Phoenix, Arizona

Arrived in Phoenix late afternoon, it was a quick drive from Sky Harbor Airport to the Dodge Theatre. Phoenix was my home from 1960 until I left for Los Angeles in June of 1969. Although I wasn't born there I consider it my hometown and those years spent growing up are the inspiration for my own new record, Valley Of The Sun. Our illustrious keyboard man, Matt Rollings, spent some formative years in Phoenix as well through the 1970's. As you can imagine between the two of us we were able to pack a fair sized room with guests that we'd invited to the show.

Tonight was the sixth consecutive show of the tour with many more ahead. We're officially on the road now. A good solid show, not without a few stray notes, but overall, no problem. I've never played in Phoenix with Mark and can't remember the last time I played it with Neil Diamond, maybe the late 70s or very early 80s, but it was great to be on the stage of the Dodge tonight in my hometown.

Unfortunately, we're not spending the night so it was a runner back to the Legacy where Diane served a fantastic Indian dinner of chicken tikka masala, saag paneer (spinach and cheese), vegetable biryani and loads of naan (bread) to soak up all the sauce. Not exactly a light meal to end the day but that didn't stop me from eating every bit of it. An hour flight back to the Van Nuys airport, motored west to Santa Monica and back to the hotel just before 1 in the morning. Stopped up at Tim O'Brien's room for a glass of wine and a few sounds, then off to bed.

It's a day off tomorrow that we are all looking forward to.

So long,

Richard