Lightning Stops This Colorado Concert With a Bang

Don't you hate it when a great concert experience is ruined by a lightning bolt? That's what happened to this Colorado band.

Not only did lightning bring this concert with the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra at the Arvada Center to an abrupt halt, but it also did it right in the middle of an Elvis tune. Foul! That's simply not cool.

Check out the video. No doubt you'll agree this is a tight band. There they were, groovin' along when all of a sudden.....BOOM! You'll see the lightning flash at 1:29, followed by the sound at 1:30. The poor band didn't even have the chance to say "one Mississippi" before the thunder sounded.

Those are some sharp reflexes on behalf of the stage manager and the lead alto player. You'll notice the drummer noticed the flash instantly. The trombone section, however, was completely oblivious. (enter your trombone joke here).

So, the event breaks down like this:

• Lightning at 1:29
• BOOM at 1:30
• Band quits playing and clears the stage at 1:36

That's what's known as being an organized ensemble.

I have tremendous respect for this situation. We deal with this every year at Country Jam, and the now-defunct Rock Jam. It is stated very clearly in our agreement with the powers that be if lighting strikes anywhere within an eight-mile radius of Jam Ranch, we have to shut it down. A situation such as this forced us to hold the gates back in 2018.

Kudos to the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra. It sounded like an excellent concert. Sorry about the intermission.