\The 65 year old rocker, wearing a camouflage cowboy hat and vest, sporting a bushy gray goatee, brought the house down on a stage flanked by American and Colorado flags, a compound bow and an assortment of animal skulls mounted on amplifiers.
Making reference to playing “American Made” [Gibson] guitars, including a Les Paul painted like an American flag “Uncle Ted” brought his fans some of the most recognizable guitar riffs known to rock music, playing hits like “Gonzo,” “Wango Tango,” “Cat Scratch Fever” and “Stranglehold.” Nugent played for nearly two hours to a packed house, and concluded a single encore with “Great White Buffalo” which ended with the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Nugent is well known for his strong pro America stance, defended the first and second amendment, hunting and wasn’t shy about firing a few arrows of sharp criticisms at the Colorado legislature and called his standing room only audience as “the real Colorado” and encouraged them to “take Colorado back.”
Not the least bit shy about his place in the world of rock music, he unabashedly said, “if he wasn’t up here, I’d be in the front row watchin’ my ass,” and “obviously, you people deserve me!” It’s evident that Nugent still loves playing, making references to his playing shows every summer since 1955 and undoubtedly has staying power after decades of playing. Nugent gave everything he had to the Denver audience, and played a show every bit worthy of his own high praise.
The show was opened by 23-year-old blonde guitarist and singer Laura Wilde. This native of Melbourne, Australia got the audience going with fiery guitar licks and high energy stage presence that had every eye and ear in the room focused on her. She no doubt made new fans in Denver, and took the time to meet with fans and sign autographs after her set. Her album Sold My Soul was released in 2012.
Photos by: Steve Hostetler
