| Thursday, July 28, 2005 I landed at the Reno airport after three flights, and caught the shuttle bus to South Tahoe. The beautiful scenery was not enhanced by an old dude sitting across from me that wanted to chat me up and tell me his life story. Why do I always run into people like this? ;-). Arrived at the hotel at 6:30 pm and my friend Susan was already there. It was fabulous that she could join me for a gig as she traveled from Eastern Canada and had even longer time getting there than I. After hugs and regaling each other with our travel woes (no food, no sleep, running for planes), we headed out for a nice dinner on a patio that looked over the main strip. Neither of us had eaten that day, and we were starving. After we ate and got caught-up on various chit-chat, we returned to the hotel. Susan needed some zzzzzs, but I had to stay up till midnight to take some medication I was on, so I found myself with a couple hours to kill. So I called Ronda (on her 19th gig and counting!), who I knew was also in town a day early, and we hooked up for a few drinks. It was great to meet her, and we had fun talking until 2:30 am. |
 poster in Caesar's entry |
| Friday, July 29, 2005. Susan and I had a less than stellar night’s sleep, even though the room was comfortably cool and quiet; we were just too excited. After breakfast, we took a stroll along the beach/lake, then into the main part of town to browse the shops and sights. Dropped by Caesar's, where the gigs were taking place to pick up my comp tickets and passes. A guy who had won radio tickets came up to me and asked me to be his 'date' for the TFF show as he had an extra ticket. Nice gesture (as he had no idea that I was the TFF fans webmaster), and I hope he found someone to take. Even without wearing my VIP pass or any identification, a number of people seemed to recognize me and throughout the trip, I was being approached by fans. It was really surprising to be stopped so often, and most of the fans were very nice (Hello to Lucinda and her companion, Roger, who came from the UK!) Even waitresses at Caesar's were asking me to take their "Hurting" albums back to get signed. A couple of people I didn't know became a bit pushy, asking me to get the boy's autographs for them or to get them backstage, but that tends to come with the territory. While waiting at Caesar's for the tickets, we ran into the group of the lovely ladies who were there for the fan gathering. It was nice to see everyone had arrived safely and were in high spirits. We headed back to the hotel, and I spoke with Roland on the phone. He had also arrived on Thursday, courtesy of the tour bus (16 hours from Seattle). He asked if I wanted to get together for lunch on Saturday, so I was looking forward to that. As there wasn't an opening act, sound check was scheduled for 6 pm, the same time as the fan dinner, so I knew we would be about an hour late meeting the ladies at Cabo Wabo. Fortunately, when we arrived for sound check, we ran into the group again at the ticket reception area so we could let them know we'd be late. Sound check went smoothly, except the entire power in the casino kept going on and off, which was quite weird. The band was worried that if it happened during the show, it would take 5-10 minutes to reset the equipment. Fortunately, there were no power outages during the actual show (although Roland was prepared for that in case a few women down front jumped the stage and tried to grope him in the darkness. He said he had no problem with that. ;-) It was great to see the band/crew again; Gungi, Gruno (with his drinks/snacks at the ready), Nick, Doug, Charlton, Amy, Curt, and of course, Mr. O. Roland had a nagging headache from the high altitude of Tahoe, but a couple of Tylenol from my purse (along with the suggestion to drink a half bottle of wine if he wanted a nice little buzz) helped <g>. If the pills hadn't worked, Susan was willing to give him a full examination (she is, after all, a doctor ;-). Knowing that the ladies who had flown in (some of who had attending multiple concerts and had been die-hard fans for years) would love the opportunity to say "hello" to Roland personally, I took the plunge and asked him if he'd be willing to meet with them for a few minutes. He kindly agreed to bring them backstage after the first night gig, and I was very happy that he extended this wonderful courtesy. Thanks so much Roland, you know how much they enjoyed it :-). The dinner at Cabo Wabo was fun, and afterwards, we all walked back to Caesar's for the gig. The show was great, especially with the new set list. I melted when Roland played, "I Believe" (sung with the amazing Amy Keys), as that had been my favorite song choice after hearing Roland play it backstage in L.A. :-). Halfway through the show, I couldn't stay seated in my chair a moment longer, and danced the rest of the night, not caring if anyone behind me yelled 'sit down'! (They didn't.) The funniest moment was when Roland flubbed a line in a song, and shouted, "F**k'! It was priceless. When the show was over, the ladies met me at the backstage door, and Gruno took them up to the green-rooms. There were two rooms, kinda a 'Curt' area and 'Roland' area (similar to the setup in L.A.). Roland was in fine form (no doubt inspired by the by the ladies and their happy faces), and he was wickedly funny. Things backstage wrapped up around 1:00 am, so Susan and I headed to the main Caesar's bar where the ladies were waiting. But since she was flying back home at 5:00 am, Susan had go back to the hotel to try and grab some sleep, while I hung out for a few more hours chatting and having fun. But when I got back to the hotel at 3:00 am, she hadn't been able to sleep at all, so we talked for an hour, then she packed up and was off for home. I wish she had been able to stay longer, but it was great she could come at all :-). |
 Fan dinner at Cabo Wabo From right side: Susan, April, Ronda, Amber, Phyllis, M_E, Angie, LisaT, KMK  Caesar's - Tahoe (94 degrees in the shade)  Backstage: Amy Keys, KMK, Marion (TFF manager) (basking in post-gig afterglow)  Roland and Susan  Glad I didn't wear high heels this time around!  Your story or mine? Meet you at the van down by the river... ;-) |
| Saturday, July 30th, 2005 Slept till 9 am, so I managed to get a few hours sleep. Talked with Roland on the phone, and we decided to do something a little special for lunch. Met him at 1 pm at Caesar's, and we took the Gondola in the center to town to the top of the mountain. The ride was incredible - picture perfect day. At the top was an observation deck with fantastic views of Lake Tahoe, and further up the mountain, was a outdoor bar and grill. I think we were 8 thousand high, and the temperature was decidedly cooler by at least 20 degrees. Roland's watch has an altitude setting, so it was cool to see it monitor our progress up the mountain. We had a lovely lunch, which included the appearance of a bold little visitor that was looking for handouts. Roland wasn't quite sure what it was <g>, and I wondered if Mr. Chipmonk might run up his pant leg like in a Monty Python skit. Just as we were finishing eating, four fans who had attended the show the previous night came over with a couple of beers for us; they were very nice, just wanted to say 'thanks' and 'hello'. One of the highlights (there were so many!) was that I was gifted with the 'holy relic' of the tour - Roland's sailor jacket. I am now the proud owner, and it is in good keeping :-). After lunch, I returned to the hotel, and grabbed a short nap, then met the ladies at the Hard Rock for dinner. Afterwards, we hung out in Ronda's room (with the weird plumbing problem - lol!) then we were off to the gig. I went backstage before the show and gave Roland some CDs that I had brought for him, including a number of DVDs that I had dubbed for him of all the TFF interviews and TV performances I had, starting from 1983 - around 10-12 hours of TFF in all their glory :-). Roland took some pixs for me, but he wasn't impressed with the digital camera I had brought (3.1 megapixels, but three years old now), so he offered to buy me a new one for my Birthday (sweet!). But instead I asked for something else that he had promised a while back - to do my astrological chart (as soon as I find out time of birth, I'll send the info along...;-) Just before the gig started, I joined the ladies at a table right at the front of the stage, Roland standing only a few feet away. Best seats in the house. We were on our feet dancing, singing, and cheering the entire night. Just behind us, a really drunk woman kept shouting out the most bizarre things; Roland finally quipped - "I shouldn't take my Mum to these concerts!" He had the audience in stitches.Then he started talking about how he "loves HAIRY women". We were all rolling on the floor! Gruno, who must have been hyped-up on goof-balls <g>, glued Curt's spare guitar picks down on the riser so he couldn't pick them up when he needed one, then Mr. G starting flinging elastics at the band - dozens of them were whipping around the stage, followed shortly after by a volley of orange Ping-Pong balls! Not good enough, Gruno ran out and covered Doug's seat with whipped cream. Still not good enough, Gruno appeared beside Nick in a Darth Vader mask and began beating the drums. It was a wild night; we didn't know what craziness would happen next. Some women sitting at the front tables further down from us keep pushing notes on stage for the guys to read, which they would - laughing and rolling their eyes in response. Gruno, who had stocked the stage with "Dr. Pepper", which Curt hates, started serving them to the women out front, with a white towel drapped over his arm like a French waiter. And of course, I must not forget how Roland boogied around the stage at one point (Floating Down The River), complete with kung-fu kick, pogoing, and some 'shake-dat-boody' dance moves thrown in for good measure. Nice! The set list, as I remember was: Call Me Mellow Who You Are Seeds of Love ELAHE God's Mistake Head over Heels Pale Shelter Floating Down The River Mothers' Talk I Believe Blower's Daughter (Can't Take My Eyes Off You) **Damien Rice song Mad World Quiet Ones Break It Down Again EWTRTW Ziggy Stardust (sung by Nick!) Woman in Chains Shout Suffice to say, both of the gigs were fab, and it was so wonderful to see the kids get up on stage and sing "Shout" with Amy. One couldn't help thinking of the original "Shout" video shot so long ago, and seeing another generation carry on the tradition was brilliant. After the show, I headed backstage. Roland signed the 'sailor jacket", and everyone had fun hanging out and chatting. It was both a happy and sad occasion, being the end of the tour and all. Roland said he and the family were packing up and flying back to England in a week, although they intend to keep their L.A. home. But he did promise to write up a new diary entry as a wrap-up for the tour, so stay tuned for his take on the Tahoe weekend... ;-). Finally, Roland said his good-byes and thanked everyone, and said he was heading back to the room to read my message board ;-). He's been cryptically active on it lately and is having far too much fun. Not sure if I should call you 'Double-O Ro' or 'Lord Laudanum Luddrick' ;-). Not wanting to end the night, Nick, Amy, and Gruno and the ladies finished off the night at a bar with live music in Ceasar's, where we drank and danced. I shared the jacket with the ladies who wanted to have their pixs taken in it, or who wanted to just fondle it. Most did both ;-). By 3:00 am, it was time for me to head back to my hotel, get some sleep, and catch the morning shuttle (which I took with the lovely Lisa T. to the Reno airport). Sunday, July 31st, 2005 Took me 13 hours to get home, but it was well worth it for this fabulous trip! Thanks to everyone; the funtastic ladies I had an opportunity to meet and get to know in person, all the great guys on road crew, the entire band, management, Curt and family, and especially Roland. Love ya! Cheers, KMK~ |
 view from the observation deck over looking Lake Tahoe  incredible scenery  What a breath-taking view! (And the lake is nice too... ;-)  I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille...  Furry little rodent alert at 3 o'clock!  backstage - 2nd night  autographing the 'holy relic'...  Now, where do I write, "Thanks for the (censored!)..." lol!  KMK and Nick  KMK and Amber  Hanging out after the 2nd night gig Left to right: Amber, Phyllis, Amy Keys, KMK, M_E, April, Lisa (wake me up when things get started...) |