Moody Reno
Many of us identify with a rock and roll band that helped shape and define our youths. For some it’s the Beatles, the Stones, Dylan or more recently Nirvana or Green Day. My band was the Moody Blues for reasons important to a searching sixteen year old girl: their romantic ballads swirled with images of Camelot, a flute and mellotron laden pseudo-classical style, and a brooding blonde lead singer. Their lush songs of hope and redemption helped me through some rough patches on my journey toward adulthood.
Almost forty years later, when I’d switched out “Days of Future Passed” for Arcade Fire’s “Neon Bible” in my soon-to-be-archaic CD-player, I wondered if The Moodies still had relevance. It was that and the fear that they might start croaking soon that led me to The Silver Legacy Resort for their show in Reno last Saturday night. Would facing my former heroes be a depressing experience as we’re struggling to hang on to our vitality? Would a tired performance blur my memories of inspiring past shows?
A certain amount of trepidation attended my early morning drive up Highway 395, but it was a beautiful day and the prospect of adventure always brings optimism. I bumped into some friends at Rhino Bar in Bridgeport, where I stopped for an old-fashioned iconic diner breakfast (soft fresh wheat toast, perfectly done over-medium eggs, served with hard crunchy bacon and once-frozen hash browns). The young guy at Office Depot in Carson City handed me a $10.00 off coupon for Turbo Tax, I found some rare vitamins I’d been seeking for months at the CVS across the parking lot, and when I got to Circus Circus they gave me a very nice corner room, newly renovated with a cool view of UNR. Things only got better when I sidled up to the bar at Brews Brothers in the Eldorado and had two tasty microbrews for free while losing all of $2.50 in the quarter video poker machine and enjoying a grilled shrimp Caesar salad and an obscure NCAA basketball game.
After returning to the room to primp, the appointed hour arrived and I headed down into the convention center, grabbing a frozen Margarita for fortification. The 14th row seat was decent and I looked out over a sea of bald pates and gray hair in anticipation of my former heroes. Soon the strains of “Lovely to See You Again” filled the hall and I knew everything would work out all right.
The guys attacked their familiar repertoire with vitality. Their flute player had retired but was replaced by a talented thirty-ish woman and they also added a young blonde girl to play keyboards and sing. The guitar work was better than I remembered. Best of all, Justin Hayward’s voice held clear and strong and the passing years had not diluted the poignancy of “Question.” And yeah, he’s still hot. I never thought I’d say that about a 63 year old!
The two hours whizzed by and soon I was back on the floor of the casino, wondering what to do with my new found energy. After strolling past a few clubs, I wandered into Aura, the new ultra lounge at Silver Legacy. It was a busy Saturday night, but I lucked into a seat at the bar and enjoyed a Dewars and Soda while watching the twenty somethings dance and meeting some local girls and Yreka cowboys. Soon I struck out on to the architecturally hip dance floor and spent a good long while busting some moves.
Returning to the room at 1:30, I realized a bit too late that it was time to move the clock ahead for daylight savings. Suffice it so say, the 7:00 a.m. wake up buzzer came way too soon, but there was no time to lose since I had to shower and pack-up, grab a free buffet breakfast, stop at Chez Josef (an Austrian bakery on Moana) and make it to Jeff and Jan’s house in Carson City by 10:30 a.m.
The next few hours were spent visiting and then I decided to cap off the weekend with a stop in Virginia City. I strolled the boardwalk there and tried to locate the old depot. It was cold in the shade but warm in the sun and I used every opportunity to warm my tired bones on bright benches. It turns out the steam train doesn’t run during the winter and I wasn’t hungry enough to dine at the Palace Saloon restaurant as planned, so I killed an hour or so in the kitschy “The Way It Was” museum. It provided some insight into life in the Comstock Lode and only set me back $3.00.
I ended up on hillside overlooking the mining town. Gazing over the local cemetery it became evident that even graves aren’t permanent – many marble tombstones had toppled and wooden markers decayed. I stood in the brisk air pondering mortality. Each day is a step closer to this ultimate end, yet there are so many songs left to sing.
“One more time to live and I have made it mine…”
Almost forty years later, when I’d switched out “Days of Future Passed” for Arcade Fire’s “Neon Bible” in my soon-to-be-archaic CD-player, I wondered if The Moodies still had relevance. It was that and the fear that they might start croaking soon that led me to The Silver Legacy Resort for their show in Reno last Saturday night. Would facing my former heroes be a depressing experience as we’re struggling to hang on to our vitality? Would a tired performance blur my memories of inspiring past shows?
A certain amount of trepidation attended my early morning drive up Highway 395, but it was a beautiful day and the prospect of adventure always brings optimism. I bumped into some friends at Rhino Bar in Bridgeport, where I stopped for an old-fashioned iconic diner breakfast (soft fresh wheat toast, perfectly done over-medium eggs, served with hard crunchy bacon and once-frozen hash browns). The young guy at Office Depot in Carson City handed me a $10.00 off coupon for Turbo Tax, I found some rare vitamins I’d been seeking for months at the CVS across the parking lot, and when I got to Circus Circus they gave me a very nice corner room, newly renovated with a cool view of UNR. Things only got better when I sidled up to the bar at Brews Brothers in the Eldorado and had two tasty microbrews for free while losing all of $2.50 in the quarter video poker machine and enjoying a grilled shrimp Caesar salad and an obscure NCAA basketball game.
After returning to the room to primp, the appointed hour arrived and I headed down into the convention center, grabbing a frozen Margarita for fortification. The 14th row seat was decent and I looked out over a sea of bald pates and gray hair in anticipation of my former heroes. Soon the strains of “Lovely to See You Again” filled the hall and I knew everything would work out all right.
The guys attacked their familiar repertoire with vitality. Their flute player had retired but was replaced by a talented thirty-ish woman and they also added a young blonde girl to play keyboards and sing. The guitar work was better than I remembered. Best of all, Justin Hayward’s voice held clear and strong and the passing years had not diluted the poignancy of “Question.” And yeah, he’s still hot. I never thought I’d say that about a 63 year old!
The two hours whizzed by and soon I was back on the floor of the casino, wondering what to do with my new found energy. After strolling past a few clubs, I wandered into Aura, the new ultra lounge at Silver Legacy. It was a busy Saturday night, but I lucked into a seat at the bar and enjoyed a Dewars and Soda while watching the twenty somethings dance and meeting some local girls and Yreka cowboys. Soon I struck out on to the architecturally hip dance floor and spent a good long while busting some moves.
Returning to the room at 1:30, I realized a bit too late that it was time to move the clock ahead for daylight savings. Suffice it so say, the 7:00 a.m. wake up buzzer came way too soon, but there was no time to lose since I had to shower and pack-up, grab a free buffet breakfast, stop at Chez Josef (an Austrian bakery on Moana) and make it to Jeff and Jan’s house in Carson City by 10:30 a.m.
The next few hours were spent visiting and then I decided to cap off the weekend with a stop in Virginia City. I strolled the boardwalk there and tried to locate the old depot. It was cold in the shade but warm in the sun and I used every opportunity to warm my tired bones on bright benches. It turns out the steam train doesn’t run during the winter and I wasn’t hungry enough to dine at the Palace Saloon restaurant as planned, so I killed an hour or so in the kitschy “The Way It Was” museum. It provided some insight into life in the Comstock Lode and only set me back $3.00.
I ended up on hillside overlooking the mining town. Gazing over the local cemetery it became evident that even graves aren’t permanent – many marble tombstones had toppled and wooden markers decayed. I stood in the brisk air pondering mortality. Each day is a step closer to this ultimate end, yet there are so many songs left to sing.
“One more time to live and I have made it mine…”
posted by Lesley at
4:35 PM
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