| Pechanga Resort and Casino On The Road With MaggieMay... Listen to the wind for it Talks.. Listen to the Silence for it Speaks.. Listen with your Heart..and You will Understand.. By Brenda Eagle Spirit Woman Oct.'97 After a wild night of writing, today was spent recharging the body and spirit. I spent hours in thought about the Pechanga tribe and the challenging issues facing them and how difficult it is for them to try to achieve a certain level of prosperity and yet to retain their beliefs. I haven't figured that out either! I think the best one can hope for is to achieve a balance, sacrificing sometimes a bit of one to obtain a measure of the other. This casino/resort was built to provide jobs for the native people, and if their PR is to be believed (and I hope that is the case)  the profits will
go toward improving roads, education and substandard housing for members
of the tribe. At the same time, the tribe is fighting the electric
company in order to protect a 2000 year old California Oak tree, the symbol
of the people, from a proposed project. I would have loved the opportunity
to see this oak!
It's described as being 94 feet high and with a 600
foot span. (Visits are by prior arrangement only) It must be
magnificent! One tribal member wrote that people walking under its
branches are often moved to tears.I LOVE two-date venues. They provide the time to savor the concert experience, to write, knowing that the day after is free for rest. You get a second look at a venue, and time to think about it. There is DEFINITELY money being made at Pechanga. Though it was fairly quiet when I arrived on Thursday, it's at its peak tonight. It seems like every slot machine is filled and people carrying drinks and ready to party fill the place. It took a lot of effort to escape from the casino! I determindly made my way to my room and am pleased at the quiet atmosphere here. Unlike Vegas where drunks in the halls wake you at all hours, I can hear the wailing of midnight bird cries through my window. I've never heard anything like it. I sincerely hope I'll hear those birds at midnight the NEXT time I come to Pechanga. Well, back (reluctantly) to rock 'n roll! THE FASHION REPORT GE - Car shirt, black slacks JL - Black long slvd shirt (similar to the white shirt of the prior night - JL must always buy them in pairs lol) *bib* style with small ruffles, leathers, boots JH - Pink, long slvd shirt with ruffled front, black jeans (I think) Norda - Black low-necked top, crocheted overshirt, black slacks, pendant Bernie - Same great white outfit of the prior night Norda and Bernie both wore pendants. I've seen Norda's close-up and it's a polished stone. I'll have to chase down Bernie and have a look at hers too. Come here, Bernie! : ) JH has been shopping for stage clothing! I hadn't seen last night's blue shirt and I haven't seen tonight's shirt before. I spent half the concert straining to tell what color it was; I've been fooled by the lighting before, and I wasn't close enough to be sure. I even got out my little pair of binoculars to try to see it better and felt simply foolish. I finally decided that it was, indeed pink. Well, he didn't look like an accountant tonight, thank God! LOL John and Graeme both have a certain distinctive "style" that I'm accustomed to. With Justin...you think you've got him pegged and he takes a sharp turn, from flowing poet shirt to a concert t-shirt. It's a different approach. Maybe he just likes variety! LOL That's fine, too. One thing's for sure, the black jeans are the cat's meow. They're perfect in every way. I think I used to do a section called The Battle of the Buttons, in the old days. sigh I'd like to do it again. Perhaps someday. It's awful to treat someone like a sex object. I would imagine though, that it could be even more awful NOT to be treated like one. THE CONCERT Well, it was QUITE a different concert tonight! Who WERE those men on stage? It wasn't the same guys that played last night. OK, John and Graeme were pretty much the same great performances. But Justin Hayward! He came out BLAZING and put out an incredibly exciting performance. There was no hesitation, no timidity, no problems with vocals. He was *on* from moment one. It was the kind of performance that made you sit up in your chair and take notice. All I can say is... WOOHOO! Give me more! The start was clean and produced a fine rendition of LTSY. No problems in GD and I could hear JH's vocals tonight. It may have been my change in seat. It's a Moody fable that certain people ALWAYS sit in the front row. LOL Row C was as good as I could score for this concert and it was fine. Very nice, actually! I was reminded of Ray's song from EGBDF: "I can see them, they can't see me!" OK, I couldn't see them GREAT, but I could see them. And I definitely got a better sound mix. Justin more than made up for his problems last night in Tuesday Afternoon. He BELTED it. What a blast! It was fabulous, rocked the house and got an enormous ovation from the crowd. I think the audience can make or break a concert and tonight's was much more vocal, more appreciative and looser than last nights. The real partiers came out tonight. I don't think I've ever heard Justin sing like that! It was like he stepped into the spotlight and claimed it for his own. It was the most powerful performance of that classic that I have ever heard. Do it AGAIN! The change was remarkable and wasn't limited to Mr Hayward's vocals. He moved so much better, and just seemed IN to it. It was a great night for Justinfans! They got the goods. All of it. Lean on Me was very nice; it's a great song, very dependable and always well done, as it was tonight. ES was very good, with another great Jam. WYS was fine; it's just not one of my favorite Johnsongs. <shrug> The Actor! Ah, now THAT was interesting! The Actor saw the return of Ray Thomas as a loved member of The Moody Blues. Justin's wonderful introduction to it included that it was "a particular favorite of our dear friend and partner Ray Thomas who has sadly decided not to tour". And here, I thought Ray was out of the Moody Blues picture entirely. ; ) It was lovely to have JH mention Ray and in such a warm way. Usually, Justin is a man of few words on stage, but there are times when he seems to have been "wound up" and his introductions become amusing and almost, dare I say the word...spontaneous! Yes, there! I've said it. Natural! Freeflowing! Funny! JH gets darn chatty. LOL I don't know why, but I always chuckle at the Moody joke about the Lost Chord: We didn't find it! I was glad he included that tonight. Great introduction, gorgeous song. When I hear that song, I always think how lucky I am to be a Moody Blues fan. Slide Zone was super and got huge applause. IKYOTS brought out the dancing girls. Security tried to deal with them, but one wild blonde zipped up to the stage from her row D center section seat and brought a smile to Justin's face. Maybe he was trying not to laugh - I couldn't tell. She and her friend were scooted away from the stage. They must have really LOVED that song! LOL JH missed some lyrics but quickly realized it and well...sang BOTH lines. It's kind of obvious when John is repeating it as backup. TSIYE was the star of the concert tonight - definitely kicked up a notch or two. Fabulous! I sure miss those 15 minute intermissions...you just don't get the chance to enjoy the "afterglow." More people stood up tonight and I took advantage of it. Norda always catches my eye during YWD. It's the way she dances to it. It's hypnotic! I'd love to have a video of YWD just of Norda's performance. It's not just me - other people have mentioned it too. What I wickedly like to do is point Norda out to whomever is next to me at a concert and then watch THEM watch HER. They can't stop! It's no use to try. ILS followed and I suddenly realized that well...a visit to the ladies room was in order. I'm sure it was a great concert moment. Absolutely positive! 
I took the opportunity to glance at the merchandise again (not wanting to
go back to my seat and be disruptive) and let out a wild whoop of exultation.
A NEW TOURBOOK!!! Oh yeah! Paula (Hal's replacement - he's doing
time with the Dixie Chicks) said they had JUST come in. AND HERE IT
IS! OOOH, it is LOVELY! Who *is* that man in the blue jeans jacket? Heheheh SueC IM-ed her opinion back to me and it wasn't unexpected: "He's ******* GORGEOUS"!! (Wait! Can we say that?) (Ed: (You make it sound like "incredibly" is a bad word. Oh, not enough letters for "incredibly" ...then, no, we can't say that.  )
My favorite photo is on page 10 - Johnny C. Storm playing his
bass. They all look great, in some photos more than others. Graeme
looks great, Justin...I've seen better photos of him. I don't think
they do him justice, but there are some good ones of him. All in all,
it's terrific. And very, VERY different from anything I have seen in
the past. The shocker? Should I tell? OK. Two FULL
pages of individual photos of the backups, and they look absolutely wonderful,
every one of them. I could have cried, I was so pleased. So, I bought FIVE of them! LOL SueC wants hers NOW. (And there are people in hell wanting ice water, however, hers will go out Monday. MaggieMay is *not* stupid!) If you aren't able to go to a concert this tour, you need to beg a friend to get you one. Or two. Maybe three! I think it's that good. There are fan photos included and I congratulate the fans who merited this honor. The mystery guitar tech has a name: John Burwick. Why say anything more? Every fan is going to be desperately trying to snag the new tourbook! I hope they printed a huge run. <wink> The rest of the concert was at the same level. The only thing I can really think of to add concerns Singer, which was hopping tonight. We're tweaking with that one, aren't we? ; ) John added back the famous "woos" tonight, formerly performed in a striking and brotherly fashion with my star of Singer, Ray "Scorching the Earth" Thomas. I like them back. I've missed it. The other kind of startling thing is the vocal end. Tonight, JL sang, IJASIARRB, followed by JH's verse, then JL sang what was formerly Ray's time, ENDING with Justin SPEAKING (yes, he speaks!) IJASIARRB. OK, it's pretty cool. I liked it. Old dogs CAN learn new tricks! (Um, I mean me. not them. wait, I'm sure they can too. oh well!) The Nazi security that MADE me sit down last night changed it's totalitarian tune tonight and after the two dancing girls of IKYOTS rushed the stage and I mean right UP to the stage, cries of foul by a fan to the guard were returned with permission to do the same. As I said above, MaggieMay is *not* stupid and she *did* need to examine Justin's shirt a bit more closely, not being convinced it was really and truly pink, so she slid up there too. It was a VERY fine ending to an outstanding concert. Definitely one to write home about. Or shout from the mountain top. It's pink. With little ruffles down the front. It sure would look good with black leather pants. Where ARE those pants anyway? Heck, they must have cost a fortune! And I'm SURE if they were worn, fan reviewers would NEVER make fun of Justin Hayward's stage attire ever again. Throw in a performance of Deep and I'll put that in writing! One last important note: The cover of the new tourbook is two-thirds black. If you should purchase one, and if you should be incredibly lucky enough to come upon a member of the Band (at the appropriate moment of course) be prepared with a GOLD pen in your hand. Otherwise, the signature, unless written on his face, will not show up. Mine says (in gold)... Love, Justin MaggieMay "To hold on fast, to dreams that last, No longer than a smile" (Ed:Um, no, I do not want my tourbook NOW...I want it AFTER it's signed! John, don't let her send it off without your signature! ;-) The only "signed" thing I have to look forward to this summer is my paycheck. Somehow, "United States Treasury" just doesn't carry the same thrill as "Love, John".) Everyone go order some Concert Photos. I need something to keep me busy! |
San Diego