Square Arena, four-star rating
     Production: Excellent sound by Stanall and total on-stage 
lighting by Sundance. Rotating stage created a greater amount 
of good seats, but stage was too low for patrons on the floor. 
Good song selection. Solid support musicians. Good crowd 
rapport.
     Best Song: "Today", worst song: "Mother Nature's Son"
     Attendance: 12,500
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     There's nothing like a John Denver concert for cleansing 
the mind and soul. Although Denver's show in Market Square 
Arena Saturday lacked the raging sensuality of Red Stewart's 
or the overpowering dynamics of Neil Diamond's in earlier 
arena visits this year, it was nonetheless exhilarating. He 
just did it in a less aggressive manner.
     In addition to the rousing ovation Denver received at the 
end of his concert, there very easily could have been 12,500 
sighs of sweet pleasure. His performances are not exhausting. 
They are relaxing.
     Much of it has to do with his material. Songs about 
nature. Songs about travel. Songs about love. And songs about 
"Grandma's Feather Bed."  Some of it has to do with Denver's 
homespun personality, his story telling and his ever-stronger 
easy-on-the-ears vocals.
     Although the crowds have tapered slightly - four 18,000 
seat sellouts from 1975-78 to 15,000 in 1980 to 12,500 this 
year - the quality of the performances remains as good as 
ever.
     "It's always high quality" described singer-guitarist 
Denny Brooks, one of Denver's eight musicians who help make 
the whole evening click. "Sometimes, it's magically great. But 
it's always great."
     The basic presentation of the show remained close to the 
proven formula of those in recent years - Denver playing in 
the round, perched on a revolving platform with his 
musician/singers on a lower stationary stage.
     The only new faces in the musical bunch were Jerry 
Carrigan, who replaced veteran Hal Blaine on percussion, and 
Jerry Scheff, who replaced Emory Gordy Jr. on bass. The rest 
of the lineup remained the same as the last tour's with James 
Burton on lead guitar, Jim Horn on flute, sax and recorder, 
Herb Pederson on guitar and banjo, Glen D. Hardin on piano, 
Dancin' Danny Wheetman on guitar, fiddle and vocals, Renee 
Armond-Horn on vocals and Brooks.
     The show began with the customary request to refrain from 
smoking, using flash cameras and walking in the aisles during 
the performances of the songs. Then came the traditional 
children's choir introductory tape of "The Music Is You" and 
the usual show opener, "Farewell Andromeda (Welcome To My 
Morning)."
     For 2 hours and 15 minutes the 38 year old Denver, 
playing six and 12 string guitars, electric guitar, fiddle and 
mandolin, took his listeners to all of those magical places he 
has taken many of them before - from the "Country Roads" of 
West Virginia to the "Rocky Mountain High" beauty of Colorado 
to the "Country Boy" life on the farm and to the high seas on 
the good ship "Calypso."
     And for the first time, Denver took them to China, where 
he spent a month last year. The trip inspired his latest hit 
single, "Shanghai Breezes," one of eight tunes from the new 
"Seasons of the Heart" album Denver boldly slipped into his 
show in place of million sellers such as "Sunshine On My 
Shoulders," "Back Home Again" and "I'm Sorry."  To Denver's 
credit, he does not lump a half dozen hits into a "kiss-off" 
medley.
     Other top songs of the show included:
     - "Today" with superior Denver vocals enhanced by the 
harmonies of Brooks, Renee and Wheetman and the flute playing 
of Horn.
     - "Nothing But Breezes" featuring a rare saxophone piece 
(for a Denver song) by Horn and perfect harmonies by Brooks.
     - "Fly Away" with spellbinding support vocals by Renee 
and Brooks.
     - "Seasons of the Heart" and "Dearest Esmerelda", a 
couple of saloon songs described by Denver as the kind "that 
make you feel good about feeling so bad."
     - And "Hard Times" - a Stephen Foster tune done   
acappella by Denver, Brooks, Renee, Wheetman and Pederson.
     Heading into the last leg of the show, the band and 
singers left the stage to Denver, who took the next 15 minutes 
to mix music with politics.
     He recited "An Ambulance Down in the Valley", a poem 
about a town which thought the best way to handle a 
life-endangering cliff was to put a ambulance in the valley 
instead of building a fence on the cliff. Denver used the 
nonsensical tale to relay his support of "preventive measures" 
to such problems as crime, war, health and world hunger.
     He dedicated his song "I Want To Live" to the late Harry 
Chapin, the founder of World Hunger Year.  Before bringing the 
band back to finish the show, Denver recited an anti-war poem 
called "The Box" from his first album for RCA, "Poems, Prayers 
and Promises" recorded nearly 13 years ago.
     Following a stirring performance on "Calypso" Denver set 
the audience down gently with the show ending "Perhaps Love" a 
tune Denver said was written when he was in a "desperate frame 
of mind."  Never explaining the cause of his despair, Denver 
said: "Then I thought of you people and how lucky I was to be 
able to do something I love so much to please you. I wrote 
this song for you people."