Sion, Switzerland 17 July, 2015

We flew east from Geneva to Sion through thunderstorms and lightening, our pilots artfully dodging and weaving them like the threading of a needle.  Laetesia our hostess had salads out as we boarded due to the fact that it was a steep take off, the pending storms and an equally steep decent, she would have to remain seated for most of the short flight.  Buckle up.  

Given what we’d come through, there was relatively little turbulence thanks again to our pilots.  We landed in the town of Sion situated in a narrow valley in south-western Switzerland, the site of our outdoor show tonight.  The weather was overcast and wonderfully mild compared to the day before in Saint Julien just to the west.  The dressing rooms however were hot and airless.  Many of us spent the hours before the show either outside or in a sitting area where there was a bit of a cross breeze.

It remained cloudy all afternoon and into the evening but apart from a few sprinkles, the rain held off.  Our friend Sonny Landreth opened again tonight.  If you’re not familiar with him, his latest record, Bound By The Blues is a good place to jump in.  We took the stage at 9:30.  Our itinerary says the capacity of the venue is 16,000 and from what I could tell, you couldn’t slip an envelope between any two people in the vast sea of folks out there.  I can only assume we were at capacity.  It was one of those evenings that we all had one tech problem or another and yet none of it ever got in the way of a stellar show, lots of fun and a terrific crowd.  Great gig.

We jumped in the vehicles for a long and winding ride to our chateau-hotel in the mountains.  Hotel Nendaz Allees is certainly unlike any we’ve stayed before.  Rough pine panelled rooms give it the feel of a cabin in the Alps.  In reality it is roughing it 5 star style.  We all made a bee line down to the bar which is simply part of the reception area.  Drinks and platters of sliced meats and cheese kept coming.  What had been a very quiet lounge quickly became a party.  From my balcony I look out at the rugged, snow capped peaks of this perfect Alpine setting.  Love this hotel.  

So long,

Richard