March 26, 2003 - Coachella, CA
| Welcome
to the Higher and Higher Tour!
I deflowered a virgin tonight. I couldn't help myself. I've probably ruined her life, but hey! That's how it goes. Horrified? You should be! ; ) It was another killer day on tour with The Moody Blues. They must have a truckload more grit and stamina than *I* do! I had written a pretty lousy and inadequate review of the second Santa Rosa concert, called to arrange a taxi to the SF airport at 1am and then carefully planned the day ahead. It's always a mistake! I can make it on 6 hours of sleep, and do pretty well with that. A single minute less bodes disaster. I set my alarm for 7am, knowing the taxi was due at 8:30 and was woken up abruptly at 6am by some imbecile violently banging on the door opposite mine. His buddy might not have woken up, but *I* did, therefore missing that precious and absolutely necessary extra hour of sleep. Boy, am I feeling it now! (And she was out for the count.) I failed to consider the important fact that the sun rises in the east. Those facts of nature get you every time. I now know, and discovered at 6:15am that my hotel room window "faces" east. LOL The entire allotment of sunshine for sunny Palm Springs had filled my room and heated me up like an old burger at McDonalds. Most of my company for conversation this leg has been cabbies. I have new found respect for them! The two hour ride to the SF airport was spent deep in conversation with the first of two gems of the day. Charlie was a huge music fan and told me about the annual jazz festival in Sacramento. He had also spent time in racing and had been to my hometown, the racing capital of the world, many times. Conversation moved effortlessly, and we moved to The War. Charlie was a Vietnam vet and his father had been a US military advisor to the French in Vietnam in the 50s. I am dealing with it by asking people THEIR views. His were thoughtful and sober. He's afraid, feels that San Francisco is a target and he and Lourdes are looking to move to Las Vegas. It was a lovely ride through gorgeous country to SF and then driving through town was a delight. Despite the war, I have had no problems at all with airport security. I know now exactly what they expect, and do my part to make things go smoothly. An older gentleman took me under his wing at LAX, where I was to make my connection. There was a bit of confusion at how things worked there! It required a bus from the main terminal to a distant area where the toy planes took off. He was a consultant for Gannett (publishers of USA Today and the owner of a large number of newspapers in small towns, including mine). He told me a bit of the Gannett philosophy, and enjoyed getting some feedback about my paper and my town. After he left my side on our arrival in Palm Springs, another woman on the plane slid in to his place. She had overheard our conversation and said "You're from Richmond? My dad used to work at Belden!" (a cable manufacturer) We chuckled over the coincidence, and shared a few stories while waiting for our luggage to appear on the carousel. I LOVE Palm Springs! Sigh What a beautiful place. They have wisely not allowed high rises and guarded their little town from raucous development. The palm trees that give it its name line the streets, and the mountains surrounding it are picture postcard lovely. I always leave wishing I had had more time to spend there. It had been a long day and a long way. I sat for a minute, then tiredly dragged my baggage (oh, what a metaphor for life THAT is!) over to the taxi stand. It was warm, though comfortably so, in Palm Springs. I was directed to the cab next up and a pleasant lady took my heavy bag, an act that lightened my load both figuratively and literally. She asked where I was going and I didn't know! That's SueC's job! LOL I told her the Hyatt, and she asked "which one"? There are two? I was at a low ebb and slowly and pathetically fished out my papers and gave her the address. She smiled sympathetically and helped me into her cab. What a pleasant lady! I warmed up to her immediately and noticed and approved of her radio station selection: classic rock. She did her best to make me comfortable, and I sunk into the seat and relaxed for the first time in the day. It was a longer ride than I expected and we talked companionably. I asked how long I should plan for the ride to the Trump 29 casino and she offered to take me there for the concert. I thought a moment, and then said, well, I have an extra front row ticket. Why don't you come with me? She glanced into the rear view mirror to see me, her eyes were wide open with surprise. "Are you SERIOUS" she said. The Moody Blues are my religion, and I feel an empty seat on the front row is a mortal sin. Yes, I assured her; I was serious. Come with me! The taxi speeded up and swerved with her excitement. Diana was a great fan of music, and a huge fan of classic rock, and though The Moody Blues weren't Rod Stewart (her all-time favorite) she knew they were "cute" and loved their music. She had never seen them live, and in fact, hadn't been to a rock concert in 20 years, children and life had taken hold. Diana repeatedly said "Are you SURE? I can't BELIEVE this"!" for three or four blocks, then said, "YES!!!! I'LL GO!!! She was hopping up and down in her seat with anticipation, and it gave ME new energy. The Moodies say they get *their* energy from the audience. I got mine from the driver's seat of a taxi cab. : ) As we pulled in to the Hyatt, we set a time (a paltry two hours away) and I gave her my name and assurances that come hell or high water, I would be at the curb at 6:30. She wanted to know what to wear (a universal "gal" thing) and I assured her that her outfit was fine. She ripped out of that parking spot and sped off to make her arrangements for the evening! LOL The Hyatt was a bit of luck! I had chosen it for its ease and proximity to the airport, regretfully passing on a number of beautiful hotels in the area. Finally! A bellman! A happy bellman! My cup runneth over. My suite was lovely and the bedroom opened onto a balcony. I threw off my traveling clothes, threw on the unused shorts and rested my weary eyes on the mountains. I missed hubby and SueC and made the mistake of calling the one, rather than the other. HE didn't need company, and was not PINING for me, as I had hoped! I realized, yet again, that Marriage is Hell. HAHA He was busy packing for HIS flight to Vegas and had no time to hear about the mountains. He did chuckle at my "date" for the evening's concert, and clearly gave the impression that I had finally lost it completely. Well! We'll see who has the last laugh after he has his evening with Wayne Newton! Humph! Diana was waiting in her cab at the curb when I made my way down exactly at 6:30. I found out she had been VERY busy. After consideration, she had rushed home, taken a shower and changed, and then had called: her boss, her husband, and her best friend. All were frantically worried that she had hooked up with a nutcase. LOL!!! (Yes, she had!) Her 17 year old daughter, Sara, had sternly grilled her and expressed her concern and disapproval. But she was there, and she was going! I came to realize that she saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime and I admired the fact that though she was afraid, she was not going to let it pass by her. It was an adventure. I addressed her fears and reassured her that I was a mature and responsible matron in my "real" life, not an ax murderer in disguise, and having settled that, we moved on to discussing our kids. The event had taken on such magnitude that I started to worry that Diana would be disappointed. She was not! I guess I take my front row seat for granted these days, but Diana's barely controlled, unbelieving glee was a reminder that it really *is* a big thing! I promise not to take it for granted ever again. Fans came over to speak, and I introduced Diana as a friend here in Palm Springs. She leaned over and whispered to me "should I tell them?" and I told her not to. This seemed to please her. I wanted her to have the fan experience, and luckily, all that made their way over to say hi happened to be of the lovely sort of fan, rather than the "squirrel" variety. LOL We had the great good luck to be seated with a group of Big Moodies Fans, and since this was their first concert of the tour, they were pretty damned excited themselves. It's always a delight and pleasure to see The Twins and we were seated in between them and their two friends, B and C. The four were wearing fabulous (and hilarious) matching GRAEME EDGE tshirts, with a wonderful photo (taken by one of the twins) of my favorite drummer on the front with Higher and Higher printed below it. I made sure Graeme saw the shirts during the concert, pointing to B's shirt and then pointing to him. It's rare that due homage is paid to the most outstanding performer on the stage, and I was full of envy at those GREAT shirts. They, and I, were ready to rock! Luckily, The Moody Blues proved THEY were ready, too! THE VENUE Trump 29 Casino, per Diana, was originally the 29 Casino. Trump was brought in and the casino was completely overhauled. It looks great and looks like a fun place. I had no interest in gambling there, but liked the looks of it. The showroom appears to be on the large side. I didn't check how many it holds, and looks can be deceiving, so I won't guess. I'd say 2000 plus, maybe as many as 3. It's a theatre type showroom INTENDED for concerts (not the awful setup of the Reno Pavilion). I don't like having an aisle through the center, since the primo seats are lost, and that middle aisle proved to be an annoyance during the concert. Back to front was a gentle slope and there were a row of booths two-thirds back with table service. Bar and restrooms were IN the showroom - a nice touch. The large stage was a bit high, and security had placed a flimsy barricade in front of the stage. I liked it, though! It was the type of thing airports use to indicate the wait lines at the counters. It lets you know their wishes in a subtle way, and their wish was that the audience stay around a foot back from the stage. It was a lot better than having either a gate or numerous guards blocking your view. Nicely done! The showroom was simple, the seats were wide and comfortable. Drinks were allowed at your seats. I had pondered whether to bring a camera, and in the end, decided not to. I had many moments this evening when I regretted that decision. Sigh I was between Graeme and Justin, and had a wonderful view and dozens of great photo opportunities in a venue where photography was allowed. <shrug> That's the way it goes. I sat down in my seat and looked up in dismay. I was in "Fuckville"!!! (I don't know whether SueC will allow that, but it is the truth!) DEAD in front of me was a large front-fill speaker, one of four placed on the stage. The term "Fuckville" comes from a concert last spring 2002 in Canada, where a LARGE box was blocking my view and BLASTING my ears. I had complained at the interval to every one in uniform or with a pass I could find, and finally nailed Gary (a former member of the MB crew) Gary had tried to explain that they were "front-fill" speakers, but Fuckville was what I thought I heard him callously say! Grrrrrrrrr. You never know what your seat is REALLY going to be like until you get there. I knew that I could pull out my silver hair in anger and frustration, and I also knew that nothing could be done about it. Front-fill speakers are used in some venues to augment the sound supplied by those overhead. I don't see how that can POSSIBLY work, since all that sound goes RIGHT into *my* poor ears and circles around my brain, until my entire body is completely numb and I've lost my will to live. It's got to be some kind of punishment from God! THEREFORE, for me, it was a JUSTIN HAYWARD solo concert last night! Oh, I got a bit of John in the harmonies, but only a very little of that. It was Justin, Justin, JUSTIN, at 1000 decibels. I now know what EVERY damn song would sound like if the only thing up there was Mr Justin Hayward. Just singing, no guitar, no keyboards, no bass, no backups, and despite being almost directly in front of GE, only a tiny amount of drums. Yes, it was me and Justin for a solid 90 minutes. Oh, and it was loud, SO loud. Aaargh! I left thinking I might never want to hear him again! LOL I scrambled to find the ear plugs in my purse and forced them in, nearly to my brain in a vain attempt to get some relief. If anyone from the stage looked down and caught me not smiling, it wasn't anything to do with the performance, it was the pain I was in! I tried to ignore it, but continually had to "mess" with them, pulling them out to better hear, then ramming them back in when I was overwhelmed. In, out, In, out. Luckily for me and as is usually the case, Justin was in great voice. If he had cracked a sour note, I would have been writhing in agony on the venue floor and the paramedics would have had to be summoned to staunch the bleeding from my ears. Rock 'n roll is not for the faint of heart and you have to be tough! LOL THE FASHION REPORT JL - Black, long-slvd shirt with ruffled bib and pleats, leathers, boots JH - Black crepe long-slvd shirt, jeans, no boots. Somebody, get this boy some BOOTS. GE - Jimi Hendrix shirt, black slacks. Since this was a casino concert, it was performed in its entirety without an intermission. Hence, no change in stage attire. The Battle of The Buttons We've reached a plateau. JL came out with the black shirt unbuttoned to midchest. For some reason, the effect is heightened with the black shirt over the companion white one, perhaps because of the contrast with his skin color (a warm golden tone). JL looks GREAT this tour, sexy as all get out. To be honest, I love Justin's crepe shirts. The material moves gently with him, and looks like it's floating in the breeze. It's a nice effect. I have to regretfully say that an additional button on this shirt might be inappropriate for a family audience, and I hate being surrounded by hundreds of overcome and fainting admirers. I've looked closely at this shirt, well, as close as I CAN, and the next button is placed a bit lower than midchest. If he unbuttoned it, the soft material might cause the shirt to fall completely OFF him. I can see it being caught and held by his guitar strap on one side, and falling delightfully down to expose his naked shoulder and muscular upper arm on the right side. If that happened, I'm not sure he could still play and I'm absolutely sure I wouldn't be able to listen. I would be overwhelmed by the excited gasps of pleasure from behind me in the audience and the expressions of Oh MY! uttered all around me, and probably knocked down by the frenzied rush of female fans to the stage. Followed close behind by their angry husbands, of course! Still...I'd want to try! LOL DISCLAIMER: Please note that this section is intended to be amusing and is written in a sophisticated tongue-in-cheek manner. It is not meant to be an insult to the fine professional musicians on the stage, but to provide a humorous side note highlighting the often sexual nature of the beast we call rock 'n roll. I am certain in my heart, that no fan, at any time, has thoughts of a sexual nature during a Moody Blues concert, but is solely and completely involved with the music. As it should be! (MaggieMay laughing herself sick) THE CONCERT Darkness hit like a bullet and the concert began. I can't comment on the sound as a whole, since I was trapped in the Justinzone. There were a number of traveling fans at the Trump, and I've found that really peps up the energy level of the concert. LtSY had a perfect start and was performed well. The large crowd was enthusiastic and the first three rows were full of smiling fans getting their thrill. : ) The only "glitch" I recall occurred during Singer. Near the beginning of the song there was a huge "hiccup". LOL I don't know how else to describe it. It was the strangest thing! I thought perhaps Gordon might have gone a bit wrong for a moment. It was loud, it was "odd" and the Jays looked surprised. I saw GE look over and say something to Gordon. It was just a moment, and the music continued its wonderful way. The song of the night? Oh, without question, Higher and Higher! That is THE song every night! It is simply fabulous and can not be improved. AYSC is exquisitely lovely, but it's H&H that people rave about as they leave the venue. When I went home during my three concert hiatus (required by the "two-week" rule), I got out my Children's Children's Children's sealed Mo-Fi (if you haven't discovered Mo-Fi's you are missing the primo cd recordings) and broke it open. I could not imagine spending three days without hearing it. It's an interesting contrast between the recorded version of H&H and the live one. Mike Pinder was tapped to perform the spoken part on the recording, and he did it well, but I prefer the delivery of the author. I did not have the opportunity to hear the Moodies live in the good old days of rock 'n roll and in fact, I don't know whether it was performed then. The biggest difference and the one that I find AWESOMELY effective is the drum part performed by Gordon Marshall. I've never heard any drumming like it before in a Moodies concert, and Gene Krupa popped into my mind. It makes you want to get up and boogie! You just can't sit still. It's VERY effective! Fabulous job, Gordon Marshall! It was an excellent performance, better than the Moodies average show (a benchmark only - average for The Moody Blues is a VERY good performance). The energy level in both the audience and onstage was high. GREAT show! The venue was not without its share of annoyances. Perhaps spending time in "Fuckville" put me in a less forgiving state of spirit. My seat was wonderful, and very comfortable, but apparently a large group of other people found their seats less so, and spent the concert traipsing back and forth in front of me, blocking my view, stumbling over my feet and just generally pissing me off. LOL One gal in boots must have suffered from nervous bladder syndrome for she walked across the entire front row to the center aisle (oddly, away from the restrooms) at least 7 times during the concert. A number of other people, no doubt equally afflicted made the trip several times each. Sigh OK, you want to have a good look at the Boys in the Band. Do it once, get your fill and don't be an irritation to the paying people that want to see the concert! Grrrrrrrrrr The moderately wide center aisle proved to be an attractive nuisance, like a backyard swimming pool full of floating toys beckoning to an unsupervised three year old. The aisle started to fill with wild dancers and while I didn't mind their dancing, I did mind that they crossed yet again in front of me to reach the center. Security shooed them out from time to time, but they came back like gnats to sweaty skin on a hot summer day. One woman made the trip twice, each time to throw a single rose at Justin's feet. I was thankful that more admirers didn't come equally supplied with posies from the garden for it might have become a serious work hazard, like banana peels on the kitchen floor. Speaking of hazards, one of The Twins brought out a tin of the most incredibly awful licorice-flavored mints and passed them around. I do not like licorice and don't like the smell, but there I was, cowering and holding my nose, helpless against a forest of licorice. Everyone around me was sucking on those things and they stunk like hell. HAHAHAH How anybody could kiss someone with that stuff on their breath is beyond me! I would get a whiff of licorice during a song and playfully GLARE at the guilty twin. She smiled knowingly. This was a different concert for me. I had the opportunity to see it with another's eyes. Diana had a WONDERFUL time and completely enjoyed the concert experience. She was up, she clapped and very quietly made a few comments as the show went on, including "Oh, I LOVE that song" and "I can't believe I'm here". She hadn't realized that people might drive or fly hundreds or thousands of miles to see The Moody Blues, and was amazed at the number of people who knew me. She laughingly said, "I'm FROM here, and I don't know anybody!' LOL She was a sweet and lovely companion for the evening and as we parted, reached out her arms for a big Latino hug. The concert was special to her, and she made it special for me! One last note: I asked Diana on the trip home what her favorite song of the evening had been. She answered without hesitation and her choice startled me. The song had moved her, she told me. It was SO beautiful, so DEEP, so honest, and you could tell he meant every word. The song she fell in love with was... WORDS YOU SAY MaggieMay Something I can't control, You are in my heart and soul... |