Welcome to the Hotel California! --The Eagles, lost after dark somewhere near Tehachapi

Thee hast been drinking! --one Puritan to another after sniffing his breath

Clearing Bakersfield was a joy, and out over the Tehachapi I went. Man am I glad I didn’t try to drive through last night, it was a LONG way to Barstow. And I still got to see lots of beautiful sights, the High Desert indeed was in bloom. But when I was a kid, I was led to understand there were a lot more colors involved. I mostly saw two shades of yellow (desert asters), and some very very sparse purple here and there. I enjoyed seeing the Joshua trees again….. That’s the only area they grow in the world. And their closest living "relatives" are in China, so ponder that when you think about Natural History.

Drove by Edwards AFB (see The Right Stuff). I passed the wind farms that are up on the ridge there, they are so pretty I think. I can’t see why people back East think windmills are unsightly and won’t put them in. I also wondered if all those migrating bats dead in windmill collisions were for real. I like bats. Then I remembered the story I just read in an UK tab on line about a UFO that hit a windmill in England somewhere. It kept me amused. A bunch of madmen passed me (like I was tied) on the way to Vegas. Some things never change. Strider took it all with dignity, rattling his bailing wire, and he performed well when it came to that long long long incline going up the hill to the Nevada border. (I did have to add a quart of oil the next morning. Ah the ravages of time. I promise, new spark plugs this summer, Strider).

Now some months ago folks on line were trying to figure out where to meet after or before the show in Bakersfield, and I racked my brains for this place we partied in long long ago when my cousin got married there (and it was before I was of legal age to drink, (and drinking of course), so that was over 33 years ago!) my whole family was in there swilling and having fun. They had this bed up on the wall with an old quilt over it, with two mannequins in it, and if you pressed the button, the whole bed would jounce up and down, this was terribly funny at the time. Very Okie humor. The whole place was like a warped, fakey Knott’s Berry farm inside, very fun. I couldn’t think of the name!!!

Well imagine my shock. Yes I navigated the little "Terrible’s Stop" area, at the wrong hotel at first, and when I parked and walked into Buffalo Bill’s the final connection fell into place. THIS WAS IT. The name of that bar 33 years ago WAS Buffalo Bill’s! I was grinning ear to ear. Terrible must have bought them out, and moved the whole thing up the road. Yeah I know you guys are holding your noses (cheezy!!!!!!!), but you have to understand, growing up in SoCal in the 60’s we LOVE something like Disneyland, Knott’s and Vegas all rolled into one. It’s nostalgia. The line to check in was horrible, it was April Fool’s, the computers were all screwed up (international computer worm day) so I took off to wander for a while. It was all decorated in twinkly lights, and fake trees, nice, cool and dark after the desert outside. Found a tall tequila vase full of margaritas (and they had barely walked a worm through it, expensive Kool-aid) and wandered around swilling on it. I gotta come back to this place!!!!!!! What a treat! They had a roller coaster, and a monorail............... waterfalls........

Who knows where they had been, but the band bus didn’t pull up until 5 pm! I know how MY sleep patterns were, and I bet they had a lot more adrenaline in their systems than I did…….. A late sleep-in apparently. I got lost walking around in the casino (exactly what the designers had in mind, there were no clocks either) and I kept staggering into the secure area, trying to get to my car, the hotel was like a rat maze. I bumped into a nice fellow, with a Brit accent (and backstage pass) and begged him to let me dash across to my car. He told me how to scuttle down, across the ramp, and back up the stairs to the other side "but I didn’t tell you that". So I just barely missed the bus, in fact if the band had been looking out the front window they would have seen my leg disappearing around the corner. They tried to pull in again to the secure underground, but I’m not sure the bus would fit.

I got lost right off, couldn’t find my car (tequila does that) it was a fun place. Whilst wandering, I overheard the band doing a sound check (it was them live indeed, I think "The Voice" not sure) but I stood and listened at the back door quite a while, outside. Other than the music, it sounded like a quiet, professional rehearsal.

The casino was fun, but it got a little creepy, there were a lot of single men there, and when one gets "dolled up for the band" it means you have to walk past these horny dudes on your way to the theater, or maybe even sit next to them. After the show I toned it down deliberately so I didn’t get stared or hissed at. (Goodness). There were a lot of BS artists there too, the hot tub conversations were pure art in the realm of conniving.

At the show, I sat next to a nice fellow (traveling salesman) who quickly worked his wife into the conversation, but who was very nice and willing to offer me his extra seat (he got two seats and a room for $9! That’s right! No typo). I snuck over to the side to Norda’s right as they never sell tickets over there behind the stageline. Very nice, and ticket was "cheap." But sad face, security really knew there stuff, and when I tried to sneak up to the stage during the long ovation for "Nights" I was repeatedly thwarted and that takes talent (I know how to move through a theatre pretty quickly). Oh well it was fun anyway. I was sorta glad this show I DIDN’T get down front, as it gave me a chance to step outside and not see things from the herd mentality perspective.

Rebecca and her friend the Earth Goddess DID get down front, and that is when Rebecca was talking about all the fans being sorta like vampires, trying to grasp energy from the band spiritually. Whew the way Justin was performing, he had plenty to give! He stopped early on and said something like "I *think* we have played here before!" The theatre was laid out almost identical to the place they played in Victoria BC a couple of years ago, I sat over on the side there too. HAVE they done Buffalo Bill’s before???

By the time the band hit the stage that evening, things became clear. Graeme indeed rested up and seemed in better shape in Primm. BUT Justin took his place (I think). Let's put it this way, Justin was loose unto goofy, and it was VERY VERY FUN. I honestly think he was playing half asleep. Or, looking at some other up-close photos, taken by other fans, I would honestly say he had "had a couple", but he still was professional, got very physical, lots of quirky behavior! The lovely light turquoise tee-shirt was taking on a "slept in" look, which I found very appealing.

People tend to not understand here in America, that April Fool’s Day is a very popular holiday in England (we tend to breeze by it here) and Justin has always struck me as the type who saves it all up for this one day a year, and loves a good thigh slapper on April Fool‘s. The kind of guy who would hand you a shock pen or buzzer. He’s so straight most of the time, those types slip up on you. So if he was a little sloshed, it could all be related. I’m just glad I wasn’t on that tour bus to "enjoy the festivities".

I never thought I’d say this, but he was like a big teddy bear that you wanted to leap up on stage and hug. You know he got to ME because I’m not a real huggy type. He was just too fun. Yeah, it was a very very good show. One of these days I’ll quit freaking out when Justin makes that long eye contact with me too, this time I did it again, freaked out and added some hysterics and "camera mask" behavior to it (then felt rude about it). Sigh, what I wouldn’t give to have a private moment or two with that man to just talk. And not have just a few sultry gazes with the distance of theatre between us (me and several jillion other ladies).

Justin had on a new tee in Primm, which I think was a light turquoise-green. (Hard to tell with the lights, one of my photos shows it as blue). It seemed to have the Four Sacred Directions on it, with a whole bunch of weird Vegas cartoony doo-dahs in the cross section (a spade over the heart!), and the design crossed at the fourth chakra. Really a fascinating tee from the photos, Justin has a excellent sense of what he and his music and road show are all about, indeed.

Apparently this is the show where Paul started the intro to "The Voice" and Justin was still back at his amp, Paul cringed and rolled his eyes at Gordon. Justin very cooly put the cap on his water. (Poor Justin was sucking a lot of water (stressed) and was the first one to bolt off stage at the end!), and strolled with impeccable timing to the microphone, the song was great. Sometimes you forget to look back at Paul and Gordon, but they are quite spectacular too, Gordon is incredibly energetic (holds it all together) and I caught one photo with him reflected in the plexiglass. Justin and Gordon on "Question" were just incredible, their energy pulling the rest of the band along, at the end when the energy is pooping out. Paul was always there, smiling and often bathed in a rainbow from the wonderful lighting.

No intermission break for Primm, but they did manage to get the whole set in. (there was griping over this in Thackerville last December). "Isn’t Life Strange" was so slow I thought Justin was falling asleep (maybe he was). He plays well in his sleep. His guitar work at times sounded Hendrix-esque, very impressive. "He's got the magic hands...." I would swear at least once during the show, I saw Justin’s red Gibson take over and start playing without his help. It was hard to tell at times, who was in charge, him or the guitar. Incredible.

Justin also did something peculiar to begin the show, and at first I thought he was curling up in the foetal position, and was going to drop to the stage wrapped around his guitar (clunk). No……….. I think it was a little Kokopelli dance. And that’s one I’m going to leave up to your own research (it’s an archetype that verges on the religious for me, as Kokopelli has been traced beyond the Hopi to the Mississippian cultures, my ancestors). It all fit, it was the right time, and actually the right place, and a perfect little fun thing for the coming of Spring. He did it again in Oakland. And it shows quite a bit of depth on Justin’s part. Wow, thanks for the treat, Justin! (This makes two incredible shows I’ve seen out of Justin on April Fool’s Day).

While I was checking into my room earlier, who should get in line behind me a few people but my astrology buddy from Tahoe, Rebecca! I saw her the last time at Britt Hill, and she was (as ever) traveling with her Earth Mother friend whose name I can never remember. Rebecca and I really enjoy talking about astrology so we did, and had a ball (the whole economy can be explained by Pluto in Capricorn. Shudder). Then we split up, but found each other again after the show (and before a bit, they were down on the floor).

When the show got over with, it turned out the Earth Mother had taken a slide in the shower, and her back was wrenched. It became a big deal! I had to agree, even though I have excellent balance, I almost slipped myself, there was no non-skid on the floor. But the good news is, there were really neat seats in the shower, so you could have a tet-a-tet with the friend of your choice. Considering what people can get up to in a shower, and at a place like that (as I told the manager taking her statement, and he smirked in agreement!) you really should have something more tacky on the floor. I don’t know how it all resolved, but buckets of ice and medics went in to check her. Hope they made it home to San Francisco ok. I didn’t find them in Oakland.

We hung around the stage after the rest of the audience cleared out (getting a wheel chair for Earth Goddess) and as we waited there, Rebecca and I spotted John still backstage, with a blonde woman. (don’t know whom, Julie perhaps). I again wandered out there in the maze, and ran across another fan who said the band had just left in their bus (not staying there) but she said "at the last minute John didn’t get on". Maybe he got word Justin and Paul were waiting with a bucket of ice. It was that kind of night, lots of crazy things going on with the band apparently. Happy April Fool’s!

I don’t think the band got time to explore Buffalo Bill’s which is a shame, they might have gotten a kick out of it. After the Moodies’ show let out, there was another band at the bar, and some pretty hookers in fabulous clothing slinking around. After I got to sleep, I woke up again about 2:30 am, couldn’t open my window for fresh air (bolted shut, perhaps people jumped out of them!) and decided to go prowl a bit. Casinos can be quite lively after hours, and I’ve heard some fun stories (besides, you never know the Moodies might come out when it’s really late and relatively safe). I toured through the rat maze past the 24 hour hot tub, and spotted two girls in there in their black underwear! Now that was different! Past the stage backdoor, the locals were setting up for the next act already. Then past the bar, and around the casino. People were STILL at the slots. The vultures had snagged all the Moody signs around the place, bummer. Nope, no Moodies loitering at the bar, they had something better going on somewhere (sleep probably, that heavy crash you heard was Justin hitting bottom). Sigh, back to my room and one wine cooler later, off to the Land of Nod.

I have bumped into total strangers (not tapped into the "fan thang") talking about the show, enthusiastically. One guy in a hot tub in the morning (before I took off) told me "how can you NOT leave a show like that in a good mood?" what a compliment! I didn’t see it, but this guy told me that Justin was really quirky on stage, like throwing a "blanket" (towel?) over his guitar "like a little silk blankee". A very good tour, and I'm really glad I did it. I suspect the days off are helping the energy stay up too. The guy in the hot tub mentioned that Denny Laine lives in Vegas (like only 40 miles away) and that he HAD been in Primm the day before. I suspect some of them indeed met up on the day off. I sure hope so. Maybe they can all get together and make good music. Mostly I bet the band slept on their day off (or Justin did anyway) because I bet they really needed it.

When I pulled out in the morning (crew bus was gone) I found the roadies had dumped ice out on the grass. I almost grabbed it up for my own cooler (I was out), but that seemed a little skanky. It was COLD that night, the wind came up. I like Spring in the desert. It was a great visit, and I hope I can go back to Buffalo Bill’s another day, it was too fun.