| Konocti Harbor On The Road With MaggieMay... I left Saturday's concert and hit the slots. I had neglected to do any gambling so far, and if I wanted to keep my warm welcome at Caesars Tahoe I needed to lose my regular stake. ; ) Entertainment is great, but gambling is their bread and butter. My host at Caesars calls, tells me they love me and MISS me, and that I'm beautiful, wonderful, brilliant and witty. They're a heck of a lot like politicians at the Lincoln Day banquet during an election year! I enjoy some slots and I enjoy the nice way that Caesars treats me. I figure I don't have to worry about things as long as Caesars doesn't start sending jets to pick me up. A friend found me there and carried me off for the dinner that we both needed. I love talking to interesting, funny and reflective people and it wasn't until I started to yawn a bit that I thought about bed. Oh no! 3am again! We both grimaced at the thought of our 6:30 wake-up call. sigh It was a pleasant ride to Reno and then a very quick and painless trip to Oakland. I wasn't all that crazy about traveling to Konocti, but the two fans who have sweetly allowed me to ride along on their travel plans had bitchin' front row seats and felt, um "rather strongly" about being there. I had found serviceable second row tickets, which I was grateful for, but second row doesn't call to you the way FRONT row does! LOL I felt VERY tired when we arrived in Oakland and thought about skipping out and resting some place. The temptation was strong to crawl off, sleep, write and REST. In the end, I couldn't. I could not bring myself to miss hearing my favorite Band in the world. I fought the temptation of a comfortable bed in a nice hotel and went on. I'm out here for one purpose: to see The Moody Blues, and even though I was dragging, sleep-deprived and cranky, I knew when 7:30pm rolled around, THAT'S where I would long to be. That, and the fact THEY were going to do all the driving! (Thanks girls!) I had heard some somewhat negative things about Konocti Harbor, the worst being that you couldn't "get there" and the second being that the bugs were awful. Red had made quite a point about the bugs. I don't like bugs. My philosophy is that the house is mine and that THEY can have the whole great outdoors. Unfortunately, for me and my stupid philosophy, Konocti Harbor is an outdoor venue. LOL It's their domain and all I *am* there is another piece of fresh, blood-filled meat. Red had also cautioned about wind-y mountain roads and I admit that I had somewhat dismissed that. They're awful! LOL Red was right (you're ALWAYS right, Red!). I don't know too much about the way there. We have rather a lot of um, luggage (not pointing my finger at anyone, Angel) Pretty women like to look nice where as *I'm* a woman whose husband has tired of my overpacking and taken the stance that I WILL schlep my own damn bags. I should never have pushed feminism on him when we were first married, but then I was trim and tough and had a 'tude about equal rights under the law, and that I was as "good" as any man. This stance has caused me to rethink my luggage, and I *am* self-reliant as long as I can roll. It turns me on a bit though to watch men lift heavy things, to see their eyes pop out and hear them groan, then grab their stomachs afterward in pain. And MANY have done this when lifting my bags! I sat in the back seat, with two of these huge and heavy suitcases next to me and a pile of purses, travel bags, boxes and what have you tucked around me. It was at that moment that I came into my own, and practiced that talent that I am well known for... I fell asleep! LOL No car sickness, no wakefulness, no unease or worry about the trip. It's my gift and you have the fair certainty that if you foolishly put MaggieMay in the back seat of a moving vehicle, she will go to sleep on you. It doesn't matter if it's 2am or 2pm - I'm out. And it's wonderful! The two gals in charge did a great job and got us to Godforsaken Konocti Harbor in good time. Even though I was asleep, I began to notice a certain...rolling. I would fall a bit to one side and hit the suitcases, then fall almost immediately against the door (sleepily wondering if it was locked or if I was going to fall out) and one time the heavy suitcases violently shifted, pinning me helplessly against the door. I woke up enough to see curves and trees and realized that we must be on Red's mountain road. We went up, we went down. It didn't make *that* much of an impression; after all, I was asleep! LOL I woke up on another mountain road and smiled at the view of the lake below us.  It's a very pretty area.
We pulled into the Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa and found our way to the
front desk and a line with at least 50 people hoping to check in. It
was not a good feeling.The place was just as I had feared: a family vacation/resort. (Think Dirty Dancing) Families are great, children are wonderful; I have some myself. It's not what I want to do on the road. We had made our reservations a bit late, and were over in the Haven Apartments. I took one look and laughed my ass off! The paint was peeling on the low buildings, and they were covered in cobwebs. Each had an outhouse type building in front of the door and I expected to find lawnmowers or life-jackets covered in mildew inside it. We had begged and pleaded for help with our luggage and the clerk had informed us that they "usually don't DO that". After viewing the hysterics at the counter, she relented, and called "maintenance" to help us. It's a good thing he came, because that was the moment I discovered that my KEY didn't work. I don't know why, but this happens to me all the time. I get to my room, put that plastic card into the door lock and nothing. Though he was still holding his stomach from lifting our bags, the nice (and well-rewarded) maintenance man agreed to go BACK to the Lodge and get us new keys. My begging and pleading skills are unmatched, and I've learned to bat my eyelashes and flash a sweet smile. After all...what man can say "No" to Mom? Feminism be damned, THIS is survival . It was very warm at Konocti Harbor (no one had told us this) and I felt I had entered some family resort nightmare. On a pleasanter note, the little apartment had recently been redecorated and was thankfully, very cool inside. No cobwebs. HAHA Two of us thought we'd check out the BBQ while our sister-in-arms had a rest, and we caught a ride on the resort bus to  the BBQ site across from the venue.
It was pleasant, but the music was more appropriate to a fraternity kegger,
and caused me to grind my teeth. The food was ok and the surroundings
were attractive. I kept an eye open for Red's "bugs", but we ate unmolested.
After a modest, but filling meal, we wandered over to the venue proper.
It's pretty unremarkable! Just a large, outdoor venue with a flat floor
and raised seating behind it. A security guard searched my purse and
asked me if there were any cameras in it. I could truthfully say there
weren't. ; ) Cameras are a sore topic with me lately!
It's become a game where the rules change every day. It can be frustrating
to try to play by the rules. I'd like to take photos of the venues,
at least, but am often afraid to take out my camera. It's made me wary
and skittish! I have gotten infuriated on occasion when the venue flatly
says No Photography and I've honestly and reluctantly left my little cameras
in my hotel room, then sat in the venue with flashes popping all around me.
You just can't win! grrrrrrrrr Sharks apparently don't like being  photographed, either! LOLTHE VENUE Konocti Harbor (the venue) is a very pleasant outdoor venue seating 5000. I wouldn't like to be sitting in row M on the flat floor, but then, I wasn't. The substantial, stand-alone stage, is high though and should provide a good view to the rows in the back. I would guess the stage is around 4 and 1/2 to 5 feet high and is fronted with stone. There was a fence a little lower than the stage about 4 feet in front of the stage and the front row was at the same distance back from the fence. I would guess that the front row center was around 10 feet from the stage and the mikes were placed a good 6 feet from the edge of the stage. The Moodies were WELL out of reach, but not so far away that they seemed distant. It's a BIG stage and open on three sides; not the cramped box at Humphrey's. The ceiling was very high, held up by four metal post structures. The back of the stage held the alternating black and white fabric panels, with the middle black one tied so that it was partly open. The fabric swayed in the breeze and was very pretty and provided a wonderful screen for the light show. With blue sky all around, it was very attractive. There was a tower of 12 speakers on either side of the stage, complimented by 2-foot square speakers underneath them, sitting on the stage. A large 6x6 speaker was under the LARGE video screens. The screens were on but completely useless until it got dark. Konocti is one of those miserable places that have seating WELL past the stage on either side. I checked the front row seat I had for section AA and it was pretty piss poor. You might have been able to see Justin while sitting in it, but very little else. The angle was awful! I walked right on by and felt thankful for the person who put her center section seats on eBay. Otherwise it would have been a grim night. The venue looked like it had around 3500 in it (eventually) but at the beginning there were large areas of empty seats near the front. Perhaps the BBQ ran a little late. I looked around the venue and enjoyed the view of hills (BIG hills). The venue is out in the middle of nowhere and that's both its detraction AND its virtue. As the evening went on, a half moon shown down on the scene, and there were great stars at Konocti Harbor. Both onstage and in the night sky! ; ) THE FASHION REPORT GE - Jimi Hendrix shirt, black slacks JH - Pink pin-striped long slvd shirt, black jeans JL - Black tank top, white linen long slvd shirt worn over it, leathers, boots Norda - Black top with princess neckline, crocheted overshirt, black hiphuggers Bernie - white outfit with red patterned belt The Big fashion news was John's attire at Konocti Harbor. He had on a fabulous looking NEW ensemble that was a real knock out. Mmmmm! Looking *too* good, JL! 
I couldn't figure out what the black thing
was underneath the open shirt, but the lucky girls on the front row ASSURED
me it was a tank top. It was a relaxed summer look and very, VERY nice
for the outdoor concert setting. It was a little WARM at Konocti Harbor
and I was told that we were "lucky". It had been 117 degrees there
earlier in the week. This was a different look for John and I loved
it. It's a keeper! Now...hmmmm...what can we move Justin in to
that's a little less formal? : ) Maybe a nice short slvd
shirt (showing off those great forearms as the tendons contract while playing
his guitar), something in a loose, soft linen. With blue jeans!
Keeping the black jeans for those more formal, indoor venues. :
)It was pointed out to me that John's white linen shirt was untucked and completely unbuttoned, so he won the BotB tonight! Personally, I think having a tank top on underneath is cheating, but since it looked SO good, we'll let him get away with it. LOL  THE CONCERT This was a completely different concert than I have been to in what seems like a long, long time. It was the classic rock 'n roll concert, powered up and LOUD. I loved it! I adore Tahoe and the incredible intimacy, but I loved the contrast between THAT experience and the throw-back big stage, big sound, big (relatively) venue. It's much more rock 'n roll. It was a lot like what I recall from seeing the Moodies in Indianapolis on a tennis court in 1986 in a very similar venue setup. It took me back to my youth! LOL Somehow, the sound kept it from seeming "impersonal." I enjoyed it immensely! There was an odd thing about Konocti Harbor that I hadn't noticed at other venues. It's not uncommon for a venue rep or a DJ from the station promoting the concert to come onstage beforehand and speak a bit, warming up the crowd for the concert and giving a list of upcoming artists. At Konocti Harbor, the DJ went on to thank their sponsors (ok this was acceptable). It was when he announced BIRTHDAYS that I fell off my chair laughing. Hey! 
I'm going to suggest they do this at Deer Creek in Indy.
(How unfortunate that mine falls in February!) At least he didn't insist
we sing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy. I don't remember much about the concert - if they goofed up it must not have been bad, or I couldn't hear it in the sheer volume of sound. LOL It was great and it rocked. What more can you ask for? I'd say the quieter songs didn't play as well as in the intimate venues, most notably AYSC. There weren't a lot of traveling fans there, the crowd, unlike Tahoe, was more locals. Some of them haven't quite the reverence that we do for certain songs, such as The Actor. I was on the left edge of the left center section, and had to endure a group of drunks across the aisle from me. I've found I can often reason with the guys when they've had too much (the *Mom* thing I have going), and I've discovered that women drunks are louder, more obnoxious and MUCH less reasonable than the guys. They'll tell you to piss off and get...um, "lost." There were at least three of these gals sitting together and they talked and laughed. LOUDLY. The very nice local gal in the row behind me tried to get the guard to *do* something with them, but without success. She tapped me on the shoulder, expressing her frustration during Tuesday Afternoon and I gave voice to her thoughts: They're Philistines! 
She nodded and it seemed to calm
her. LOL!!! God only knows what she thought I said. She
and her two husbands (no, I couldn't figure that out!) were great concert
companions and I had a wonderful time with them. They enjoyed the concert
SO much! They stood, they clapped and they hooted, and the lady wanted
to know WHO the man with the bass was. ; ) You've
got another fan, John! The 2003 setlist was performed in its entirety, but without an intermission. That was a little odd, too. I don't know why. They had also changed the start time of the concert from the 7:30 printed on *my* ticket to 8pm. Despite the posted No Cameras policy and the search at the front door, I noticed a number of flashes going by me, and in a very careful and tentative manner, pulled mine out. My seat was almost in the guard's lap and he was a scary creature with crocodile eyes, big and mean-looking. <shudder> Well! At least no one could complain I was *too close*! I needed to, um...stretch my legs right at ILS, and I asked one of the guards in back of the front sections where I could smoke. He pointed to the side of the venue. What an enlightened and tolerant place! LOL I found a folding chair, and had the opportunity to watch and listen to ILS from a distance. One thing's for sure: it's a song of magnificence and grandeur, symphonic in nature and spirit. It made me think of Beethoven's Sixth - the Pastoral Symphony, particularly in the flute call at the end. It filled the venue, and touched the surrounding hills. I could see Gordon, smashing his cymbals in his inimitable fashion. All he needs is some tympani to make it complete. : ) I kept looking and looking for Red's bugs and thought it was another FINE example of her "winding me up." Oh, she's good at that! LOL It wasn't until nightfall hit that I noticed the BUGS! LOL The Egyptians and the plague of locusts have NOTHING on Konocti Harbor! When I looked into the lights, I saw millions of them. I believe a fan with local connections called them "rice flies" and stressed that they were not of the biting variety. Well, maybe not, but I sure wouldn't like getting a few in my mouth and down my lungs while I was singing! At one point, a stagehand came out between the songs and sprayed around the Jays. LOL!!! What we really needed was a couple dozen bats to do the job. I had a strange and sweet experience at Konocti. A big guy had the front row seat in front of me (WHY are they always big?) and he had his little boy with him. I couldn't tell the fellow's age, he looked 8 years old, and was very thin and fragile looking. He was moderately or severely handicapped, couldn't talk, and had some problems walking, God bless him. His dad turned around to talk to me before the concert and, indicating his son, said that the boy LOVED The Moody Blues, and that he might get a little excited during Tuesday Afternoon. I told him it was just fine! He spent the evening lovingly caring for his son, holding him gently in the seat next to him, and picking him up and putting him in his lap at times, holding his hands and clapping them in time to the music for him because he couldn't do it himself. The child was no trouble at all, and had the brightest smile on his face and looked up at his dad, saying the things he felt with his eyes. His dad kissed his cheek at times, and hugged him. I caught Graeme watching them, taking it all in. I always tell people what nice guys the Moodies are, but when Graeme Edge walked to the edge of the stage and held out his drumsticks for the little fellow, I felt tears well up in my eyes. "Nice" just doesn't do them justice. I'll have to find another word. I said goodbye to my concert companions, special strangers who made me feel that I wasn't alone that evening, and then tapped the big guy on the shoulder to warn him to watch those drumsticks. I've heard stories of adults snatching a stick from a child more than once. He nodded, and then leaned down and kissed me goodbye on the cheek. I don't know *how* the concert was, but I know how it was for two people there. It was magic! MaggieMay - Proud to be a Moody Blues Fan! With the eyes of a child... Photos on this page courtesy of MaggieMay |
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