Reviews of nine Moody Blues concerts and a 15-day trip

through the US West Coast, June 2003
by Maggie Clarke

(Please ask permission to use photos - copyrighted)

 

 

 

Tahoe I review

Date: Sat,  7 Jun 2003 07:07:04 -0400

Tahoe II review

Date: Sun,  8 Jun 2003 05:46:16 -0400

California dreamin
Date: Mon,  9 Jun 2003 12:43:00 -0400

Omigod.  What a day!  Konocti produced a big surprise. But first, some background to set the stage, so to speak.

The ride from Tahoe to Clear Lake was a contrast, even a panoply of landscapes, cultures, and at times it felt like I was in a time warp.  Just yesterday I had been dodging a duck careening headlong towards my front windshield (playing chicken with a duck, as Karen K said) and admiring red snow flowers, purple lupines, butterflies, and a beautiful sunset over Lake Tahoe from my deck before the show..  Today's ride began with an awesome ride up the Sierra to the pass at 7300 feet (Lake Tahoe is 1100 feet lower), and many miles of ponderosa pines (huge - looking to the untrained eye like redwoods) and jagged, still snow-covered peaks.  I drove through the central valley and Sacramento expeditiously as it was really a wasteland, flat, dry, uninteresting.  Several people and Mapquest had all given me variations on how to get from Sacramento to Clear Lake, and as I was mulling these over heading towards San Francisco.  Seeing the traffic mount, I decided to do none of the above and innovated my own route. 
 

         This turned out to be quite an adventure and tested my navigational skills, but I tell the story in the event anyone going to Konocti in the future might like to copy or avoid what I did.  Leaving Davis, CA at first it was easy to navigate in the valley since the sun was out and the coast range was visible from anywhere in the valley.  Farm fields were newly planted, the orange groves looked healthy.  Bicyclists were everywhere - on the flats and even on the most rugged routes.

 

I headed for the beautiful Berryessa Lake nestled deep in the coast range.  This one is man-made and the dam was a significant size..  I wrote half of this on the shores of that lake, where kids and their parents were frolicking on the beach and in the lake.  The grass is pretty dry - the hills across the lake appeared light brown with about half the landscape dotted with small trees.  The drive was sort of like going back to California in the 60's.  Old Volkswagens abound here (both beetles and microbuses), the oleander bushes are huge (reminding me of my native south Florida), in full bloom - 15' high, huge white, pink, or reddish-pink blossoms.  Interstate 80's median strip was just huge oleander in parts.

 

The country stores look like they haven't changed for 50 years.  There's a definite Spanish flavor to the folks here around this lake; in fact the last town I passed through was Spanish Flats.  On my way into the park, a park ranger handed me an instruction sheet and a plastic bag for the trash I would generate.    Hawks making lazy circles in the sky, frequent views of the lake, and Macca on the CD made it a pleasant journey.

 

Then, between Berryessa and Clear Lakes, things turned a bit more desperate.  Along this entire stretch there had only been one sign to indicate that Lower Lake (a town at the bottom of Clear Lake, natch) was mentioned on a signpost.  After a while, the road narrowed to one lane, tho I'd seen narrower in the English country lanes last May.  At least 2 cars Could pass with careful handling.  Then - surprise - a sign saying road impassable in wet conditions.  Shortly after that I found myself sailing through a stream!  This is a type of construction I'd never seen before.  The bridge, if you could call it that, was not over the stream but was laid on the stream bottom, allowing the stream to wash over it whenever there was enough water to do so.  I went over another dozen before I was through - seven with a few inches of water - it became fun after a while.  Dodging cars and bikes on this path also became second nature; the hills and dales were nice but then a certain panic set in when I kept going and there were no indications of when the road would end.  Well, clearly it did end; the first sign of civilization was an army demolition unit. I made it to Konocti almost 7 hours after I started.

Konocti is a luxury resort and spa - it's about the opposite of the camps along the shores of Lake Tahoe.  The entrance to the place has waterfalls, palm trees, and a marquis "crawl" with all the acts at the amphitheater (I snapped the Moodies on that with this background).  The rooms are very expensive.  There are motels all over the place within the complex and a main lodge with free shuttle buses to take you all over campus.  The Sunset Barbecue was a nice opportunity to meet up with some who went to Tahoe's shows and some of their friends, and some new people who liked to look at the photo albums.  The amphitheater is situated right on the lake, though you can't see it for the stage, and the band can't see it either coz their backs are to it. The volcanic cinder cones were visible to the left of the stage (Clear Lake is a caldera, like Crater Lake), formed by subduction of a small plate under this area and pushing up magma to form the Cascade mtns. (I wonder when Clear Lake is due for another blow up..). 

 

          It was quite large as Moodies venues go these days and there were quite a few empty seats - even in the front.  They clearly had fishy things going on with the ticketing because I and others near me said they were told all the front center section was sold within the first week, yet tickets were turned in even today.  Go figure.  I ended up on the right of John (the seating is extremely wide at this venue).  Perhaps as a result of the size of the venue, the concert amps were turned way up and I had to put pieces of napkins in my ears to preserve my hearing.  It had been hot as hades in the afternoon, and by 8pm it was still pretty warm before sunset when the concert started.  John was a sight for sore eyes (I was working on a slight migraine again..) he came out with a form-fitting black tank top and a thin (see-through) white shirt left entirely unbuttoned, flowing in the gentle breeze.  This combo with the leather pants, boots and his trimmer physique this year, bowled me right over.  It was great!  Justin's mane was also flowing a little.  Graeme did his butt shaking routine for Higher and Higher this time sticking to his usual intro (the second show at Tahoe he said it was from a time when his hair was brown and his teeth white!)  John went over again to sing with Norda and Bernie during IJAS.

I didn't dare take any photos initially though I was DYING to take photos of John in broad daylight..  He spotted me right away since there were so many empty seats and I was next to another couple of fans and we formed a little pocket of supporters in a sea of empty seats and more reserved folks (some of whom smoked some grass, right behind me) over on the extreme right. Eventually, I did take 2 rolls and 9 shots before being shut down during See-Saw.  Meanwhile, they had allowed people approach the stage throughout the show to take pictures from the aisle.  Wonder why I was the only one they stopped hmmm..  I'm literally falling over at this point from fatigue, so I'd better call it a day.  (I'm sending the morning after)  I'm missing Livermore on purpose - the prices were outrageous and I didn't fancy backtracking.  After a couple days visiting Arcata on the coast with some coastal redwoods.  Next report: Britt Festival in Jacksonville, OR

Maggie Clarke, your roving geographer and Moodies concert photographer.

 

 

On the Blankets at the Britt

 

 

 Konocti has had a performance space for some time now, and they have two very long walls of autographed photos of the acts that have performed there.  Even more, larger photos hang behind the sign-in desk.  Curiously, I couldn't find one of the Moodies anywhere… 

 

 Getting to Jacksonville was even More of an adventure than the trip from Tahoe to Kelseyville.  One could just take Interstate 5, but where's the fun in that?  Next time the Moodies hit northern CA / Oregon maybe a few of us will go the route less traveled.  The way I did it took me 2 days with a rest day inbetween in Arcata, CA on the north coast.  It also has honed my driving skills considerably.  Folks on the east coast and central states have NO IDEA of the kinds of roads you typically encounter in the Coast range of California and Oregon as there is just nothing like them in these places. In addition to finding bridges running under not over the streams like around L. Berryessa, the 35 mile stretch on 175 from Kelseyville to Hopland nearly wore me out, with no straight or flat stretches, twisting the steering wheel all the way right for 10 seconds, then all the way left (and so forth without a break) going up or down with no shoulder on a narrow road, mountain on one side, sheer cliff on the other. This section of road started out with signs all over the place warning trucks over a certain length to line up between signs to make sure they are short enough to make the turns.  The scenery was spectacular though because it was in the middle of the coast range, and all the hilltops were visible for miles in all directions, since the vegetation was not too dense, being on the lee side of the coast range (the rain shadow is always less green since the rain drops on the windward (in this case ocean side) of the range.  A deer lumbered in front of my car at one point (broad daylight), thankfully far enough away that just letting up on the gas spared it. 

 

I decided to go to Arcata via Mendocino on the coast.  In so doing, I had picnic lunch - left over breakfast, in a city park in Willetts, a new age sorta place, yet stuck in the 60s if you know what I mean.  Right out of there was an old hippie (long scraggly white hair and beard, sandals, the whole nine yards, hitchhiking.  I'd forgotten to mention this 1960s/70s practice is still quite common in all the places in California that I'd driven. 

From there it was a short ride to "the Avenue of the Giants", which I was advised not to miss.  This 35-mile stretch along the Eel river is home to many groves of coast redwoods, which can attain 360 feet in height and live 2000 years.  The sun was streaming through making interesting patterns.  I made Arcata before sundown.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

I arrived at the Cobblestone Cottage B&B, a brand new one right between Medford and Jacksonville (highly recommended).  After LCer, Cindy Head dropped off my ticket for the show, they took me to the only camera store in the area to have the film I needed, and dropped me at the Britt.  People do that since the traffic there in this tiny, historic town is quite bad and parking can be a great distance away.  They also lent me a foldable seat for the occasion! 

 

The Britt is small, maybe 2000 is a full house.  Jacksonville is also very small, with only maybe 40 beds in all the accommodations.  Medford is only 5 miles east.  There are ritzy restaurants though, for those with bucks who reserve spaces.  There's talk of building another, larger venue at Britt (named after Peter Britt, the founder).

 

Cindy's husband was one of the heroes of the day having sat in the second place in line since the wee hours of the morning.  Line sitting at Britt has become an art form. If there is a group, then you assign positions, the runner is the fastest one to run up the hill and claim the desired space by quickly throwing a blanket down; then there's the pack horse who lumbers up slowly with the cooler, the food, the chairs, etc.; then there's the line sitter.  The new Britt protocol added another tweak this year; since line sitting got out of hand with one person holding spaces for many; now one person holds for one person; gets an orange ticket.  The local schoolkids make money over the summer as line-sitters.  Those who want to avoid this and who are richer just pay Britt a very large membership donation and then can get a reserved spot, either on a bench or a specific place on the lawn. If one pays enough, one is able to rent a space demarcated with a Tarp (e.g., Britt #1) was right in front of John, first row.  The occupants came right before showtime.  Back to the event, at 5:45 pm a road race began as the line was sorted by orange ticket and people were let through.  Cindy ran up the hill and claimed our spot….  Second row of blankets, right in front of John.  I couldn't have hoped for better.  This is the only venue I know of that has room for 4 or 5 blankets deep in front of the reserved benches (and only members of high (rich) standing get those), with additional lawn behind.  The thing that knocked me over (as if this wasn't unusual enough), the stage was only knee high!  (Makes sense since the front part of the audience is sitting on the ground.)  The stage was also quite small, so the mics were right up at the edge of the stage. This combo meant we were Quite close to the group.  The audience was almost entirely locals from what I could tell.  I didn't see anyone from LC, aside from Cindy.

 

As it was pretty hot during the day (back inland from the coast).  The audience was barefoot, wearing shorts, tanks or T's.   John wore his black muscle shirt under flowing white shirt first for the fist half, then switched to short sleeved V-neck zip white for 2^nd half.  Justin remarked how deep into the country this place is…  he could have said the same about Konocti.  I wonder if they saw some redwoods on the way to the venue.  As with Konocti, the show started well before sundown, but unlike Konocti, there was an intermission. In stark contrast to March, Norda's smiling broadly and thoroughly enjoying herself.  Bernie is also enjoying having her there. I noticed that Norda skips out in her spiky black heels for the encore.  Seems a trademark. John's enjoying his singing with them on IJAS and never seems to get back to his mic quite in time (but that's all right J)   Since the band hasn't been to Oregon since 2001 everyone was getting used to the new lineup, the new setlist and no Ray…

 

I took photos the second half;  they'd announced no "flash photography", but I didn't believe that I would emerge unscathed if I shot photos without flash so I waited for sundown - I got a good 1.5 rolls before being stopped during Question.

 

It's getting late.  I wrote down some pithy thoughts about today's adventures and Eugene, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

 

Eugene Review

Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 02:41:18 -0400

 

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Before I get into my review, I note that some on the list are still confusing me (Maggie Clarke, the environmental scientist - geographer - geologist, photographer, Moodyfest band member, webmaster for www.Moodyland.org, and New York City resident), with Maggie May, aka Magwaw from the Midwest.  She also writes reviews on many shows, but we are not the same person; there are (at least) 2 Maggies on the list.  I started posting in early 1995 and I've written reviews for Tahoe (2), Konocti, and Britt so far with this round of shows.)

 

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Dancing with Hippies in the Mosh Pit at Eugene

 

Wow!  Another whirlwind day in Oregon (pronounced Organ by some of the locals) ending with a fantastic Moodies concert - perhaps the best of this tour so far.  The day started early since I wanted to go to Crater Lake.  Some that I asked argued against it because it was so far, and I had to think hard, because the Cuthbert venue is entirely general admission, and after five years of line sitting for days on end when the Moodies played Caesars in Atlantic City general admission, I knew that arriving late would ensure a bad seat..  Nonethelesss, I decided that I see the Moodies lots on this tour, and Crater Lake maybe the once in my life, and being a geologist, among other things, I opted to do the trip and take whatever seat I ended up with.  Thankfully, the estimates of time that the B&B gave me were overestimates, and I made it up the volcano from Medford in about 1.5 hours.  I had so much time I took the opportunity to meditate (transcendental) since I'd not gotten enough sleep the night before.  A half hour made me into a new person!  

There was still a considerable depth of snow there, making picture-taking a rewarding effort; I saw a printout saying they had 82 inches on the ground only 20 days ago.  I hit it just right, as it was still picturesque, but the longer road around the east side was still not open for the season.  As I was taking shots at one overlook, I was treated to all the Crater Lake park guides-in-training being given a lecture about the local geology - seems it's not only affected by the subduction of a plate, but the continental rifting  that's taking place nearby in the basin and range (Nevada, Utah).  While the lecture went on, a bald eagle flew over the lake.  It was gorgeous and hard to leave!

 

 

The way to Eugene was a bit circuitous, first getting off the mountain to the north, then a Straight almost Flat road(!) to the east, another to the north, and finally a Looong stretch to the Northwest towards Eugene.  This challenged the driving skills in figuring out how fast my unresponsive car could overtake a logging or other lumbering truck and get back in lane.  I followed the beautiful Willamette river through a couple of national forests and the Three Sisters Wilderness (that's 3 mountains, not females).  As I raced towards Eugene and the concert, traffic cooperated, and I found my motel without even checking directions, checked in and beat a path to the Cuthbert.  The 2 lines to get into the rear of the amphitheater were quite long; there was a woman waving a flag at the end of the line to signify where it was for those struggling through the hip-high grasses in the field.  I first went to line 1 (closest to the entrance, but ending up on the left side of the audience, so I walked the distance to line 2).  About 15 minutes later the line started to be let in (they were checking for contraband at the entrance). 

 

Getting in I raced down along the side and was amazed to see that I could sit in the 3^rd row of the center section if I wanted to.  Thing is, this was not only general admission for benches and lawn in rear, but there was a new feature (to me, anyway) -- a Mosh Pit!  This is what the locals called it, and it was situated in front of the semicircle of benches.  About a dozen people went straight for that and slowly, the rest filled in, though not completely (seats in the first few rows were available throughout the performance).  The Moodies have called this sort of thing "festival seating".  You stand.  After a few songs, I had to go down there.  It was great!  Just like the last couple of songs at most concerts where people rush the stage, but it lasted for the entire concert.  People came down there from all parts of the venue.  People came and went.  It was easygoing; folks had a great time.   I learned a lot about Eugene from observing the people there.  There was Dragonfly lady - wearing dragonfly wings in back, and a wreath on her head and garlands of leaves in a flowing robe.  I learned she was an example of typical Eugene - bike parking at the venue, birkenstocks everywhere, tie dye, long scraggly hair, casual dress, sandals, Grass.  I liked the boisterous singing.  I'm sure the Band did too.  We drowned them out on Many songs, not just the middle part to Question.  When they heard me harmonizing on AYSC with Justin, they encouraged me to sing More!  When they saw my camera, they offered a shoulder to be used as a tripod.  During the intermission I ran into Jen Moore who was standing at the front of the Mosh Pit.  She regaled me about the Oregon state fair - where apparently not a small number of folks show up naked covered with mud, silver paint or neither.  Dragonfly ladies and other getups are the norm; regular dress is not.  Some have suggested that the Northwest region affected by the subduction zone, Cascadia, could really be a new state; it all hangs together in a common culture, unlike that to the east or south of the Cascades.

 

Since it was a little chillier than last night, John wore a jean jacket on top of his black muscle shirt. John flipped pics at the Mosh pit twice during the show - I believe at the end of Slide Zone and IJAS.   First time I've seen him do that!  I'm Sure that it was the Mosh Pit that inspired him to do it. There were easily 50 people in the pit at any one time. John went over to sing with Norda and Bernie at the beginning of See saw as well as during IJAS.  Justin's been wearing a button down shirt every night.. sometimes little ruffles, sometimes not.  Always white or pastel.  Paul wore a black jacket with white shirt and black pants.  The sound was LOUD as before, but the vocals were hard to hear. At the end, the Band stayed on stage much longer than they usually do, as the crowd was much louder and closer.   Though there were clouds during the show, the rain stayed away until overnight; good thing as there was no cover for the audience.

 

Despite some interesting conditions in the mosh pit (it was not a docile crowd), I got off 2 rolls of pix.  Since the concert started at 7, much of it was in daylight.  I keep watching Norda; she's in 7^th heaven and throwing in more moves every show it seems.  The lighting was improved - for example, I saw the return of the flaming cymbals for English Sunset and the intense lime green cymbals for another song. 

 

To the Coast and Back to the Schnitz

Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 04:09:55 -0400

 

 

There were more spectacular headlands, where the road would climb hundreds of feet on cliffs overlooking the irregular coast with jagged coastal islands just offshore.

 

On the road again, it was refreshing to see so many road signs just to help cyclists.  I'd left the McDonalds in Eugene watching a couple on 2 recumbent bikes (where you lean back and the pedals are in front).  Before narrow bridges with no shoulder, bicyclists can push a button that lights up and flashes a sign saying, "Bicyclist on bridge".  There are similar signs for "Bicyclist in tunnel".  My favorite was Yield to cyclists!  That's sure a switch from the East Coast, where the motto in some places is Run Over Cyclists every chance you get.

 

The thing is, there's a contradiction in Oregon that I can't figure out.  There is so much environmentalism, but the air stank of pulp mills and wood stove burning on the drive from Florence on the coast to Portland.  I know that Vermont had the same problem in its mountain valleys and has started cutting back on those wood stoves.  In Arcata, I had been driven past an advanced pulping plant where there was no smell at all.  Why not in Oregon?

 

Just as I thought the day would finish without a hitch, I hit a monstrous Traffic jam on 18 just outside of Portland.  Even the local TV station newsman and video team was out on foot surveying the parking lot in the road.  This made me a bit nervous, but all turned out well and I got to the show on time.

 

The first word that comes to mind about this show is:  Loud!  My chest wall was vibrating.  The seats were vibrating.  My head… well, you get the picture.  I grabbed for anything I could find to stuff into my ears as I felt my hearing being shredded (the first thing happened to be scraps torn from the non-ticket part of my ticket stub, but then a kind gentleman next to me offered proper squishy earplugs).  I think they forgot to reset the equipment from the night before.  The voices could be heard though!!  (It's interesting that the audio problems have changed from show to show - sometimes Justin's guitar too loud, other times, the voices too little, now everything too loud.)  Tahoe had been a good sound level overall for an indoor venue, and they really knocked it up for the 3 outdoor venues.  One woman shouted clearly from the back - You're distorted!  Turn it Down!  They didn't, despite an intermission.

 

Concert notes:  Norda held one note throughout the end of her Nights solo (the part where the Jays rock to the right)- a new innovation but it didn't work - not much applause.  She's also been rocking with her guitar in synch with John and Justin on TOSOL - very effective.

 

The kid in front of me had fallen for Norda.  He yelled in the beginning, We miss Ray, but you're ok Norda!  This kid's uncle does the merchandising for McCartney and he was wearing a Beatles T-shirt.  Since I was sitting in front of her, I noticed that Norda is singing some of Ray's harmonies; I could hear her.  They don't have her mic up enough to hear it unless you are listening for it tho.  Justin made 2 glaring errors in his solo during Lean on Me.  Afterwards he looked at each band member a bit sheepishly rather than getting mad (he's mellowing! - must be Oregon's having an effect on him!)  At one point all of the sound quit altogether for a couple of seconds as Norda was doing a flute solo (may have been TA) - she briefly looked towards Jus as this happened.  I've never heard that before at any concert.  Bernie has been throwing in some extra riffs at the end of her backup singing bit on the mic with Norda, I think on IJAS.  It shows off her strong soprano voice very nicely.

 

John switched from the muscle shirt (Oh No!) to a white button down with pintucks and Justin his usual button down.  Bernie changed from the outfit she had been wearing (white dress over white pants - not particularly flattering in my opinion) to a much better dark pants and blouse combo.  The lighting has been getting better night by night.  I got off one short roll of film, including quite a few shots during Higher and Higher before being stopped by security who was sitting right in front of this fellow who fell for Norda.  I guess I can consider myself to be fortunate.

 

Afterwards, a few of us waited across the street to say goodbye.  We saw Justin get into the van with Norda and Bernie.  Later John's wife put some bags into the rear of a stretch limo and John eventually came out.  We called to him, and he decided to come across the street and sign some autographs.  I had been meaning to give him a small gift at one of the last few venues and kept forgetting to bring it.  So tonight, I remembered to craft a note for the front, in part telling him the Moodyfest band is fine, since he's mentioned it the last 2 times we met, and that we're playing "One more time to live" and "Nervous" and loving it.  They sure have enough voices to do those justice now.  Maybe he'll take that as a hint that we'd love to hear the Moodies play those.  I also thanked him for using one of my photos of him on his JohnLodge.com T-shirt.  After he signed 3 or 4 autographs for others, standing in the middle of the street, I handed my gift to him.  The security guy at the Schnitzer didn't let me or anyone else close to the stage tonight, so I'm happy I had the opportunity to hand it to him this way.  As the limo pulled off, I saw his arm waving out the window at us.

 

Afterwards, at the Heathman's restaurant, I sought out some fans - found 3 fans - two sisters and a mother in Moodies T-shirts, introduced myself, and we had a grand old time looking at the photo albums I brought.  The mother and I split a brownie sundae (my dinner since I hadn't had time for any thanks to the traffic jam.)  A lovely ending to a good day.

 

Redmond Review I

Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 13:52:11 -0400

 

To the Falls and Up to Redmond

Today was not as smooth sailing as the prior fortuitous days, though there were some bright spots.  Starting the day out in the fleabag hotel a few blocks from the Schnitzer in Portland, (Downtown Value Inn, for future reference) I encountered a major Snafu with my travel plans; my ride fell through and had to re-rent the car I was planning to drop off and drive to Redmond (bus/train not really available).  I made lemonade out of the lemons and went to Multnomah and associated huge waterfalls east of Portland.  A couple of these involved short steep hikes in the rainforest with great views of the Columbia and mountains to the north.  Going and coming was a lovely drive along the huge Columbia River and gorge.
 

   Interesting thing  one of the rangers had been to the Schnitz the night before and was raving about the Moodies' show.  Once I looked at the tickets and saw the shows in Redmond started at 7 pm, I figured they were right.  Got to Redmond at 6 and finding the venue easier than the inn, I went straight for Marymoor.

The venue is located in a very large county park.  Lots of port-o-potties, tents for all the food and merchandise vendors in a separate area in a grassy field; free parking.  No real building on the premises.  Security was tight with state troopers on hand helping in the search of bags. 

Inside, there was quite some distance from the first row to the front of the high stage.  Each row was separated from rows in front and behind by a larger than usual distance, so my 6th row seat was much further back than I'd bargained for.  Many of our friends on LC were in the front row and it was good to meet up with so many who came together for this show.  I was surprised and saddened to learn that Libby's fan gathering / picnic at the venue had taken place today, as I had thought and planned to attend tomorrow (I was still in the Portland area when it took place).  Christian Lodge was seen taking photos during the show.  Since I had driven about four hours north, the length of the summer day has grown quite a bit.  Sunset wasn't until well into the show (after intermission).  John wore the white tux shirt with pintucks again, and Justin his button-down but with a gray T-shirt under it (for warmth).  Jus made another little mistake in LOMT but deftly made another change in the next note to make it work.  They didn't seem to be having much fun tonight.  I was fortunate to be sitting with a group of folks who hadn't seen them for a couple of years, so were not so demanding in their expectations.  We formed our own mosh pit.  They asked me, are we the only ones having fun at this show?  We were standing and dancing for many more songs than the usual.  It started with just four of us, then spread to a dozen.  At one point during IKYOTS a security lady asked each one of us to sit down.  Just after we did and she left, dozens of people spontaneously lept to their feet.   It was great.  It felt like civil disobedience to stand up with them.  A trooper was brought in to watch us dance.  Eventually, security just got used to it.  But, like the Schnitz, nobody rushed the stage at the end.

Thanks to the frenzy of my mosh pit buddies for the evening serving as a human shield, I got off a short roll of 25 or so, lots taken during IJAS, and scattered ones here and there in good light. 

I ended the day with cake a la mode at the Pancake house to drown my sorrows / ease the loneliness.  They gave it to me for free since I came in after they closed!

 

Redmond II

 

Ranier to Redmond

Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 02:35:41 -0400

 

 

To Canada!

Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 11:54:45 -0400

 

The morning drive into Seattle, west from Redmond was fantastic.  As I descended towards Lake Washington immediately east of the city, the Olympic Mountains came into view behind Seattle, which was behind the lake; I wish I could have stopped the car to take a photo.  It was perfectly clear and the Olympics were all snow-capped.  I've been in Seattle 4 times and a few days each time and I'd never seen this..  The bus ride north to Vancouver was likewise in clear conditions, so the entire northern part of the Cascade range was visible on the right; many peaks were snow-capped; particularly Mt. Baker.

Finding the Hertz location led me all around downtown thanks to the one-way streets and the Freeway slicing through.  But this gave me the opportunity to enjoy Freeway Park, as I kept passing by and under it.  This large urban park and gardens is situated on top of the Interstate 5 Freeway, and huge trees and flowering shrubs and plantings grow in a couple of feet of soil, and the vines spill over every underpass so you see them hanging overhead as you exit the tunnels underneath.  It gives the whole area a really nice feeling.   A must-see if you see the Moodies in Seattle.  After turning in the car, grabbing a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory next door and a sub from Subway for the bus ride, I high-tailed it to the Travelodge - the bus depot for the Quick Bus.

I highly recommend you take the Quick bus from Seattle or SEATAC airport to Vancouver.  It's a Canadian company and it IS quicker - fewer problems at the border than Greyhound and you can just show up and buy your ticket right before the bus comes (assuming there's room).  There's none of this 'arrive 45 minutes ahead' business that characterizes Greyhound and Amtrak when heading for the border. We arrived at customs After a Greyhound bus and left before it.  Still.. we ended up an hour late  Plan for this.  Quick bus also drops you at or close to your hotel in Vancouver.  In my case my jocular Indian driver thought he was dropping me half a block away, but it was a 1.5 block struggle up a hill with my huge entourage of luggage (right past Showtime ticket brokers, who do provide scalped tix for Moodies shows at the Queenie).  Those 2 photo albums I'm carrying weigh the most!  I had thought I'd rent a bike when I got in and tour around town even though it was about 6, but my lower back was suggesting otherwise.
 

I'm staying at the YWCA here in Vancouver thanks to a tip from Jackie F.  The room is cozy and well furnished with fridge, sink in room, semi-private bath, and considerably less expensive than the hotels (about $60US /nite); there's laundry rooms, kitchenettes available for use; the front desk helps with directions and advice (I've spent a lot of time schmoozing with one helpful woman) - it's like home!  It's also well located, around the corner from the Queenie, and right next to the Sandman, where I stayed last time.  The Sandman has an ATM (that's all you need to get Canadian bucks using your ATM card) and the Moxie restaurant where a number of us partied after the last show at the Queenie.

A note for us Moody photographers: I'm told that they don't x-ray the luggage going into Canada (and they didn't appear to), but watch out coming back.  Fast film like 800 ASA or more is in danger of damage. I've read about this online; I think it's Kodak that has a good website detailing the kind of damage these scanners can do.  I've put all my film with my passport just so that I remember to safeguard it as I return.  I just hope I can.  I remember coming back from Manchester England last year, and they WOULD NOT allow my film to be manually examined rather than going through the machine.  (I did have the presence of mind to bring my lead bags for protecting film and they did, thank goodness, or I would have lost 17 rolls of Moodies photos from that trip).  I forgot to do that this time.  Maybe one of these days I'll finish writing up that trip.
 

Anyway, back to THIS trip, I Highly recommend a trip to the Queen Elizabeth park and gardens, and particularly the restaurant there.  Since there's light until around 10pm these days, and sunset is around 9pm or so, I arrived at the park around 7 and reserved a table for dinner at the Seasons restaurant at 8:30.  This was Perfect!  The restaurant has large picture windows facing the sunset and Vancouver (the park is the highest point in Vancouver, and therefore affords a fantastic view of the city).  By 9:30, my photos of Vancouver were with lights on, but with enough sky light to show the mountains in the background and the gardens in the foreground.  Absolutely Spectacular!  The food was excellent too - French, of course.  I had duck legs confit with greens and garlic mashed potatoes for $17 Cdn.  I had enough dinner to save for the next morning's breakfast (thanks to the fridge and microwave on the next floor).  This was a reasonable price considering that it's one of the best restaurants in town and is at one of the best locations.

 

The gardens were also lovely.  There are 2 sunken gardens (not as HUGE as Butchart gardens in Victoria, BC, but along the same lines), plus lots of other nicely arranged plantings.  The conservatory has macaws that were screaming good-night to one another when I got there; and there was this little quail that kept exploring around my feet and eventually went into the gift shop  Since this part of British Columbia is in the rainy area, the evergreens in the park are lush and many flowers were in bloom.  The Korean (Kousa) dogwoods with their large creamy white blossoms are at peak there and all over town.  Being on a hill overlooking Vancouver, there were many scenic vistas.  The #15 Cambie trolley bus left less than 2 blocks from the Y and deposited me right at the Park.  They run every 10 minutes even as late as after 9pm.

 

 

Vancouver Review

Date: Sun, 22 Jun 2003 04:25:18 -0400

 

Vancouver, Jewel of British Columbia

Your foreign correspondent has returned to the US and groggily sends this last concert / natural settings / travel report from San Diego...
 

 

 

         Vancouver is not only blessed with both ocean and mountains in the immediate vicinity, but also sandy beaches that stretch for miles, with "Driftwood on the shore" and a variety of sea shells indicating a good biodiversity.  The sunset was great.

 

 

 

I'd originally thought I'd spend the afternoon at the Van Dusen botanical garden, not too far from Queen Elizabeth park, but as I started what I'd hoped would be a short walk around downtown in search of the perfect ammolite ring, I realized I wanted to keep walking around.  After all, Id seen one of the botanical gardens in Vancouver and since I was about to leave town the next day, experiencing the feel of downtown was a greater priority.  I've always considered Vancouver to be one of the nicest cities in North America.  After a couple of hours I found 2 stores on Robson St. near Burrard with a good selection of ammolite and bought one with red, orange, green and blue.  Ammolite is the newest recognized gemstone, mined only in the Canadian prairies near Calgary, and is actually the mineralized shell of the ammonite, which lived at the time of the dinosaurs.  Some folks think it looks like a "mood" ring (pun intended).  To get a look at this stuff check out: http://www.korite.com/

The fan gathering was at Rosie's on Robson.  Jackie F. made up very nice little placecards for us with 3 very excellent photos of the Band.  The cuisine was great; it was good to meet up with local fans, and at only 2 blocks from the Queenie (and from my accommodation), it couldn't have been sited better..  Talking with the local fans who hadn't seen the band for 2 years underscored how differently people appreciate the same concert depending on how often they have seen the Band recently.  I try to remain mindful of this fact when I talk with more casual fans about the concerts.  It's very easy to throw cold water on fans out for a good time -- folks who last saw the Moodies 2 years ago, or even 20 (I saw both last night and many nights).  I think it's also true that one tends to get more enjoyment out of a single concert than one typically gets from any one concert of many in the same time frame.  Thanks Jackie and Su for hosting the Vancouver fans and us visitors again.  It really adds a lot to a visit and I'm glad there was a good showing.

The Moodies seem to like being in Canada.  I think I remembered this being the case the last time I was here.  It is, after all, more like their native England.. a country that reveres their Queen and names venues (and parks) after her.  Justin broke out into full smiles at least twice (I captured both on film).  It's nice they are expanding their reach into western Canada (now having shows in Montreal and Toronto wouldn't be such a stretch).

It was a bittersweet show for me, as it was the last one I'd see for a while.  It's also interesting to note how minor differences in seating (luck of the draw) can affect one's enjoyment of a concert.  Sitting behind a guy wearing a cap prevented me from seeing John most of the evening, and being in the seventh row (despite being in Row 3 -- the Queenie has A, B, C, D before the rows) is a little more removed from the "action".  In any event, I was glad to be sitting next to Theresa from Victoria -- our visit far too short this time.  I'd sold my extra ticket to her sister who was very pleased to have seen the show.  Theresa was a good sport in helping me avoid detection by security.  I was able to get off 3 rolls (2 short rolls of 25 and 1 roll of 28 shot during See-saw from the little mosh area upfront).  Due to this fellow with the cap right between me and John, many of my shots were of Justin this time, though I did get several of Graeme, including the backwards maniacal cackling after the butt shake during Higher and Higher.  There were plenty of Jays shots and a few shots of John alone and with "the girls".  If you're interested in ordering a set of reprints from any of the rolls I took, please let me know and I'll send you the details! 

Waiting for the Amtrak thruway bus from Vancouver's Pacific Central station was a cinematic ending to my tour with the Moodies.  The dark mountains rose up well above the city directly ahead to the north; the sunrise was lighting up the clouds to the east.  I kept looking back to see the mountains as we pulled out of town.  When I couldn't see the mountains anymore I searched for things Canadian to look at both distributaries of the Fraser river delta that we crossed over had pens of long logs that had been floated downstream in the old style (for the U.S. anyway).  There was a Huge lumberyard on the land inbetween.  I was sorry to leave Vancouver.

Take note:  crossing the border back into the US was a breeze before 7am.  My film was preserved, but you have to remember to keep it out of your luggage (I kept it in one plastic bag and my food in another since they're always interested in your food).  Make a point to tell the inspectors that you have high speed film.  Then they'll do a manual inspection.  Interestingly, they seized upon the huge ponderosa pine cone that I picked up at Tahoe.  I told them it was from California, but that doesn't wash; they assumed I picked it up in Canada.  I thought they were going to keep it, but after I got back on the bus, the inspector returned it to me, sans the seed (somehow they extricated it from the interior of the cone).  Anything with seeds (e.g. fruit, veggies) are no-no's.  You can buy up to $800 abroad now and bring it back duty-free, so my new ammolite ring was ok.
 

 

          Moodies songs continue to dance in my head and I look forward to getting back and developing all the rolls of film I took.  There were sure many special moments and thanks to the natural beauty of the Northwest and my taking the time to appreciate it, I'll have fond memories of this trip.  Here's to many more Moodies tours, fan gatherings and great travels.
 

 

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