Oh Cary get out your cane, and I’ll put on my finest silver!

--Joni Mitchell

I rolled into Santa Barbara after a rather pleasant drive down Hwy 101, the classical long long "Salinas Valley" road. Santa B. is a weird town, always has been, since the 60's when it became the Southern hotbed of radical college students. Today, I found myself rather unimpressed. It had grown (so had Monterey, ugh there is no stopping development). There isn't really anything to do there except shop, go to the beach, eat, or pick up other men (if you are Gay). There were some hookers there too (that goes for any resort town), but not as many as you might think; mostly it was a town of retirees, married ones. People who live in SB year around are usually so rich they don't know they are rich.  What I did find really sad was the large population of homeless and hobos that lined the curbs on State Street. Mostly that is all there is to SB, State Street and the Beach road. Street people pan-handled openly. I passed one little old lady who should have been put somewhere safe, she was nutty as a loon, in her rags, right in front of the exclusive shops of State Street. I am never sure how to respond to them, other than to ignore them; they don't cause crime, but a resident did tell me sometimes the street people are victims of violent crime. I think we live in a miserable society when we don't have rehab programs for these folks, as so many obviously have psychosis. We have a lot of them in Seattle too, especially when the weather gets warm, I think they migrate up from down South to where the weather is temperate outside (since that‘s where they live). Between my fleabag motel and the Doubletree, there was a sort of "people’s park" where the homeless hung out. A couple of campers were pulled up there. One rattled pretty badly, horrible sounds, dying lifters. I have no sympathy for many homeless, and you’d feel the same if you had heard the stories I have about meth gangs They send out well-organized teams to shop-lift, that’s their major source of income.

Later at the show, the scalpers out front seemed to be from the homeless population, quite scruffy. In contrast, several youngsters skateboarded past, and they looked downright wholesome. Perhaps the town can be summed up in one concept. McDonald’s had a pay toilet. I stopped into Quizno’s after that and got what I thought would be a good sandwich (the guy who waited on me was funny, sounded like the houseboy in The Bird Cage). Then I got sick the next day, and it must have been from the Quiznos. So much for fast food in Santa Barbara!

I checked into my room at the Pacific Crest (relatively cheap) and walked on the beach, which was within spittin‘ distance. It was lovely, I saw brown pelicans diving (quite spectacular), and an unusual bird (tern or murrel?) with sharp contrasting flash points on the wings, and an orange cere (dang I should have brought some birding books). The beaches are long in SB, and I was fascinated by the roll of breakers, starting at one end, and rolling to the other as the waves broke. Very lovely beaches. A lot of sailboats were apparently just anchored off the beach. I wonder how they got to shore, I only saw one with a launch.

Back in the mid 90’s when I did the Justin Hayward solo shows (with Gerry and Leslee) the pier was a real fun place to walk, and I was saddened to hear it burnt down about five years later (the movie My Favorite Martian is shot on that old pier). Well it’s all rebuilt now and still raking in the tourists. I walked down to it, thinking of maybe getting some ice cream. Whew was that overpriced! And instead of seagulls who steal your fries, there were three pan handlers, trying and failing to look pitiful, with cops trying to move them along. I did get a kick out of the tourists walking around with glazed looks and big bellies, slurping on their ice cream hypnotically.

Walked BACK to my hotel, and found street merchants feeding peanuts to some woodpeckers! THAT was really fun and entertaining! They gave me some peanuts so I could do it too. What smart little birds, they could snag a peanut out of the air! Later, I found some time to go out and try my new watercolor pencils, but the warm sand and wind blowing was so nice I almost fell asleep. The first night I got there, I popped a bottle of champagne and drank the whole thing! Ahh Brut! Bouquet of skunk! Wow was I woozy! The owner of the Pacific Crest Motel was a Russian I think, and sole proprietor, he spent his days out by the pool tanning, after clean up was done in the morning. He hired a couple of Mexican maids and they did the bed changes. At night he just turned on the "No Vacancy" sign and went to bed, because I know there were empty rooms in the place.

My biggest complaint about the place was this miserable mockingbird that woke me up each morning! ARGGH. My brothers used to use them for target practice (bee bee guns) when we lived in Fullerton, they were so obnoxious! I love birds, but I could do without Mockers, good lord! They would wake the dead!

I did drive around town a little bit, and found where the old Coach House used to stand. I think it’s a good thing, but it seems to be torn down, or drastically morphed. When I first found the Arlington, the marquee said "Aliens vs Monsters" which I thought pretty funny, apparently it doubles as a movie house. By morning it had changed to "Moody Blues". Eventually I picked up on local habits and began to run up and down streets off State, which had less traffic. No place to park, naturally, I walked a lot, getting supplies. Ice at Vons, that sort of thing. Vons (a grocery store chain that dates back to 1960 in SoCal) was right next to the back of the Arlington, so I set up my tail-gate observation post there (caught up on VM too). I've forgotten the exact time table that all buses and trucks came and went (a VERY tight squeeze in that grubby lot, too!) but they all traveled on separate tracks, the crew in one bus, the band in the other. The crew seemed relaxed and professional (I watched them unload a bit). Before one show ended, we could look over in the wings and see them all waiting like vultures to strike the set! Guess they had somewhere to be! At 11 am the morning of the show (shortly after check out time), I did see a black limo go slinking out of the parking lot, having disgorged some fast disappearing band member(s). (I saw Justin out later chatting with roadies, he apparently needed some fresh air, no biggie). I was not the only stalker, some other middle aged folks were spying on the band too. They looked very normal I might add. Mom and Dad. She had just been to the hairdresser. Later I wondered if a lot of "regulars" would hang around the parking lot. At some point I got bored, and went on doing what I wanted to do, that is shop and lay on the beach.

Earlier the day before, I had been lost and stumbled by accident on the Four Seasons in town. It was quite remote and hidden, trees all around, you expected Tarzan and Jane to swing out at any moment. When Justin and Friends toured through here 10 years ago, they stayed at the DoubleTree. It has gone downhill since then, so I'm glad if they found someplace nicer to hide out for a day, and golf, sleep or whatever it is they do on days off. (Shopping was sure a bad idea, stuff was really overpriced). I had a fun encounter while walking the streets in search of an affordable fashion scarf (found one finally at Old Navy, love it!) saw a dude who looked just like Justin, tall slender and long blonde hair. He dodged into a building, walking sorta funny, like he'd had a close encounter with an angry corncob! I actually backed up to look again! He was in a tanning salon, and nope it wasn't Justin. It was the walk that decided it, I always figured (if Justin decided to walk on the Wild Side) that he would be on the giving and not receiving end! LOL. Anyway I doubt all of that now after this last show series. But who knows.   

While on the subject of "spottings" I saw no family members at all, all week. Usually you spot a few, but lately, they are as skilled at hiding as the band. I saw some gals walking (charging) down the beach who could have been Marie, but that town is full of blondes in sunglasses (all of the older generation) and they tended to all look alike to me. I actually thought I had gotten on the elevator with Marie in Bakersfield, but after I got her to talk, she turned out to be "just another fan". So "spottings" are not reliable often.

WHY do I still get butterflies at the shows??? It really was a nice show and everyone looked fine :) Justin literally sparkled when the show began, though he got more serious as the show wore on (then finished on an up note!) The Arlington inside was a bit like being on the set of Romeo and Juliet. When I got to the Oakland Fox, there were some similarities, so apparently the "double faced" walls were a theatre style in California in the early days. Hard to explain, but it sure was pretty, all mission style architecture, and nicely restored. Fountain out front. The audience was really fun in SB (well oiled, they had a bar, wine etc all set up in the lobby). Mostly, at all the shows, people (mostly Boomers) seemed to be out on dates with sweethearts. And a few of us single gals were obviously "regulars" or just coming to see a band that had meant a lot to them for years. It was a small town, everyone knew each other!

The Santa Barbara show was pretty fabulous, a real live mosh pit. The show started with "Lovely to See You" and I noticed they have FOUR guitars on that one! Great sound. Early on some hoggy people started pushing down front (I started out with a perfectly fine seat in Row E, and single gals on either side, just discovering the band "again") pretty soon I couldn't see a thing so since I couldn't beat them...... I joined them. We finished up the show down front banging on the stage, a kid (?) next to me got Justin's pick (ah so close but yet so far away sniff) Graeme said a few words about his birthday, something to the effect of "ah the ravages of time" the Jays were huddled together, with big round eyes (and ghosts of smiles), you could see these "omigod" thoughts going through their minds, wondering what he would say.   I thought "Lean on Me" was very good this night, sometimes John’s voice knocks me out, he had his moments. I got the feeling this show that Justin was deliberately screwing with his tone on LOM, and in turn, John seemed to have his bass up far too loud for NCTD. Maybe I was imagining it. Justin sure had trouble with the tone on NCTD I thought.

I sure didn’t like the lights in the audience this show. When they did "I Know You’re Out there Somewhere" I put on sunglasses, and the band sorta laughed (I think).

At the break, after "The Story in Your Eyes" the light crew left up a Big Eye, and it roved around, looking at the audience for a while after the band left the stage. Pretty funny.

It was nearly a flawless show, John burbled one line (forgot where, they recovered nicely). Very very good lighting. A clean theatre! YEAH!!!! (I tend to lose my shoes these days at shows, this was nice).  Santa Barbara is full of very beautiful women, and I was terribly jealous! Many of them were leaning on the stage by the end, and blowing kisses to the band. I met many nice folks at the show who have nothing to do with the online world.  But mostly, and I think this was true of all the shows, it was locals that filled up the theaters. In Primm it turned out there were people just passing through, either to there, or to/from Vegas, and they were workers, just there for the night off. The Moodies are a very well loved band by our generation. I don’t think they have ever grasped just how many people really dig their music.

Somewhere up against the stage, someone kept bellying in next to me (a bit annoying) and shoved their POS electrics or phone or whatever up (in front of me, in my face!) to video the boys. I leaned over and said very clearly "I love you Justin". and later when she wouldn’t stop, said again "I need you Justin". I guess I shouldn’t be so ornery, but it was sorta hoggy behavior. It sure hasn’t surfaced on line. I would enjoy my voice on Youtube! <evil chuckle>

Prior to heading out, I realized it was Graeme’s birthday on the night of the Santa Barbara show, so I took it upon myself to get a card. (I don’t do flowers and gifts, that sort of thing sorta wore out for me a decade ago). This was VERY funny, one of those noise making cards…… on the outside was a fairy, and some cheezy line about "Here’s the old age fairy to sprinkle some fairy dust on you" you opened it, the card does a tinkly noise, then a very very funny, blood-curdling scream comes out of it, and there is a picture of a bug zapper lit up. "But I took care of her" is the punch line. I howled over that card……….. It was perfect. So I signed it (upside down and in the corner) something short like "drum on!" and handed it around to a bunch of people in the front rows. They ALL wrote like books in the thing! (I didn’t read them either). Anyway as the last two were finishing their essays, Allan Terry showed up to tune the drums one last time and I hurriedly stuffed the envelope, addressed it, "Hey Allan!" he responded! Tossed it up there (he shrugged!) a roadie captured it and off it went, further deponent saith not. But I wore my psychedelic tee with Graeme’s head on it, and had a great time and he did too, as we all did. Graeme grinned at me quite a bit through the drum set. A wonderful way to spend a birthday, don’t you think?

I can't think of anything out of the ordinary to report. It was the same line up, but the energy of the show and the audience I think were the most fun. We managed to eake a smile out of Justin toward the end, but that lad is very very serious...... and yes John was in leather pants. Or so it looked. Norda's skirt was a iridescent rainbowish color up front under the lights..... very pretty.  In fact, the light show had a lot of rainbow colored lights as well. It’s remarkable what stage technology has done since I was lugging Lekos around the stage at Cal Poly. Justin came out in a powder blue "Moody Blues" tee and John came out in a black Moody Blues tee, so I guess they were making a statement! I’m ok with it, nice to see comfort on stage, and they look good no matter what (John has his weight down, good!) Second half they changed to something more formal. Think of the savings on cleaning! (not to mention not having to hire a wardrobe mistress).

Out back several of us huddled at the bus awaiting the band. I got a huge laugh out of one of the boxes that had about a zillion stickers on it, and recognized one from Thackerville (hey I was there too!) The girls came out under escort by big gnarly security dudes, then Gordon and Paul came out on their own (Gordon is pretty healthy) and Justin, John and Graeme got escorts. John stopped and signed something. I forgot to mention Miss Bare Shoulder. During the show she came down a bunch, waving her hand like a dancer, a cowl neck sweater hanging off her left shoulder. She was beautiful, and I wasn’t sure whether to be jealous or laugh, she was so overt. About 45 or so (and well preserved, the town is swimming in the industry of nip, tuck and botox). Anyway out back she very boldly tried to get into backstage, and they shooed her out. Roadies all yelled "it’s not safe back there" and indeed it’s not. She was a bit disgruntled. I sidled over to her and said softly "don’t you have a nice husband at home anyway?" She really was pretty, you’d think she had a man wrapped around her finger, like my friend Debbie! She answered, "No I just broke up with my boyfriend! Are they married?" meaning the band. I told their history (so Graeme if a beautiful blonde from SB writes you, be nice, she’s a neat gal). About that time a guy fan sidled up to her, and last I saw they were engaged in negotiations, so that was sorta fun.

The band all shuffled around inside the bus, and out it pulled, departing (very skillfully pulling out of a VERY tight parking lot!) And about five cars following it! Good heavens! Word is the band stayed at some four-star in Ventura of all places (the booking agent allegedly screwed up). No I don’t know which fans stalked or encountered the band at their hotel. But these things happen.

After all that driving, my fingers were itching for a kiosk, but I didn’t find one until Bakersfield.