Santa Barbara-Phoenix-Los Angeles 20, 21, 22 September
p20 Sept.
It was a mid-afternoon flight to Santa Barbara from L.A. that took us longer to arrive at LAX than the flight time. The Santa Barbara Bowl is always a gig we look forward to. Lots of folks backstage tonight, guitar pick-up guru Seymour Duncan, my old pal Tom Hensley, Sarah Hensley and Michelle Conrad, actor Michael Keaton, drummer-record executive-producer-artist manager Bobby Columby and folk-rocker David Crosby. This was all before the show. I first played this venue nearly 40 years ago with Rodney Crowell and have played it many times with MK & Co. it was a wonderfully comfortable evening temperature-wise and the audience of 4,600 were there for a Friday night party. Mark and band in great shape even as we close in on the end of the tour… everyone still fresh and finding new things to play and way to do it. It was another top gig and a 20-minute runner back to L.A. Thanks Santa Barbara.
21 Sept.
A strange start to the day, wide awake at 5:30 this morning couldn’t get back to sleep and finally decided simply to get on with things. After a couple cups of coffee and dreaded computer stuff, I dragged down to the lame gym and put an hour in. Got back to the room and went back to bed for a couple of well needed hours, then off to Phoenix for tonight’s show at Coamerica Theatre. I lived in Phoenix through most of the 1960s and it is a very different city now but it always feels like going home, especially stepping off the plane into the hot, dry, desert air. It was a capacity audience of 5,000 great Phoenicians, felt good playing back in my hometown. Another runner tonight and a barbecue fuelled flight back to L.A, cars to the hotel and in bed at the civilised stroke of midnight.
22 Sept.
Ditto this morning. That’s what happens when you go to bed at a civilised hour… up at 6. Spent the entire first part of the day on this blasted computer and battling a mobile phone that’s gone intermittent on it’s way to packing it in. I have no patience for either. Left the hotel at 3:30 and drove up through my old stomping grounds of Hollywood on our way to another old stomping ground, The Greek Theatre in Griffith Park. I played here many times with Neil Diamond going back to 1971 and including the performances that yielded the Hot August Night live album recorded here in 1972. More performances with him at The Greek followed. The place still looks and feels the same as it did back then. I think this is the fourth or fifth time playing it with Mark and it’s always very nostalgic coming back here for me. We took the stage to face a sold-out house of 6,100+ Los Angelenos, looked up at the towering trees around the venue and proceeded to do what we do well…. play a musically rich and relaxed show. I don’t know who’s enjoying things more, the audience or us on stage. We seldom have receptions after our shows but LA is generally the exception and it was good seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Arrived back at the hotel at midnight really buzzed from a great LA show and, for me, a warm homecoming. We decamp early tomorrow morning for a flight to New York as we head into the last show of this remarkable tour.