a two hour flight from PDX to LAX and we leave the Doug fir forest for palm
trees. journeying the freeway took longer than expected, but our hotel room
faces Mann's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
To: lost-chords@shore.net
From: "Jennifer S. Moore"
Subject: Hollywood/The Greek
Date: June 1, 1998
a two hour flight from PDX to LAX and we leave the Doug fir forest for palm
trees. journeying the freeway took longer than expected, but our hotel room
faces Mann's Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
little time to recoup, then get ready for the concert. headed out for Griffith Park and lost ourselves in a steep winding street of pricey real estate. we asked a woman who was walking in this neighborhood how to get to The Greek, and she immediately said "The Moody Blues?"; gave us excellent directions to the venue!
people's belongings were being searched at the gate of the Greek, but as the woman in front of me was making a ruckus about having her camera confiscated, i slipped through ;)
safely in our seats and time to look 'round at the beautiful amphitheatre.
got talking to local people, a doctor and his wife, very animated.
almost got it taken away when the couple chatting with us took this pic. but sweet-talked security guy and stashed the camera. lessons learned at Caesar's not going to waste on me, i waited until the second half to bring it out again. ;)
finally the show started.
Graeme in a colorful vertically striped shirt, his handsomely whitened hair and beard looking very distinguished. Ray with a twinkle and mischievous expression. Justin wearing a silk shirt; sort of oriental pattern and gathers at the shoulder.
from the second row i didn't see this performance being a great one. maybe the contribution of Larry Baird's orchestration was missing in this type of arena. imo the two front men were slogging through another work day.
this was my small point and shoot (some of you have seen what good work it produces!) and i didn't have particularly fast film in it, but i waited until stage lighting was high and took half a dozen decent shots. NO FLASH! obviously :)
of course after the hour-long break the Moodies hit their 'rockin' set, and spirits lifted. Justin wore a short-sleeved crinkle white shirt and sharp looking vest. he delivered the goods, and seemed to cock his head to listen at the chorus of Question.
When Question ended several patrons ran for the parking lot. i out-maneuvered a couple dancing in the aisle behind me; and pressed towards the stage. band and supporting personnel bid adieu; John deigned to notice me.
despite the glamorous mystique, these are the mean streets of LA, and after
dark is no place for a lady. ;( passing through Hollywood & Vine, some
yahoos hung out over the hood of our car, hollering at hookers on the sidewalk!
yikes! afraid to look to right or left, we felt fortunate to make it safely back to our hotel, and being pretty beat, called it a night.
next morning before running back to the airport we took time to walk
the Walk and scan for our favorite movie stars' inscriptions at Graumann's
Chinese Theatre.
the oldest hand/footprints we noticed were Jeanette MacDonald - 1927. those were grand old days. i couldn't get over how tiny the women's feet were! in front of Frank Sinatra's spot (passed away 5-98) a tribute of flowers were lovingly placed.
delivering my roommate to LAX in early afternoon i headed out of town ... the true mission of my trip to Southern California just beginning ... jen jen, who put 1,000 miles on the car driving grandma back from S.CA to OR :)