Getting There-
midnight Thursday/Friday in a gate area at SFO a woman indicated my Justin button and wondered "Is that Sting?"

"It's Justin Hayward," i said, "he's much better looking than Sting." a few minutes later Cathy Wood and i boarded the flight to RNO.

after only 2 hours sleep dawn surprised us in our room at Caesar's Palace. the sky over Heavenly was turquoise, strafed by rose-pink clouds; a perfect day to drive up to Incline Village. When sunlight touched North Lake Tahoe its water was the color of Justin's eyes. [sigh]

i walked around the Ponderosa Ranch, where episodes of Bonanza were filmed, enjoying the fine collection of antique wagons, blacksmithing tools, and displays of 19th Century life. a short video about the 60's western was shown in the Cartwright's living room. i lingered at the place where Dan Blocker had hung "Hoss'" vest and hat before he died. Michael Landon's "Little Joe" jacket and hat hung beside there, just as he had left them when the program ended. A smattering of rain ushered us back to the car.

Hard Rock Party-
after the excitement of Friday's show i'd gotten just 3 hours of sleep. Donna Whiting (the third in our room) and i talked late into the night. coffee, please! in a booth near the restaurant table where Tracy, Paul, and Gordy joined Pbaub for lunch Saturday: plucked up my courage during a lull around the guests of honor and went over to Paul Bliss, 2nd keyboard player of the current stage act's lineup. dunno why i was a little unhinged at his British accent!

despite the marginal weather day, my roommates were doing the lake cruise, so i drove them out to Zephyr Cove. afterwards, i took the opportunity to explore more of the Lake Tahoe area and get some ice cream (!).

neighborhoods along the south shore run from rustic-to-opulent. i spied a pedestrian access path between two such domiciles; parked the car and walked to the rocky view point. it was quite cold that day; a wind soughing through the pine branches. i imagined winter storms and summer bbq's and wanted badly to live there! haha, when i win the lottery maybe that's what i'll do. ;)

Saturday night-
as my charges & i hauled in to Caesar's near dark, the JL chat was taking place. Pbaub, Frusty, and as many as could squeeze into the hotel's tiny computer room were glued to the screen. Bias was trying to squeeze out. as he passed me he said "see you all tonight." "You will," i replied. "great", he said.

from the pit i glanced around that night, to see the rail above lined with familiar faces. it was a Moody crowd! magically the songs were coming off with exquisite touch. the band were all in black except Paul in black & white patterned shirt and Justin in a white silk shirt that looked imminent of slipping it's buttons ;)

without orchestra it appeared the drum kits were too far apart; Tracy & Paul as if on opposite ends of the earth. balancing this relative emptiness i was struck by the physical juxtapositions of band members at different times.

the drum stick toss was comical because Graeme played the clumsy one. he deliberately overthrew the first toss to Gordon, fumbled the return, and was late on the simultaneous toss into the air that they do. at the point they both hold the sticks up in the air before bringing them down as one, Gordy gave an extra flourish and a twirl on his side. at various times he's standing on his chair, swinging a towel, and jumping up & down. great fun to watch.

i've never enjoyed a version of "The Story In Your Eyes", "Isn't Life Strange", or "I Know You're Out There" more than Saturday night in Tahoe. "Nights" concluded with an extended ovation for Justin: Graeme pumped the crowd, between us we were pouring on the appreciation. JH stepped back and lit into the next song, his studied expression of indifference possibly slightly affected.

the call-and-response during LOAM actually went on a bit longer than usual, Ray deciding to prolong Bias' suspense of the trip-up; no matter, there's no losing Bias on that one!

yep, Ray sang "For My Ladies", and John's speech before "Question" thanked everyone who was in London in May. When "See Saw" ended i watched Justin carefully put his pick between the guitar strings and hand the instrument to the tech.

it was thoroughly satisfying to have plenty of time to wave goodbye and thank all the band and backups as they exited. last of all Justin walked the length of the stage, slowly, waving and thanking each and every member of the audience. [sigh]

Sunday-
Moodies and fans alike back to RNO. i was waiting outside the ground transportation door for the Atlantis Hotel's shuttle, late in the afternoon, a white stretch limo sitting there too. the chauffeur got a guitar from the trunk of the car, carefully polished it all over, and handed it to someone sitting inside.

as the more time has passed and reports come in, i'm convinced it was Justin & Marie waiting next to me there in RNO Sunday. who else would've called for his guitar while waiting in a limo for a delayed flight? Paul would have been socializing with fans at the gate! ships passing... i'd been rushing to get somewhere all weekend, and was never so happy as to land PDX Monday afternoon.