Taaake me back to Telsa, I�m too young to marree! -- Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys

Yeah--Lyra

Dec 11: the show. Yep it felt good to be going to another one. It had only been since Hershey last Spring that I had been "without" (and I should be ashamed of myself for the wild spending, and I have to really cut back. My New Year�s resolution). Anyway Y had split the scene (found out later she was back at the Mexicali with more fans) so I had the room to myself, and I primped myself into a short skirt, black tights, knit scarf etc. I looked good when I got done, cleaned up ok. (always a shock, I sit around in horrible clothing most of the time). The skirt bagged, used to be pretty tight!

Our bathroom had a picture of a drilling rig over the toilet. I didn�t get this until I was down the road the next day, and then laughed my ass off. I bet men get it immediately, because they pee different than us girls.

Y called and told me where they all were, so after loading cameras and tape recorders, found me ticket, I went down and joined them. The weather turned very nice (Moody magic, and yes it works).

I�m ashamed to say I don�t know who I ate dinner with, but they were equally nice, as are all Moody fans when you meet them face to face (it�s only on-line that things get immature and out of hand sadly). Some of the crowd was over at the Spaghetti Factory sopping up pasta, the bunch I was with was heavily into margaritas. I was good and only had one beer each night, I just wasn�t in the mood to get sloshed. George and some other folks showed up later from the Spaghetti Factory�. George really is a funny fellow, he had his Mum in tow (she was mellow) and an OK license plate "Moodies" all lit up in Christmas lights. (Different). George is from Tenkiller Lake (OK), and had heckled me on line about having all my teeth, so naturally when he sat down next to me I brought it up, then opened my mouth for him to inspect. (He drew back, heehheh. I have teeth like Conan the Barbarian). It was good company, but got a little slow sitting there and hearing folks argue about the color of the mango margaritas. So (since my tostado was long gone) I paid my bill, and walked down to Cain�s hoping for a low light photo (didn�t get it), then over to the theatre where people were going in already. No camera check at door. Tour bus outside with sides out, with an attractive brown design (it had been there earlier).

There was also a really fun old Willys car parked out in the lot, which I stopped to checkout. V-8 engine, and a "work in process" but very cool, and I wish I�d taken a photo of it.

After absorbing the shock of the run-down theatre inside (I at least expected some of Goff�s spectacular blue floating balls), you have to admire the structure of it, a horseshoe shape, nice ramps running along the sides, somewhat like an old opera house. Structurally it�s nice, but just really run down. The seats were vintage, thankfully not too torn up. The ceiling looked blood red (oddly one of my Dad�s favorite decorating colors) but as the lights hit it, the ceiling turned grey blue! (the real "red is grey" from the poem). WOW I never did figure THAT effect out. They had a good layer of fog built up, but I don�t remember the lights being anything spectacular, compared to some Moody shows I�ve seen in the past.

My seat was off to the left, like one seat back, very nice so close. As I sat there, HEY Jack walked past! He recognized me, and sat down to chat some (yes he was wearing his backstage pass, so he was the real thing). I said something about how run down the place was, I was shocked, and he said "yeah but it only cost ________" and I don�t want to quote the amount, it because I can�t remember it exactly. They got it cheap. There is some worth to this, we fans tend to forget the band is running a business. Books must balance.

Anyway, Jack continued "What are you doing after the show?" I�m always a little shocked if I think a guy is trying to pick me up, so I started to say something self depreciating like "Ah we girls are just stalkers" instead of having the good sense to say "Yeah where�s the party tonight, and can we come?" then some woman behind me spotted Jack�s pass, and started jawing at him about the wall heater that was right next to the seat he was in "We were promised better seats if we couldn�t get it turned off". Yeah it was giving off enough heat to burn a foolish person leaning on it. Jack got a sorta wild look in his eyes, took off and that was the last I saw of him. A few moments later, a dude who reminded me of Bill the Lizard showed up and took some tools to the offending heater. I gave the matter no more thought, and don�t remember being overheated.

It turned out our section doubled as the handicapped area, so a guy in a chair was up there with us (also a very nice fellow, and I did my best not to block him when I danced�.. He didn�t have a choice about getting up). Between he and Y were some empty seats, so I spent some time bouncing up there into those.

Eventually a blonde gal (nice looking, yuppie attitude) sat next to me, and like a fool, she texted to her friends through much of the early show. Then she tried talking to me while I was trying to watch the show and obsess on the band, which was sorta annoying. I try to be kind to those "verbal types" who have to express themselves by yakking all the time, but they DO bug me. Moving next to Y solved it. Maybe this gal is the one you can hear talking over "Are You Sitting Comfortably". I don�t know WHY some people feel they have to talk over such a beautiful song like that, I am usually sitting in silent rapture, it�s so wonderful. You can hear people blabbing in the background though.

Two seats in front of Y was another on-line bully whom I shall not name. Last seen kissy kissy with pbaub at the Rhyman. I�ve taken a lot of grief off this asshole on MBT (not just ME and not just MBT either: I suspect she finally had the boom lowered on her by MBT Admin; I�ve done and do my utmost to blow her off), so she was under observation from yours truly just a bit. Her and her buddies knew who I was too, and like typical Internet bullies, didn�t have the courage to confront me in person (they�d lose, I�m in pretty good shape). Being front row (wonder what THAT cost them), yes they got a few of Justin�s patented "gorgeous grins" but they also were on the receiving end of quite a few dagger-like stares from His Nibs too. I bet they thought they were "come hither" looks. Well, I saw something else going on. It was as if Justin were saying with those glances "I know who you are. And I have my eye on you and your manipulative ways". Said bully had the cajones to get within hair-snatching distance of me, RIGHT outside my personal space bubble, it was very calculated. Naturally I ignored 'em, because I don�t buy into scenarios of madness and immaturity. They know who they are, and here�s to hoping they clean up their acts for good. I talked to a lot of people about them, and they aren�t fooling anyone.

The Brady for all intents and purpose was a ticketed rehearsal. I enjoyed it, but I question the integrity of putting on a half-thought out performance like this night seemed to be. I guess that is up to the enjoyment level of each audience member. I wonder if they did any run-throughs that day, or if people just showed up and ran out on stage. AND I should be kinder, as I think John and Justin were truly losing their voices. It must be miserable to say "the show goes on" and be running a fever or feeling like poop. Maybe they all had the bug. Or jet lag.

"Lovely to see you" and it was. John was in leather, Justin in levis. Norda in a "burn out" evening gown, very pretty. Gordon in pretty basic clothing, nothing spectacular (he doesn�t need to be, it�s all in the moves!) Graeme in Florida senior chic, the polyester blue-white top I don�t like. Paul quietly in the corner, smiling. Julie equally retiring, in her spectacular sac dress. Julie and Norda both have great taste in spike heeled boots, very fun. After Intermission, John came out in a ruffled white tux shirt, didn�t notice other clothing changes the first night.

One of the things Jack had let slip was that Norda is quite a party hound, and I could see it this time. John is always kindly and playful (blew in Norda�s ear once), and Graeme looked very well rested, which is good. Justin was harder to sort out. After the first song, Justin looked over my way, reacted to something and shocked the hell out of me�.. a "shiver of surprise" sort of thing. It threw me into hysterics, so I missed a bit of action at the beginning of the second song. Justin seemed limp and not his usual perky self ( if backstage looked like the House, no surprise) he acted like the front row was full of Sticky Things; it took him a while to really warm up. By TOSOL I finally started to believe he was enjoying himself (really threw himself into it!). He sang wonderful for the first half, and I wouldn�t begin to criticize his performance��.. It was very professional. The bass was up way way too much in spots; maybe that is what gave Justin the Grumpies. Justin's guitar improv was a bit wackier than normal too (I liked it, yeah)(what I could hear of it behind the bass) so maybe he was stoned on cold medicine.

A Martin by any other name would sound as sweet... with apologies to Master Will

I had noticed that the Martin wasn�t out on the initial stage set, so I figured they were going to do "Voices in the Sky", Justin used his James Olsson for VITS in Hershey last Spring. At least I still think it�s a Martin, I have photos of it, and it looks like the 1955 Martin Justin has discussed before. (If it looks like a Martin, and sounds like a Martin��.) After a lot of post-tour debate on newsgroups, and research, it COULD be a Collings, or could be a Martin with a Collings neck, but the body sure as hell looks like Elvis�s 1955 Dreadnaught Martin, all except the Collings head. Justin�s 335 Gibson also has some "strange parts" on it (Bigsby Tailpiece), so Justin may have another unique guitar there. Only way to tell a Martin from a Collings for sure is to look at the wood grain on the back, and I haven�t been close enough for that.

Well ANYWAY we got to the fourth song, and Justin turned around, the guitar wasn�t there. IT GREW LEGS. I�ve talked about this magic guitar before, and sure it enough, it was punishing Justin by disappearing. I bet Justin has been doing anything except play with it since Fall, and revenge was sweet. Justin did a whole routine in the prissiest RP he could summon up, "When I get a guitar, ANY guitar" and so forth, doing grand gestures to first one wing, then the other. Finally someone appeared with the guitar, tried to tune it, Justin pounced on it, and began to play "Never Comes the Day" Ooooyyuuuuww ~~nasty~~~. At least one string drastically out, maybe more strings. Justin fiendishly played the opening chords, even though he obviously knew it was sour. Then he stopped, tuned it meticulously "take your time" I called. Not having his electronic tuner, and some peaceful moments (which is what I need to get a guitar into tune by ear) it was just a tiny bit still flat, but he went ahead and played the song. It was marvelous. AND true to form, I didn�t see it leave the stage afterward either. Walked off on it�s own!

As one fan already has said "I feared for the guitar roadie" and one can only imagine the scuttling backstage to find it. Having said all that, it IS theatre custom that each performer ultimately checks his/her own props before the performance, all props should be set one half hour before curtain. So if anything, Justin should be mad at himself. That�s the way I�ve always done professional theatre.

After the show, I asked a security dude outside if he knew the story, and this fool told me it was signed by a DJ. Then the security dude told me he�d been with Special Forces (he was really out of shape) so he was full of sh*t obviously, but a DJ WAS setting up prior to the show (the 94.1 van outside); maybe they were all comparing guitars; Tulsa is very musical, and as my cousin put it "there�s a lot of hill billies out here that can play a few chords" including DJs. Word back from the radio station was the Moodies didn't grant any interviews (then they commented that the Country Western bands always did). Last I heard, the official word was the dude who set the stage got the set list for the Casino swapped with the Brady list, and thus the faux-Martin/Collings was left out.

My thoughts are more metaphysical. After the initial guitar rebellion, Justin was fair game. He put the Gibson back on, and IT went on strike. Or it just faded out under the throbbing bass. At first I thought Julie was off, and she might have been, but Justin�s Gibson sounded wonky, it sounded like something out of Back to the Future (you remember when Michael J. Fox was melting?) I don�t know if his fingers went widdly, if a string died, or if he was off a fret, and it could have just been a bad sound system too, ugh. It didn�t get better. Justin and his guitars were on different pages, not communicating. John�s harmonies were also off at times too, and I think his voice was dying.

So the first half rapidly fell apart, we all clapped and enjoyed it because we love our band, and you have to keep telling yourself, only 50% of the human race can tell one harmony from another anyway. That half understands that "there are nights like this". The whole audience was pretty well oiled after hanging at the Mexicali pre-show, so some of the enthusiasm was fueled by tequila. Yee haw.

Justin did something else fun too, which was new to me. He now has a Lyra-esque "yeah" he tacks on during "The Voice". It must be a bit of London slang talk, I really thought it was fun. Yeah.

Another thing I heard that was wonderful; at times, Justin�s voice was in really good tone, it has a much gentler tone to it, like he�s been singing a lot of lullabies. I found it really sweet, because that is probably exactly what he�s been doing in his off time. Rock n roll grandpas, that�s our band! His voice was much gruffer the next night, so maybe it was all attitude on his part, getting into the right head space.

I spent the Intermission writing in my notebook, then the band came back, and Julie did not look like a happy camper. (The others all had very broad and plastic grins plastered on their faces). I hope they didn�t yell at her, because she was not the only culprit. (Rehearsal is the answer). Things sounded much much better for the second half. The music business has "fallen on hard times" as Paul put it in his last chat, and a job is a job, doing it right is important.

"The Other Side of Life"���. I suddenly realized I had no blue glow wand, the whole thing had slipped my mind (and still seems minor in the scheme of things). Y dryly handed me one at Brady. Later she said "well once I saw some adult toys, and there was one which was clear plastic. And yes you could open it and insert the glow stick of your choice for your adult playtime pleasure. I haven�t glow-sticked ever since" Dr. Freud would have howled over that one. Bonnie was knocking herself out to hand around blue glow-sticks at the Casino show, and of course these people never know the whole routine that goes with it. I tried to show them at the Brady, but they just sorta waved their wands with no pattern. Ah well, it was fun anyway.

I heard a rumor that a masseuse/chiropractor was called for Graeme before the show, during Intermission (hope it was Reiki, and not Rolfing�) The spine does settle with age, and I have trouble with my own back. Somewhere in my travels, I strolled into a hotel gym, and found something I could hang upside down on. (A bat rack?) It sure made ME feel better. I�m firmly convinced some Dr. Seuss freak designed most work-out equipment, most of it don�t mean sheet, but I do use the gyms sometimes for isometrics and stretching (good mirrors). Yeah, what we need are more things to hang us upside down and decompress our spines. Getting old sucks.

The second half was much better, I loved "Are you sitting comfortably" I counted two flutes and three guitars. Wonderful song. At some point ("Higher and Higher" I think) we all tried to cram down front and dance. I kicked off my clogs, and was dancing around on that groady, filthy floor.

As a fan once said on line "When Justin�s happy, everyone�s happy" and I�m not sure Justin was happy. Justin, our Libran stress puppy. It�s winter, people stress with the holidays, and catch colds, I fought my own bug that I caught right before lift off. I think Justin�s voice gave up the ghost right about "I�m Just a Singer" in the second half of the Brady. Poor guy, his voice had excellent tone at first, but the guitar stuff was off��. then he threw himself into TOSOL and almost recovered it, but ��� things like this happen, and "Nights" and "Question" were so good on the Brady tape I suspect � a quick nod to Paul, and suddenly it was Memorex. Justin is a man of integrity, and I�m sure he would not be happy to do that more than necessary. But the show must go on��.. and people loved the performance. That is what counts. John helped a lot vocally, and I really liked John on "Isn�t Life Strange" this time.

After the curtain rang down, I turned to hop over the seats and talk to Y, and (of course) fell. Belly flopped. I caught myself before ALL of me hit that filthy floor (skirt up to ass naturally), and some dude in another row "helpfully" held me up. He held me just a little too long in fact. Damn honestly I got touched more than usual this evening, at the fan gathering too, so like I say, I guess I looked all right. It was still embarrassing (thank God the band wasn�t on stage), and I wasn�t even drinking����. One beer two hours earlier doesn�t count.

Y wanted to hang at the back door, and I did too, so we stuck around (that�s right, I was giving Y a ride back to the hotel). Those two bullies I mentioned earlier were there too, I kept one eye on them while watching the stage door. I wasn't exactly paying attention to them (my eyes were on the stage door!) but I think one of the bullies dropped her camera, it broke, and I almost laughed at her, except I know how I�d feel if I broke my beloved camera. (Compassion, Christie). At first Security lied and tried to say the band had left (we didn�t believe him), and of course, everyone eventually came out. Justin was last. I swear that man has a little snake in him�. This time he did a little dodging snaky dance around amps and boxes, it was a lot of fun. They hopped into OU red-n-white vans and off into the night they went, with us "regulars" waving bye bye.

My opinion is they stayed at the Crowne, which has a secret bat cave underneath where the vans can go in complete security, and probably secret elevators too. Remember those upper rooms were secure, and/or "club members only" floors, and the elevators didn�t go up there for us peons. The lobbies were sure crawling with roadies. Makes sense.

The fans: Bonnie and a friend did something that was mildly cute this show, and brought back memories of the Red Horned Cows (just so long as they don� t make a habit of it, it IS cute, it�s when it becomes a ritual it becomes geeky). They popped on Reindeer horns, and red noses. John even came over and said "that�s great!" and it was.

Another interesting thing happened��. A gal sat in front of me, we chatted for a bit, she told me how she�d been in and out of the Fan Thang for a few years "having babies". I think she was the Earth Goddess I spotted dancing barefoot with Rhonda Connelly a few years ago at Marymoore Park (Kristian has footage of her!), and by the time I figured that out, the show was over and the Earth Goddess vanished. Nice gal. She flaunted it, quite a bit.

Someone was being a jerk over in front of John apparently. No word on who it was. The only bad report so far. Everyone was civil.

One of my friends told me that a gal named Ghostwalker also had been banned from TER, probably for being too honest, as I am (I�ve corresponded with Ghostwalker, she seems nice to me). Other friends commented that they didn�t care for the way TER had gone since the beginning, all fluff and no philosophy (which many enjoy) and it seems that anyone who gripes about the Fluff Factor is prone to be attacked or censured. I know I checked TER for show information after I got home, and it was amazing how little there was, it was all fluff: I found more info on MBT. Ah well, whatever makes folks happy. "We can make bad situations better by attitude". Keep smiling.

As usual, people up front handed them flowers after curtain call, and Norda took quite a few bouquets. Justin took more. Someone else handed Justin a stack of DVDs! (Christmas present for the road�..) Justin smiled, took it and several more bunches of flowers, smiled, set it all down on the drum podium, and ambled off stage with his Strat in his hand.

Y and I stayed up quite late, like until 3 (and me short on sleep from the night before!) talking about everything (some shop, we share psychiatric and medical topics in common), and the usual things that fans talk about. I loved her description of the old Sec A at Caesar�s Tahoe, "the viper pit" yeah that�s about it. She had been at the Monte Carlo show, and said she had done up to 17 shows in a row one year. Whew, she has me beat! Y is happily married, but still loves Justin you can tell (as we all do) and we of course talked about him, is he happy? etc. We hope he is. Life is so short and precious. Just two fans in love with their Rock God, who of course is a very human guy deep underneath.

Dec 12: Morning broke��.. Again little sleep, my head throbbed. Would I ever catch up? (Maybe on the train home, I muttered to myself). The sun was shining, and it promised to get warm in Okie Land. All I needed was some fireflies to make it like old times. I looked out the window onto the concrete jungle. It�s a long long highway to Thackerville.

Y was all for clearing out despite our lack of sleep, so I dashed for the bathroom first, got out of the shower quick time. Diet Coke to get the heart started (I didn�t tell about my adventure the day before, trying to get Sprite for wine coolers and having the miserable machine give me two bottles of water. Oklahoma water tasted pretty good to me, right out of the tap). Nope no free comp breakfast here either (cheap bastids), so I munched a Granola bar, ate more munchies from my tucker bag. Y was just as efficient as me, a sure sign of an experienced Moody traveler. We vowed to meet again in Thackerville (and we did, in the mosh pit, along with everyone else).

As I pulled out of the garage�.. There parked in front of the Crowne was the brown tour bus! You�ve got it, I circled around and parked outside in good stalker view. I hung around until 10ish, and then gave up, even though the bus was running and ready to go. I had too many back roads to explore. The Moodies would just have to load up without me geekily watching.

(No Moody content) Chapter Five: Dec 12: The Back Roads

(Moody content) Chapter Six: Dec 12: The Chicasaw Casino: Winstar at Thackerville