| Star Theater On The Road With MaggieMay... BlueGlow was sad that it was her last concert of the tour, and I thought the best thing for her was some medicinal alcohol. 
It was a very interesting evening in the lounge with spritely conversation
and plenty of laughter to lift BG's spirits and she was soon back to her bright
and lively self. The stupid hotel bar did not have Mango Margaritas
and it was probably a good thing, because their ability to mix a drink was
not much better than our first hotel on the road. BG got a formal introduction
to the Band's new photographer who told us that the venue had tried to shut
him down after a few songs. The fact that his dad was onstage didn't
make a big impression on them! I'm sure Kristian handled them in the
same smooth way that he takes care of business at JohnLodge.com. He
looked pretty good with that photo pass around his neck!BG left early for the long and arduous trip back to the demands of her job at Ripley's Believe it or Not amid hugs and pats and promises of future concerts together, and I commenced my morning meditation with a large pot of room service coffee. My reverie was broken by the phone and an anxious Angel very considerately calling to tell me that the airport was suffering from a security "sick-in" and I'd better leave early or I might find myself stranded in the Seattle airport, looking at my front row Spokane ticket (courtesy of SueC and Ticketmaster, proving once again it CAN be done) and thinking about it rather than sitting in my seat. That gave me the hustle I needed. The hotel had redeemed itself for the unfortunate strawberry snafu of the night before by having ANOTHER plate of chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us on our table after the concert. It made me feel very charitable, especially since there *was* no construction going on Monday morning. ; ) I had felt tempted to write a little Seattle hotel review and they were evidently quite fearful of a blistering one. HAHA! I reluctantly unplugged my high-speed internet access cable, and left with goodbyes and regrets, and the hope that I'll return soon to one of my favorite hotels. My psychotic cabbie (think The Taxi Driver) got me to the airport and I was surprised. Things didn't look too bad from the outside, and I checked in quickly. I went off to have a last smoke and stopped a TSA agent who had the same idea and asked how the security line was inside. She looked haggard and slumped, and told me that the day had been awful and that the line was VERY long. She went on to tell me about all the TSA difficulties in detail and I listened soberly, all the while thinking that I had better get my spot in line. I took my leave, and thanked her for working to make airports safe on the behalf of all flying Americans, and that brought a smile to her face. I raced in with my laptop bouncing along behind me and made my way up to the checkpoint. It didn't look too bad! I was wrong. The guard there told me no, it wasn't the end of the line, and he pointed to the FAR end of the large building. With a sinking heart, I began to walk in that direction, and discovered the guard was wrong. The line had curved around the far end and had backed up along the side in a U shape. sigh I asked the grandmotherly type in front of me if this was the security line for Terminal B and she grimly said yes. Things work out the way they're supposed to be, and I try to believe that. I had a fascinating conversation with a sleep-deprived adventurer who was making his long way back home to Reno after a 2 week safari in Tanzania. The first words out of his mouth after hi were: Are you a Sister ? (meaning in a religious order) No one has ever mistaken me for a nun before! I need to start wearing more makeup. More jewelry. Low cut tops. Stiletto heels. Spiked hair. Whatever it takes! Yes, Sister Mary Margaret - that's me! I must have lost my hint of alluring sexuality somewhere on the road. sigh 
I gave him my blessings as I left him for my gate,
but secretly thought "I hope the NEXT woman you say that to kicks you in the
shins. Or at least raps your fingers with a ruler!"Southwest continues to ferry me around the country and the airline suits me: dependable, but quirky and irreverent. A young employee was excitedly introducing some family members to her coworkers and I heard them ask "Nancy" to sing. Some people can't be trusted with a mike and an intercom system. It didn't take much urging for Nancy to go back to her podium and break out into an enthusiastic and soulful rendition of the famous Celine Dion song from Titanic that was burned into our brains during its heyday. Nancy threw herself into it with abandon, but after a moment I realized that this version was all about flying Southwest. Nancy, you've got guts, girl! Usually this type of singing occurs after a number of peppermint schnapps. The view from the plane of the area around Spokane didn't look promising. It was flat and plains-like. Spokane is a very easy airport, very small and almost no one was there. 
I don't think it ranks very high on the list of travel destinations.
After that impression, I was pleasantly surprised on the trip in. One
side of the city *is* sided with plains, but there are lovely forested hills
on the other side, and the city appears to be pleasant enough. It looks
like a nice place to raise kids.THE VENUE This was a puzzle! I asked my taxi driver and the hotel clerk about the Star Theater and they had never heard of it! One bellman said he thought it was at the Arena, but no one seemed certain. I trusted that my friends had already figured it out and would make sure we were at the right place. 
The Arena is a multi-purpose facility that can be reconfigured with
curtains (think hockey arena) for concerts. This concert configuration
has been dubbed The Star Theater. There's a large parking lot adjoining
and a plaza where the local classic rock station had set up a tent and was
playing music. There are decorative poles outside and it's attractive.
Like Conseco Fieldhouse (my local arena) you walk into a circular corridor
at club seat level. There is a large flight of steps down to the floor
seats. Steps are not my favorite way to travel and I knew I had one
trip back up in me, if that. My personal security guard told me that
the Star Theater set up sat 6000 combined for the floor, the sides, club seats
and balcony and that the last he had heard, 3500 tickets had been sold.
I thought the facility looked very new and was surprised to hear that it was
10 years old. It had a couple of star studded light fixtures and was
filled with the smoke used as a lighting effect enhancement. Rows of
seats were placed on a hard concrete floor, and included three continental
rows. That means that the first three rows were straight across with
no aisle; there was a center aisle thru the rest of the floor rows.
I've found this is a GREAT thing for crowd control and reduces the opportunity
to rush the stage. The large temporary stage was pretty high - it looked to be 5 ft plus. The front was skirted with black material. The stage setup was as usual for The Moodies. The 12 unit speakers were both hung from the ceiling and on poles on either side of the stage. 
This time the unit had 3 speakers underneath. I had noticed three
stands holding fan shaped devices (mikes?) at the side of the stage, stage
left at Marymoor Park and they were onstage at Spokane, too. The white/black
fabric backdrop was in place and the large curtains on either side of the
stage had stars and Star Theater, Spokane Arena on both. It's a neat
little setup! While the stage was high, the front row was well back
and I could look up without hurting my neck. Feet could not be seen.
sigh I believe they do play hockey at Spokane Arena, but the season
was thankfully over - there wasn't a layer of ice under your feet.
The security guards at the Star Theater wear green jackets and the guard seating me chortled when I asked him if he played golf. I disarmed my personal security guard with a short list of questions and casually asked him the photo policy. He said small cameras/point and shoots were acceptable, no professional cameras. A gal in the second row in front of John must not have checked on the policy, because I caught a bustle out of the corner of my right eye and saw them bust her for using a 35 mm camera with a telephoto lens. Naughty, naughty! LOL THE FASHION REPORT GE - Car shirt, black slacks JL - Black tank top, long slvd white shirt 1st half, white long slvd "bib" shirt second, leathers, boots JH - Pink long slvd shirt with ruffles, black jeans JohnB (guitar tech) - Hall of Fame shirt, blue jeans shorts JH was buttoned up tight, but I wondered if he had a tshirt on underneath the pink shirt. It had that "look". My seat was on the John side, so I didn't get a good look at Bernie and Norda. Wait! It's coming back to me... Bernie - Black see thru top, black slacks Norda - Black cap slvd top, black slacks, olive jacket removed at some time during the first half. I think! THE CONCERT The 2003 setlist was played in its entirety with a 20-minute intermission. The sound at the Star Theater had that "arena" quality, it's hard to describe, but I'd characterize it as being a tinge muffled, indistinct and with an echo. It wasn't bad…loud, but not painful or distorted. We're talking a hard room here with lots of bounce. The concert went very well from a smooth start thru the end with few errors. Close to perfection! The floor and sides looked pretty filled with a scattering of people in the upper level. 
My seat was 2 past John, a nice place to be but I looked over and noticed
that the 6 center seats remained empty for the entire first half. The
center of the front row! The same area in the second row was empty,
too. What was with that? I would have found that disconcerting
if I had been on the stage. The left side of the front row "discussed"
the situation during the break and we collectively decided to move in a few
seats and fill them up. Late arrivals would be chastised and lectured
on proper concert etiquette. No one arrived in the second half to fill
them, so it was either a venue screw up or a mistake by the stupidest broker
in the world. Portions of the floor crowd stood up at the appropriate
times and in general it was an appreciative group of rockers.There's little to comment on the Spokane concert - it was solid but not outstanding. The worst concert TMB have ever put on (that I have seen) is a good concert and this one was very good. I thought JH's vocals were quite lovely tonight and they were very nice in The Actor, the sound system being a natural limitation. He wasn't rubbing his neck at Spokane, nor doing anything that would tip me that he wasn't feeling well. Maybe he's caught on, and has learned not to give me those little "hints." LOL! Gemini Dream was a REAL treat tonight. Bernie's vocals thru the muffled sound system gave the GD an eerie, dream like quality that blew thru the arena, very ghostlike and spooky. I loved it! It came off quite differently than usual. 
Justin broke a string on the Guild for the second time since Portland.
I don't think I've ever seen him break one on the Guild, and this made two
within a few days. Odd!This concert was the last one in a series of seven concerts in a row, starting with icy Wente in California and moving through three different states. They varied from excellent in Portland to pretty bad at Marymoor One. It had to have been hard on the Band and the crew. That's a long way to travel and a long series of concerts to put out without a break. I'd say they ended up in pretty good shape! : ) I wonder if it was still "fun" though. An audience member called out asking about Ray at Spokane and the nice fellow sitting next to me also asked me at the break where he was. I'm tired of being the Band's unpaid mouthpiece! I understand that the Band has moved on, but giving brief explanations in towns on the last tour doesn't help the unconnected fans THIS tour. It wasn't widely publicized, and these people attend the concert still expecting to see Ray. I WISH Justin would throw the little explanation about Ray back into the introduction of The Actor, and give these people a clue instead of having them sit there the entire concert, wondering what's going on. It would help ME out! LOL (Yeah, Justin, get with the program! My personal opinion is that the backing band members, ALL of them, should be introduced at every concert, too! Sincerely, Mr. Ed) MaggieMay We're here, the time is right, To rock 'n roll, all thru the night... Photos courtesy of MaggieMay - apparently, Spokane is a much friendlier town than Seattle <snort> |
