July 2, 2005: Idependence Day at the Lake

Kelseyville, CA
Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa

Happy Independence Day one and all (or near enough!) Finally home from a quick trip to Clear Lake for the show at Konocti Harbor (and a few subsequent holiday weekend BBQs.) A much more pleasant evening this year than last when the winds off the lake froze everyone -- temps in the 90s during the day and still in the mid-70s by the time the show ended at 10 p.m. Okay, that is one of my few complaints about shows at Konocti -- they start and end so darned early! Very strange watching a concert in daylight for nearly 3 hours! The curfew also meant they cut "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" a bit short -- they just launched right into it instead of Steve's usual intro and once we got through the first round of "Na nas" that was it! Ah well.

As has been noted elsewhere, the set list has changed from the opening show in Irvine. While I wish they'd given that set list more than just ONE gig to try out on the fans, I can understand why they've tweaked it. In addition to having an announcer explain how the show will work before it starts, the guys each explain a little about what songs we're hearing (thus not forcing me to wrack my brain trying to recall "Nickel & Dime," which was the song I could not recall in Irvine.) I'm guessing this is what Jon meant by "hand holding" the fans through. Fortunately, they're still throwing in some gems that haven't been played in a long time -- "La Do Da" rocked the house for one!

The show started close to on time and I was enjoying my 6th row center seat and up on my feet as soon as the guys hit the stage. Alas, not many others were. Security made those of us standing sit down around the time of "Nickel & Dime" which really had us all fairly pissed off. Fortunately Ross pretty much made everyone get on their feet as "Where Were You" started a few songs later, and we never had to sit down again. Shew!

The two set separation remained fairly well the same with the early era Journey leading chronologically to intermission followed by "the dirty dozen" and four tracks from Generations. (I spend a week learning all the dang songs and they cut 'em to four. Siiiiigggghhhh...) Deen sounded a little worn out, and when I talked to him after the show his voice was very raspy. He told me he barely made it through his last vocal before it gave out on him. I suspect the heat, relatively low humidity, and moderate altitude were all contributing factors. Poor guy was surrounded by flying insects for most of the show too!

I was also able to enjoy the wonderful fans behind me. I'm not entirely sure which was worse the woman who kept singing very loudly off key (by the time we got to "Open Arms" I just bust out laughing it was so bad) or the drunk woman who spent the entire show with her head between her legs in anticipation of the eventual, inevitable... uh... regurgitation. Siighh... it's been a long time since I've been puked on... (I have never more wished that I'd had beer dumped on me.)

So despite the annoying security early on and the annoying fans later on, I was able to enjoy a pretty darned good show. Steve definitely looked much more comfortable with his guitar for the pre-Perry era stuff (and one of the new tunes, I can't remember which, I think "Out of Harms Way.") I don't think they've perfected it yet, but a few more gigs and those early start of tour kinks should be ironed out. I do love that they've added "Who's Crying Now" back to the set -- I haven't heard that one live since December 2000 and the Vegas/DVD show! They've moved "Faith in the Heartland" down from the opener of the second set to third, which means they've cut the intro out and are using the familiar intro they've been using the last couple of year. (Bummer -- I love that intro! At least they're keeping the out though -- Deen just goes to town on those drums!)

I must say, it was quite fun singing along with the new songs -- there were about 3-4 of us who've had the CD for a few days and learned most of the words, and the guys noticed with big grins on their faces. Guess all that hard work didn't go to waste! When they hit "Every Generation" the video screens were showing fan shots from the Frontiers and Beyond video. Jon had introduced the song talking about all the generations of Journey fans. Looking up and seeing that familiar video of all those kids circa 1983, and suddenly I felt quite a bit older than I usually do at a Journey show. Usually I think I am still 15, but for some reason looking at that old footage last night really reminded me how long I've been a fan of this band because those faces were all so young!

Now, just 28 more days 'til my next show!

Set list:

People & Places intro (Okay I REALLY want them to do this whole song!)
Kohoutek
Of a Lifetime -- Jon vox
I'm Gonna Leave You -- Jon vox
Nickel & Dime
Mystery Mountain -- Jon vox
Something to Hide -- Deen vox (wow! whatta treat)
Where Were You -- Deen vox
Patiently -- Deen vox
Feeling That Way -- Jon/Steve vox
Anytime -- Jon/Steve vox
La Do Da -- Deen vox
Any Way You Want It

-- Intermission --

Intro
Be Good to Yourself
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Neal Solo -- Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
The Place in Your Heart
Wheel in the Sky
Higher Place
Lights
Walks Like a Lady -- Ross vox
Every Generation -- Jon vox
Chain Reaction
Voodoo Chile/Gypsy Queen -- Neal vox
Who's Crying Now
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
Out of Harms Way
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

September 18, 2004: The Party's Over

Kelseyville, CA
Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa

The Party's Over I have gone away.... The Party's Over....

Well folks, the 2004 Detour has come to an end. (You folks in Japan and Hawaii, have fun next month when the guys hit town for you!) With tonight's benefit show cancelled due to rain (bummer!), the core dates of this year's tour have ended. Last night's show at Konocti lived up to the expectations I have for a show up at Clear Lake -- the "A-game" show at a fantastic venue.

The weather for this weekend was about the only down side of the trip. (Well, okay there was the usual slow and erratic service of the resort staff, but that happens for every show) Normally in the 90s this time of year, we were greeted with mid 70s and wind when we arrived Friday afternoon. By Friday night clouds had rolled in and the temperature dropped into the 50s. Fans had traveled from across the US (and at least one couple from the UK) and met for a wonderfully organized pre-show party at a new casino a few miles from the Konocti resort. Seeing so many familiar faces at dinner made the weekend that much more enjoyable.

Saturday morning was cold and overcast and the winds from Alaska continued to sweep through the lake valley, and lots of plans for "fun in the sun" were cancelled. It was just too cold! The up side of this was that as the Nor Cal gang headed to breakfast we happened to arrive at the lodge shortly after the tour buses arrived and got to see all 5 exhausted band members hop off the bus and on to the shuttle to take them to their rooms. They all looked beat so we didn't chat with them (though some of the folks who were there ahead of us did get to visit briefly) but I did notice Steve was toting a guitar on his back as he got off the bus, so I'll guess there was some writing going on!

The band skipped sound check, which was a big bummer for us since our room was across the parking lot from the amphitheater and would have had an EXCELLENT free performance from the balcony! After prepping the room for the post-show gathering, the Nor Cals bundled up for dinner (awful) and the show (wonderful.) When the show kicked off about 7:45, we were all freezing. The wind that had been blowing all day kept up and the temperature must have been in the low 60s at best. Thank god the show started so everyone was able to keep somewhat warm!

The crowd was on their feet the second the first note of the intro began. Of course, it didn't hurt that about 50% of the two center sections were filled with the tried and true fans who had journeyed from near and far for this show! (Even more awesome to see so many familiar faces in the good seats!) The set list was much the same as the show I saw last month in Turlock, but with a crowd that was about 5000 times better than Turlock they sounded MUCH better.

How the guys made it through the night with out absolutely turning in to popsicles though amazed me. At one point Neal took his jacket off, then turned around and put it back on! Jon was blowing on his hands by the end of the set. It was COLD!

The highlights of the show for me included Deen's singing of "Mother, Father" (my favorite song done beautifully, something I got a chance to tell Deen later), a GREAT moment between Ross and Jon early in the show where they kind of leaned on each other and flashed HUGE smiles (god I hope someone got a picture!), Neal launching into what sounded like a Santana medley after "Voodoo Chile" that just rocked the house, Jon's extended solo, and Steve's ability to keep the show so energized despite the icy weather! And then there was the improv moment between "Escape" and "Faithfully" that caused a few of us to look at each other and wonder "new song"? Alas, if so, it was only a tease...

After the show many of those roadtrippin' fans made their way back to one of the two party rooms. To those we saw back at our room -- Thanks for making Darla's bachelorette party such a great time. To those who were up at CJs -- sorry we missed ya and wish that the rooms had been closer together so everyone could have partied together!

When we woke this morning to rain we hoped the weather back in the Bay Area would be good enough for tonight's benefit show to go on, and we were encouraged when the weather cleared up for us. Alas, it was not to be, and so we've come to the end of the road. Hopefully some of the folks who had tickets for the show can make it back in December!

A few final thoughts on Detour 2004... I'm so glad that I was able to get to three shows when I initially thought I would only see one. The extended set list with the new old songs was a huge treat as was having EVERY band member take a turn on lead. I hope that's a trend that continues.

Set List:

Intro
Be Good to Yourself
Only the Young Star
Spangled Banner (LONG version)
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky Keep on Runnin' -- Deen vocal
Higher Place
Suzanne -- Deen vocal
Lights
Walks Like a Lady -- Ross vocal
Chain Reaction
Voodoo Chile -- Neal vocal
-- Santana medley --
-- Jon's solo --
Send Her My Love
Open Arms
Mother, Father -- Deen vocal
Just the Same Way -- Jon vocal
Rubicon (I just LOVE this song live!)
Edge of the Blade
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Alas, no Party's Over, which REALLY should have ended the set at the last show of the tour! This is it until the Rockin' Roll report from the Caribbean...

August 29, 2003: Deen Sings!

Kelseyville, CA
Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa

No sense wasting time on this highlight of highlights. Last night's show at Konocti Harbor was unbelievable and included Deen taking over on vocals for two songs in the set -- "After the Fall" and "Mother, Father." I have had the good fortune of hearing Deen sing once before during a sound check and had been amazed, so when I'd heard Thursday night Deen was going to sing, I was bubbling with excitement. Six songs into the set, Steve steps up to the mic and said something to the effect of "Five years ago I had the opportunity to join this band along with Deen Castronovo. Tonight we're going to let Deen take a turn on lead vocals." What I heard when Deen opened his mouth for "After the Fall" had my eyes popping out of my head and jaw hitting the floor. If you think Steve sounds like Perry, you haven't heard Deen! I was amazed. He did an absolutely phenomenal job.

A little while later Deen was given a chance to sing lead again, this time on "Mother, Father." Unfortunately his mic cut out for most of the first verse (grrr!) but again I was in awe. "Mother, Father" has always been my favorite Journey song, and when the band performed it at the Warfield last April I was a complete emotional wreck. I managed to not burst out in hysterics this time (though I couldn't prevent a few tears), however my knees literally started shaking and I had to hold on to the seat in front of me to keep myself standing. I love that song so much and Deen did such an amazing job!

The rest of the show was filled with a little bit of everything from the history of this band. Taking the stage at 7:45, they played on until 10:15 -- with only a very short break before the encore. We were treated to three songs from Arrival ("To Be Alive Again", "Higher Place", and "We Will Meet Again") as well as "State of Grace" from Red 13. And we once again had a "Santana set" as part of the encore. This was the kind of Journey show we were all hoping for when the "evening with" dates were announced. [25 songs, not including solos!]

Then you add in the venue. This is the third time the band has played at Konocti Harbor, and it never ceases to amaze me what a spectacular place it is to see a show. A funky little resort run by the plumbers and pipefitters union local 38, seated on the shores of Clear Lake 2.5 hours north of San Francisco. The venue is only 5,000 seats and while there are some funky seating arrangements, it's a beautiful backdrop of the lake and surrounding mountains. Warm summer nights and amazing music. (Not to mention the "hey look there's [your favorite band member here]" aspect since everyone is THERE and there is exactly one restaurant and one bar!) It's a fun, relaxing, family atmosphere. I loathe the drive up to Konocti, but I LOVE the shows I've seen up there.

What a great way to kick off the last leg of the summer touring and the handful of "evening with" shows.

Set List:

Red 13 intro
Separate Ways
Stone In Love
Wheel in the Sky
Star Spangled Banner (Neal solo)
To Be Alive Again
After the Fall -- Deen vocal
Lights
-- Jonathan's solo --
Open Arms
Mother, Father -- Deen vocal
Precious Time
Higher Place
Feeling That Way
Anytime
Chain Reaction
Ask the Lonely
State of Grace
Don't Stop Believin'
Escape
Be Good to Yourself
Any Way You Want It
We Will Meet Again
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Encore:
Santana set
conga/timabales solos with Michael Carabello (congas) & a new timbales player named Gibby something

Black Magic Woman -- Neal vocal
La Raza Del Sol
Everybody's Everything -- Jonathan vocal
Faithfully

January 2002-April 2003: Behind the Weekend: Journey Past & Present and the Bammies Walk of Fame (part 1)

Where It All Started
Journey Past and Present 2002

"Hello Michelle, this is Officer Roth from Northern Station. I was just calling to let you know that we will be waving the fee for the barricades - another event is happening the next day and will be absorbing the costs." 

That was the message on my voice mail Friday afternoon. An unbelievable stroke of luck -- a fee we hadn't anticipated at the outset had been miraculously eliminated. We were down to the wire and one more obstacle was out of the way. Now, if we just knew where the plaque was.

It was a week before the Bammies Walk of Fame installation and all of the major hurdles had been cleared. The permits obtained, fees paid, all the parties contacted and responses received, now we just needed a call from Don Rich to tell us the plaque was ready to go. How we had gotten to this point was truly mind-boggling. This was just a little idea that popped up over lunch one day in January 2002.

Darla, Cheryl, Leslie, and I were sitting around planning our second annual fan gathering for that coming summer and were brainstorming ideas about what we could do that would be "cool." Cheryl had suggested a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but the cost was prohibitive. I suggested the Bammies Walk of Fame -- it was a San Francisco thing and would be great to do for the band. The key was finding out HOW to get it done.

Cheryl took the lead and started making the calls to various agencies in San Francisco to see how they had been done in the past. This led her to Nick Elsner at the Department of Public Works, with out whom none of this would have gotten off the ground. Nick had been involved with the previous 7 plaques. Better yet, Nick was a huge music fan and loved our idea and put Cheryl in touch with people at the California Music Awards who were now responsible for the plaques! After much discussion with the California Music Awards organizers, it was determined that installing a plaque in 2002 was not going to be feasible -- the time needed to get everything done wasn't going to be enough. So we started looking ahead to 2003 and turning it in to a 30th anniversary celebration. (Sometimes fate works in strange ways.)

Once we got the California Music Awards involved, we were able to reach Dennis Erokan - the founder of BAM Magazine and the Bammies (and the associated Walk of Fame.) After a few phone calls and a meeting with Cheryl, we managed to get Dennis to agree to come to the Journey show at Konocti Harbor where we were holding Journey Past and Present 2002 that August. The original plan was to have Dennis announce the Bammies Walk of Fame at our luncheon -- something small and simple. As we quickly learned, small and simple isn't the normal modus operandi. Dennis contacted Journey's management and now instead of announcing the Walk of Fame at our luncheon in front of 45 people, the announcement was going to be made from the stage during the concert! 5,000 people were going to be a part of this moment! It also meant that Darla, Cheryl, Leslie, Mary Ann, and I had to figure a way to get out of the JPP luncheon and make our way to sound check in time to meet with Dennis and Journey management with out any one knowing where we were going or why.

Once the plan was in place, all we had to do was wait for the concert. No one outside the JPP organizing committee and the band (and their crew) knew what was going to happen after the band finished playing "Liberty." Cheryl, Leslie, and Mary Ann were sitting in the third row on Neal's side of the stage, while Darla and I were in the fourth row on the other side in front of Jon. We knew that Dennis would be coming out by Neal, and about mid-way through "Liberty" Darla and I snuck out from our seats and headed over to where the other girls were sitting. When the song ended, Darla and I were crouched in the aisle next to Cheryl and had to convince the usher that we were supposed to be there and would be heading back to our own seats in less than 3 minutes. Dennis walked briskly out on stage and introduced himself and made the announcement -- Journey will be receiving a plaque on the Bammies Walk of Fame in 2003! The roar from the crowd was deafening and at that moment we all felt that we had really accomplished something. We pulled it off. We didn't realize that it was only the beginning.

August 23, 2002: Journey Past & Present 2002

Kelseyville, CA
Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa

This report is going to be somewhat different than my previous ones. It is also going to be longer than usual, but there is a lot to cover.

As some of you know, for the past 8 months, Darla Ellis, Leslie Forsythe, Cheryl Simien and I have been organizing a fan gathering called Journey Past and Present 2002 (JPP2002.) The focal point of which was Journey's concert at Konocti Harbor in Kelseyville -- the closest home town date.

Way back in January, we began brainstorming ideas to make the event special. What could we do to make it an event the attendees would never forget? Cheryl suggested a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, but that idea died on the vine when we learned that a fee of $15,000 was required along with a long bureaucratic process. That's when I suggested that we focus on the Bay Area connection and see what we could do to get Journey a plaque on the Bammies Walk of Fame. Darla, Cheryl, and Leslie looked at me with complete confusion. There is a Bammies Walk of Fame??! I guess I'll attribute it to being the only Bay Area native of the bunch, but I was the only one who knew of it's existence.

Dennis Erokan, the founder of BAM Magazine started the Bay Area Music Awards -- better known as the Bammies -- in 1977 as a reader opinion poll and it grew into an annual extravaganza. Back in the early to mid 1980s, the Bammies show was one of the hottest tickets in town. Bay Area bands were all over the radio, and many of the performers would regularly appear a the show -- including our beloved Journey. In 1997 the first selections for the Bammies Walk of Fame were chosen and bronze plaques were embedded in the cement in front of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. When BAM Magazine went out of business in 1999 the Walk of Fame fell to the wayside. (The Bammies continue, but now are known as the California Music Awards.)*

*2014 Update: The Bammies no longer exisit, but BAM Magazine has returned as an on-line magazine. You can check it out at http://bammagazine.com

 *2018 Update: There was a "Bammies Reunion" concert held in March 2018 which included Neal Schon on the bill of performers (I believe he played with Sammy Hagar.) It's possible the Bammies may resurface in some form in the future.


Currently there are 7 members of the Bammies Walk of Fame -- Bill Graham (1997), Carlos Santana (1997), Jerry Garcia (1997), Janis Joplin (1998), John Lee Hooker (1998), Jefferson Airplane (1999), and Metallica (1999.) We wanted to see if we could get Journey included as part of our JPP2002 event. Cheryl set off on path to find out how this was done, the cost, and any other issues that might need to be addressed. We soon learned that this would be possible, but not in the time frame we were hoping. Cheryl was eventually put in contact with Dennis Erokan, who was extremely pleased with our idea and eager to help us get the process started.**


**2018 Update 2: As part of the Bammies Reunion Concert mentioned above, two new inductees were added to the Bammies Walk of Fame -- Sammy Hagar and local DJ, Steven Seaweed. (For those who attended JPP2003, "The Weedman" was one of the featured speakers inducting Journey.) I believe these were the first inductees since Journey in 2003.

Having gotten that ball rolling, we turned our attention to the rest of JPP2002 with the intention of having Mr. Erokan announce Journey's soon to be induction to the Bammies Walk of Fame at our luncheon. As we thought it over, we realized that the timing had actually worked out in our favor. By not having the plaque done this year, it meant that it was going to happen in 2003 -- the 30th anniversary of the foundation of Journey!

Then we learned that Mr. Erokan would not be able to make the luncheon as we had hoped, but would arrive in time for the concert. That set off a series of events that still leaves me dazed and confused. The details of how the following came about are too numerous and confusing to mention here, so I will skip ahead to what happened today.

The JPP2002 gang had a pre-show luncheon that flew by much too quickly. We had heard rumors of some special guests for the show, and when we had a brief visit from Neal's mom and step-dad they brought along one of them - Michael Carabello (the former conga player from Santana and currently playing in the Gregg Rolie Band.)

Then it was off to the show where there were two major highlights. One being the Latin set, where Journey was joined on stage by Michael Carabello (congas), Chepito Areas (timables), and Adrian Areas (timables.) They played "Black Magic Woman" with Neal doing dual duties as lead guitar AND lead VOCALIST. That was followed by an extended version of "La Raza del Sol" and then "Everything is Everything" with Jon on vocal. After the acoustic set, came the other major highlight.

While they were preparing for the Latin set, Dennis Erokan appeared on stage and announced that next year in honor of their 30th anniversary, Journey would be getting their own plaque on the Bammies Walk of Fame. After praising the band and announcing the award, which got an enormous response, Dennis told the football players (there for a golf tournament) in the front row to sit down because the JPP2002 committee which had originated this idea were sitting in the third row! (We learned later, we were on the video screen!)

Due to the chaotic nature of my evening, I was unable to obtain a copy of the set list, much less jot one down!

In closing, thanks to the attendees for making the event what it was, and special thanks to Mary Ann Bohne and Emerson Dong for their assistance in planning this event and to Caryn Sinagra for all of her work on our behalf.

August 8-18, 2001: Michelle's Adventures in Journeyland (part 5)

I crawled out of bed around 9:00 Monday morning, fully rested and almost ready to go. Cheryl was due at noon for the drive up to Clear Lake and the show at Konocti Harbor Resort. That meant doing something about the results of Hurricane JPP that was left in my living room. I had just dumped everything in the middle of the floor and said “I’ll deal with it later.” This included 3 loads of laundry I had left on the couch unfolded.

I managed to get the place somewhat presentable (at least I wouldn’t be embarrassed to open the door) in fairly short order, and since I’d at least managed to pack for the rest of the week before I went to bed, I plopped myself down on the couch to wait for Cheryl. The phone rang shortly before noon—Cheryl was stuck on the approach to the San Mateo bridge! Drat! She finally arrived around 12:30 and we hit the road ever so slightly behind schedule. The drive up to Clear Lake is a long one, taking us through San Francisco, all of Marin and Sonoma Counties—it’s a looooong way. Not to worry, we had plenty of tunes and the conversation was fun. The last bit of the drive, however, took us along a very windy mountain road...I don’t think I ever went faster than 30 m.p.h. and I was in 2^nd gear half the time. Thank goodness I was driving or those curves would have made me very car sick!

We pulled into the parking lot shortly before 4:00—still 30 minutes behind schedule—but in plenty of time to meet folks for lunch. Peter Frampton was just finishing up his sound check when we pulled into the lot, so we got to hear a bit of it while we waited for the shuttle to take us over to the restaurant. When we arrived, we discovered that everyone was already there—Michelle A., Angie, Leslie F. and her kids, Ana Marie and her mom, and a couple of folks from the Journey Forum. Cheryl and I waved at everyone as we came in to sit down, me on one side of the table, Cheryl on the other. That’s when I did a double take—who was that sitting next to Ana Marie?? Oh my god—it’s Deen!! I try to catch Cheryl’s attention so she can see who’s joined us for lunch, but I guess I was too subtle because she didn’t see him until Ana Marie interrupted the conversation he was having to introduce us. I’m not entirely sure who it was that ran into him and convinced him to join us for dinner, but way to go! Ana Marie then asked Deen to tell Cheryl and I what he had told her earlier about his copy of the Journey Day Proclamation. He told us he had taken it and put it up on the wall by his bed in the bus, and that he told the driver to leave his bed alone because he didn’t want anyone to accidentally wreck his Proclamation. I don’t know about Cheryl, but I felt about 10 feet tall then—it was one thing to hear from Cat that the guys had loved the Proclamation, but to hear it straight from the mouth of one of them...well that was just very special.

Lunch proceeded as you would expect, with a zillion conversations going on at once. I don’t think Deen sat still for more than 30 seconds, but hey, he’s a drummer, what do you expect!  Heck I caught him drumming his fingers on the table more than once—the guy is just bursting with nervous energy. Towards the end of dinner, he was showing Leslie’s kids his hands—tons of blisters and callouses. There isn’t enough hand lotion in the world to improve that wreck! I wondered to myself why he didn’t wear gloves when he played, but figured it was probably a “feel” thing and left it at that.

Somehow or another, the conversation turned to Steve Augeri’s red leather pants. Earlier in the year, Ana Marie, Darla, Mary Ann, Cheryl and I met Neal, Ross, and Jon after they had appeared on “Rockline.” We made it a point to tell them (well, Ana Marie did actually) to lay off the red leather pants. We ladies liked them, so stop giving poor Steve such a hard time. Since Deen missed that day, we felt obligated to share the same information with him. He laughed and said “I realize you ladies like the red leather pants, but I can’t stand them. They’re distracting! All I see all night long is red butt, red butt, red butt. Red butt grabbing my cymbals, red butt running by, red butt spinning. Red butt, red butt, red butt.” Naturally, this had us all in hysterics, and I did a mental calculation—Steve had worn the white leather pants in Sacramento...that meant tonight was the red leather pants! Oh this was going to be amusing.

Everyone headed out to get ready for the show, and Cheryl and I waited for our bill, only to learn that the fellow from the Journey Forum (known only as msdrums*) had picked up the tab! Wow! Aren’t Journey fans the greatest?? Cheryl and I left as well and decided not to wait for the shuttle—there were too many people and standing in the 90 degree sun wasn’t something I looked forward too, I’d rather walk, and it wasn’t all that far, just seriously up hill. 

*I now know the "couple of  folks" from Back Talk were the wonderful CJ & Mark Shilts and Mark was the one who picked up the tab for lunch.  Lots of fun and fond memories up at Konocti with those two! 

We get to the amphitheater in plenty of time for the 5:00 start and reconnected with everyone from lunch. It’s hot as all get out and there is virtually no shade. I was in desperate need of a hat, which, of course, I had neglected to bring. Off to the merchandise booth, and plopped down $25 for a Journey 2001 baseball hat, as did Cheryl. Three more bucks for a bottle of water, and we tromped over to the front row to watch John Waite’s set. 5:00 came and went and no John Waite. Now this is odd, for every other show he’d started on time, if not a few minutes early. He only had about 30 minutes of stage time, I couldn’t imagine he’d be late...But late he was, and it was 5:30 before he hit the stage. We learned later that the curfew was 10:00, which explained the 5:00 stated time, but also allowed for the 30 minute delay.

With 6 of us sitting in the front row (not our actual seats, but no one was in them so...) we were bopping along quite nicely and since we were the only people in the front row, Waite played to us quite a bit. It was fun, and in such a small venue, it felt more like a club than an amphitheater. Early on in the set Neal Schon came out and was sitting on the side of the stage—plainly in our view. We all snapped pictures of Neal trying to be cool, but obviously amused by the cameras.

For Peter Frampton’s set, Cheryl, Ana Marie and I headed off to the side where the vendors were along with moderate shade, and stayed there for his entire set. Probably not the best plan since it meant standing for 75 minutes before Journey’s set, but oh well...it was shady, and that’s what mattered!

Once more Journey played and time flew by—though it was an odd set since it started while the sun was still up and didn’t have the usual staging. Of course, when Steve walked out in his red leather pants Cheryl and I started giggling—the same thoughts running through our head “red butt, red butt, red butt....” Of course, unlike Deen, we didn’t find that distracting in the least! (well, at least not in the same way!) About mid-way through the set (probably about the time red-butt was grabbing the cymbals) I noticed that Deen was wearing gloves! Well, dang, I must be psychic now too!

Now it was time for the 3+ hour drive home. Ouch. It’s a long dark drive from Clear Lake to San Mateo, and if it weren’t for the fact that Ana Marie and I had a 1:30 flight to catch to LA, we sure as heck wouldn’t have done it! We grabbed Ana Marie’s things from her mother’s car and loaded them into mine and hit the road for home. Cheryl napped in the back, while Ana Marie and I chattered most of the way home. Ana Marie dozed off about the time we hit the Golden Gate Bridge, but by then we were close enough to home that I wasn’t worried about getting lost or hitting some wild animal on the freeway. Alas, letting Ana Marie get a 20 minute cat-nap wasn’t the best of ideas either...

We finally arrived back at my apartment around 2:00, and Cheryl got in her car and headed for home. Meanwhile, Ana Marie had gotten her 2^nd wind, and decided that 2:00 in the morning was the perfect time to start assembling the “guest book” from JPP2001. We had taken Polaroids of everyone in attendance and given them a 5 x 7 card to write a message to the band. The plan being we’d assemble them all into a nice book and get it to the guys after the event. Now, I had thought that we were going to mail it to the guys after the tour was over along with a copy of the video taped reactions of our attendees watching the videotaped hello. Ana Marie thought it would be better to try to deliver it to the guys in person (if possible) or via Cat while we were all in So Cal. We also realized that we had promised to scan a copy of the Journey Day proclamation and send it off to Michael, the webmaster for Journey’s official website. So while Ana Marie assembled the guest book, I got on my computer and started goofing around with the scanner. Trying to get a 8.5 x 14 inch piece of paper reduced to a manageable sized file was just far beyond my abilities at that hour (and after that drive!) so I sent it off to Michael with a note “you’re the pro—you fix it!” We finally crashed around 4:00, with me wondering if I’d survive the rest of the week. 

to be continued...

August 13, 2001: An Evening on the Lake

Kelseyville, CA
Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa

A quick post today since I've got a plane to LA to catch in a couple of hours...

Konocti is a GORGEOUS place for a show. 3 hours north of San Francisco, right on the shores of Clear Lake... beautiful. I really wish I could have stayed for a few days, gotten a massage, a little swim and sun...but alas, the life of a crazed fan is never done!

When I arrived at the restaurant to have lunch with the gang, I was pleasantly surprised to notice we had a special guest join us. One of the group had managed to talk Deen into joining us. He's such a doll and was just a blast to hang out with for about an hour.

We headed over to the venue, which is very small—only 5,000 seats. Because of this, the guys had to use the lights and video for the venue rather than their own. The lighting wasn't too bad, but the video was kinda weird since it wasn’t the usual and the camera guys were lousy.

I sat in the front row for John Waite, and I finally realized that he's dropped a couple of songs from his set list. No "When I See You Smile" or a new tune I adore "New York City Girl." Bummer. Neal joined him on stage again at the end.


When Journey hit the stage around 8:15 (it was a 5:00 start time!) the packed house went nuts. I had 9th row seats, but because the seats were all on level ground, instead of a usual stadium slope, my view wasn't all that great—bummer. I was rather shocked to discover the set list they played was almost identical to the Shoreline show—the first time that's happened in all the shows that I've been to! During the encore of "Separate Ways," poor Steve fell right on his butt. I saw him go down, and it was a few seconds before he got up again. Neal almost fell a few minutes later, so there must have been something over on that side of the stage that made the footing a little tricky.



Set list...

Anyway You Want It
Only the Young
Neal solo (Amazing Grace)
Stone in Love
I Got a Reason
Lights
Still They Ride
Jon solo
When You Love a Woman
Feeling That Way
Anytime
Higher Place
Chain Reaction
Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully
Livin' to Do
Escape
-- mini-drum solo --
-- Neal solo --
Wheel in the Sky
-- mini-drum solo --
Be Good to Yourself

Encore:
Separate Ways
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Journeying through CA for Journeydigest.com...