Blog of Trip to L.A. to see Heart perform Dreamboat Annie Live – Posted April 20, 2007 11:04 PM  

Note: As usual this is a very long and very detailed review of not just the Heart concert but the trip in general. If you’re looking for just a review of the concert – you have come to the wrong post.

So this is the world and there are at least 3000 Mongers in it. When I was a kid, there was one. It’s hard to keep up.

Ok, I couldn’t get Tom Cruise for this narrative so you’ll have to settle for me.

When the Heart camp officially announced the date Heart would be performing Dreamboat Annie, start to finish and it would be filmed for release, I knew there was no way I could go. First of all, the announcement came with such short notice and I’m currently not able to get overtime at work and Mary was in the middle of switching jobs. I knew there was no way I could afford it. I mean that was assuming I would even get picked. But even if they “invited” me and I could figure out the finances, doing a repeat of my Greyhound Bus trip I did for the dress rehearsal in L.A. for the Jupiter’s Darling tour wasn’t an option, as I knew I couldn’t get enough time off from work.

Then there was the whole flying thing. There was no way I would get on a plane. Period. I don’t like to fly. I didn’t like to fly before 9-11 and it’s been much worse since. It’s not so much a fear of flying as it is a fear of crashing. It’s a control thing, really. I’m not much different when it comes to driving a car – just ask Boogie and Songrl, as they have witnessed it first hand. If I could fly the plane, I’m sure I’d love it. But since I’m not a pilot and the TSA tends to frown on people approaching the cockpit to make sure the pilots aren’t sleeping or worse, drinking when they should be flying, I knew there was no way the L.A. trip was going to happen. I love Ann and Nancy and Heart, but not enough to get on a plane! NO WAY. Not even for this once in a lifetime event. And that’s final!

Well, it’s now Wednesday April 18, 3:48 PM pacific time and I’m sitting on an American Airlines DC8 literally seconds away from taking off and not only did I get on the plane going to L.A. I am now on my way home, too exhausted to be nervous about the flight.

Everyone’s L.A. experience has no doubt been unique. And while there were many aspects which were shared experiences, I’m sure if you ask 10 Mongers about their trip, you will hear 10 vastly different stories. This is mine.

Aside from the whole flying thing, I would also have to contend with the sad reality that working in the travel industry has made me quite travel phobic in general. I worked two years in customer relations at Travelocity closing more than my required quota of 12 files a day dealing with nothing but complaints and stories of how people’s trips went terribly wrong. Do the math. Before the trip I was constantly double checking and re-checking and re-re-checking all the arrangements. Still fresh in my mind was the hour long phone call I took for one of our corporate customers who had been stranded in Washington D.C. and could not get home for two days due to many flight cancellations caused by Mother Nature. Finally, my friend Tim looked over at me and said, “Andrea, I think you are over thinking this trip. Everything will be fine.” Well, if Tim said it would be fine it must be true. It sounded good in theory but I was not entirely convinced and had many moments where I would let myself think the worst. I envisioned arriving into LA too late to actually make the concert, rendering the trip a waste of time and money. Fortunately, that never came to pass.

12:30 pm Tuesday, April 17th. By this time Mary and I have parked the truck and taken the shuttle to the old terminal at the San Antonio International Airport. My plan to score some valium before the flight fell victim to my usual procrastination habits. If I started to have an anxiety attack on the plane, it would be my own fault and no doubt, Mary would not be sympathetic. Mary has been teasing me for days with threats of making me sit by the window and quoting lines from the movie French Kiss where Kate is taking a course to help her with her fear of flying. We love that scene. I recorded the entire movie and downloaded it to my I-River so we could watch it during take off. I figured watching one of our favorite movies and laughing with Mary about it during take off would make it easier to relax.

Clearing security was interesting. Shoes off, jackets off… and Mary somehow managed to tie her windbreaker string into a knot which took me forever to get undone, much to the irritation of the people behind us because security refused to let them go ahead of us since our stuff was already in the x-ray machine. Still, from using the self service machine to check in, to no line at the security check points, things went much smoother than anticipated and this left us with enough time to grab a bite to eat and some tequila shots for me before boarding.

Once on the plane, oddly enough, I chose to sit by the window. I’ve flown before, but I don’t remember being this nervous about flying then. Maybe it’s because I was much younger and did all sorts of stupid things I don’t do now. I knew instinctively if I could just chill out until we reached our cruising altitude, the rest of the flight would be awesome – until it was time to land. And indeed I was correct. As the flight attendants were doing their pre flight seat belt and safety bit, I was pulling the head phones from my bag and preparing to watch the movie. Just then this rather rude voice comes over the intercom and says “Please turn off all electronic devices. If you are not sure if you have an electronic device, if it has an on and off switch, it needs to be turned off.” CRAP! No valium and no movie to distract me and only one double shot of tequila before boarding. I would have no choice but to tough it out.

And while I was feeling a bit light-headed after the double shot, the whole take-off experience is a very sobering one and by the time we were taxiing out to the runway, I could hardly tell I’d had that shot at all. This seemed to amuse Mary, as did my reaction to the fact that we were taking off during a very light mist of a rain, and thick clouds overhead. As the pilot turned the plane onto the runway and went full throttle, I felt the sensation of being at the mercy of the power behind those four engines. The faster we went the less in control I felt. I don’t know when I became such a control freak. It snuck up on me at some point in the last 20 years.

Seconds after the wheels left the ground we were into a thick cloud. This only added to my anxiety. Not being able to see when you’re already afraid of flying is not a good thing. The runway from which we took off was facing east. So at some point the pilot would have to turn the plane around and head west. Much to my horror, this happened while flying through the thick clouds. My body could feel the plane as it was banking making the turn and it did not like it because visually, I couldn’t tell we were turning. I suddenly understood how pilots could become disoriented were it not for the wonderful technology behind the instruments which guide them during flight. That thought added to my uneasy feeling. So we’re also at the mercy of electronic equipment, I thought to myself. Equipment that could fail, just because electronic equipment FAILS! I know my electronic stuff fails all the time. GULP! I need another drink! How is it possible to be more sober than sober?

It took a good 5 minutes before we were above the clouds and I could actually see anything. Once I could see the blue sky above and thick puffy cottony white clouds below, I slowly began to relax.

Within minutes the seatbelt sign went off and we were told we could now use everything but cell phones. We began watching French Kiss, but we were in the mood for Heart and switched to the Soundstage show because like a dumb ass, I forgot to load any Heart songs on my I-River.

During the week before the trip, I had asked Mary several times if she was excited yet. The answer was always no. She had so much going on that had to be dealt with before the trip. Additionally, there were so many obstacles we had to overcome to make the trip. Even though the tickets were already paid for a few weeks before, I don’t think we really knew for sure that we could make it until Friday. I don’t think Mary ever let herself believe it was really going to happen until we were wheels up! And even then, the excitement level was minimal. “I’m getting there,” she said calmly when I asked her on the plane. I’ve never understood how she contains it. Once we are in the moment, and the stage lights are shining on Heart, she is transformed. But before show time, she always seems rather nonchalant about the whole thing.

Listening to Heart at 36,000 feet above some of the most desolate geographical images I have ever seen was oddly peaceful and I seemed to forget all the negative aspects of flying. I was intrigued by geometrical shapes across the country side which brought to mind crop circles and aliens. I couldn’t tell when Texas ended and New Mexico began. I was pretty sure I knew we were out of Texas about half way through the 3+ hour flight when the terrain started looking more like a desert. I found myself wishing I knew exactly where we were flying so I could go back and visit those places on the ground. Yes, I actually enjoyed this part of the flight.

But when it was time to prepare for landing and the plane started to slowly descend, that peaceful serene feeling I managed to achieve during the flight stayed up at 36,000 feet. The plane hit some turbulence. It wasn’t too bad. But it suddenly made me aware again that I was in a plane! What I hated most was the feeling of the plane being that high up and being able to actually tell it was slowing down. I’m a logical person and while I may not know a lot about physics, I know physics should explain why something that big can fly. Still, I can’t help but look at planes in the air and think those do not belong up there. Birds do. Planes don’t.

I understand the laws of gravity – worse the feeling of gravity. I also understand statistics and when things go wrong on a flight it’s usually during take-off or landing. I find it odd that I didn’t think about that during take-off. I was too busy telling Mary, “I can’t see! I don’t like to not be able to see.” Still, landing was not my favorite part of the trip so far. The feeling was worse than taking off. And when the wheels touched the ground I was never so relieved about anything in my life.

LA! We made it.

By the time we landed, got the car, and checked in to the hotel, it was already 3:30. Mongers would already be at the Broadway Bar partying without us. The excitement was starting to show on Mary’s face. But we were too busy dealing with L.A. traffic to discuss it. After getting to the downtown area and passing what would have been great parking for the Orpheum and Broadway bar, I managed to ignore a sign that said “No Right Turn Between 3 and 6” and turned right. We were waved to the side by a Los Angeles police officer who seemed oblivious to the importance of the event and unsympathetic to this obviously lost Texan. His only reason for being there was apparently to catch dorks like me. He took forever to write the damn ticket but gave me great directions on how to get back to the parking for the Orpheum. Thank you very much officer. Mary and I had a good laugh at my bad luck. But we ultimately found parking right next door. A quick smoke and into Broadway Bar we went.

When I wear my Heart Monger tee-shirt to work, there’s always someone who asks about it. “What’s a Heart Monger?” The simple answer is a Heart Monger is a fan of the rock band Heart. But the truth is much more complex than that. And though many have contributed to a humorous thread about it (You Might Be a Monger) I am not sure there is any way to capture the essence of what it really means to be a Heart Monger. Obviously, those of us who moved mountains to go to this show, are dedicated Heart Mongers. But it doesn’t make us more hard core than those who could not go, who had the grace to wish us well and patiently wait for the stories to be told so they could experience it vicariously through us. My heart ached for those not able to attend, as I have been in those shoes. And this is the 2nd exclusive event I have been fortunate enough to attend. But for now, I would focus on those who could make it.

I’m not sure L.A. was prepared to have so many Mongers in one place. Hell, I wasn’t prepared. It was an overwhelming and surreal experience to see people you’ve never met, be introduced and exchange your real name, and have no clue until the screen name is provided, and then you realize you really enjoy them on the board. I am horrible with names. Faces are always easier to remember. Add to that trying to match the real name to the screen name and now to faces I had never seen before. OH MY GOD! My head was spinning. So here is a list of everyone I can think of off the top of my head. And please, if I leave you off the list, don’t be offended. There were a lot of Mongers that night.

Magic Man – oh that hug felt good after so long, my friend. (already met)
Boogie (already met)
John – J-River (already met and can’t possibly ever get tired of seeing him)
Christy – Groove in the Heart (already met and thankfully will see again)
Missing in action was Keltikio – and Kel without Christy is about as strange as Ann without Nance
Lee Ann – Magicfan (girl, had we met before? If not, I sure knew you)
David (what a sweetheart – a dream)
Nicole or is it Nichole (already met)
Diane – Hobno – (already met)
Diane – Songrl – already met)
Sara – Ovation Girl – (already met)
Gracie and Chewie (already met many times – I just love you guys)
Billy (mycrazyhead and the most amazingly sweet and funny person – already met)
Paula – (Connie – hasn’t EVERYONE met her? she may as well work for Heart )
Bryan – who I saw first and knew Paula had to be somewhere around
Drew – Calboy! No one does a better Nancy Wilson dance and kick like he does – except Nancy.
Tom – he was one I knew from his face but couldn’t place his real name or screen name ? met
in Vegas in 2003.
Illusive Woman and Mac Dawg – (already met but haven’t seen since Vegas in 03.)
Francie and her friend John (first meeting)
Harley (already met) and Lonnie
Kentuckygirl (already met)
Lost Angel – (I can’t remember if we met or not before)
Gypsy Queen (already met)
Jill (first meeting – Mary adored you and your story of meeting Ann and Nancy. You need to post
that.)
Susan (annbrosia – first meeting. I’m fond of my screen name and arrogantly I think it’s the best
screen name on the board but Annbrosia is a close second.)
Seattleboy – I don’t think we had met before. But I knew you! I have always known you and you
are just the best! Always a race to see if I can find the CC and NW pictures before he posts them. It’s a friendly competition and the board is better for it.
IBrian (first meeting – dude we WILL write a song together! I feel one coming on now)
Shirean (first meeting – your Website RULES!)
Carla (first meeting – hope it won’t be the last)

And while meeting many mongers for the first time was a treat, there was one meeting I had been waiting for 11 years. Back when I first got online and Heart first had their website up, there were a handful of Mongers that I became exceptionally close to. We clicked right away. There were 5 of us in our little click and we even had a collective name for ourselves. Sort of like Connie is Ann, Nancy and Sue. We were the GGs. There is meaning behind that, but I will keep that between us. Previously, I had only met 2 of the other 4 GGs. Root first, as he’s from Texas and is the closest. I was able to finally meet Harley at the L.A. dress rehearsal. And on this night it would be 1 down and 1 to go. I was able to cross Swimfishie off the list. It was long over due and it was great to stand there with Harley and Fishie in the same room. I’m not sure that will ever happen again. But seeing them made me miss Root and Lizzz even more. And Lizzz, being the last one on the list is also the one I fear I will never meet for she lives in the Netherlands. We carried them in our Hearts, as we always do.

Show time was fast approaching and I still had my camera and cell phone on me. After a quick trip to the car and one more cigarette, we lined up with other Mongers to get our tickets. This would be the only time I would see Motley Sue. She was so busy and was not able to join us at the Broadway Bar. After getting our tickets I made her take 1 minute for a hug and hello and promises of tequila shots in the future. You still rock my world woman.

The drinks I had at the bar were kicking in and I was glad we arrived with enough time for me to find a bathroom – twice. It’s not a good idea to drink a lot before you’re going to watch Heart. The relief was greatly appreciated, which I’m sure is more information than anyone wanted.

We ran into Ron (rockmeheartless) and his family in the lobby. They were at the Vegas show in 2003 and were just as sweet as could be. He doesn’t post much but I can attest to the fact that he is a hard core fan, and he’s raising two kids (oh my god they’ve grown) who like Heart as well.

Finally, the doors were opened and they allowed everyone in. At this point, walking towards our seat, Mary grabbed my arm and dug her nails in. “I’m excited now,” she announced as I watched the transformation complete its cycle and the pain of her nails in my arm accentuated the moment. Yes, she was excited, as I knew she would be.

Our seats were incredible: row B (2nd row) just to the right of Ann and right in front of Craig. Rumor had it that your seats were determined by the essay entry order. The sooner you sent your essay, the better your seats. So far, I had the best seats of anyone I spoke with. And I admit I felt a bit guilty about that; until I saw Paula. She had front row, as usual. I told her jokingly that I was pissed at her. This would be the best chance of my ever getting better seats than her at a Heart concert and she still managed to get her essay in before me. Dammit! We shared a good laugh over that and it was all out of love. She’s been to so many shows and has earned her place in the front row. Much love to you Paula.

We sat right next to Susan on Mary’s left and Carla and Shirean on my right. What a great bunch of people to be next to during this amazing event. I immediately spotted Gilby Clark in one of the box seats up on the right – and right next to his group was Rosanna Arquette. Over on the left box seats were the members of Alice in Chains. It was good seeing Mike, and I hoped that he might get up and join the band at some point, but that would not come to pass. I heard rumors that the Bangles were somewhere behind us. At that moment, I felt the full affects of this love and appreciation I have for Motley Sue and Magic Man for always taking such great care of the fans. Being a Monger means something! I felt important.

Unfortunately, I was feeling quite thirsty and I needed some water. Susan and I braved a trip to the beverage area. While I was getting 6 bottles of water other mongers had requested, they started flashing the lobby lights – meaning SHOW TIME! We rushed back in right in the nick of time.

The producer of the show grabbed a mic and introduced himself and explained that Direct TV was going to do a series of concerts, Classic Albums Live and Heart would be the first artist featured. This show would be airing starting Mothers Day. He saw many empty seats and instructed everyone to move into those seats. It would look better on camera if those seats were filled and those people who weren’t there should have been in their seats. This wasn’t good for a certain monger who had front row and wound up way at the back. But to his credit, when I talked to him later, he didn’t make that big of a deal about it.

The producer teased us and told us that not only would we hear all of the songs from Dreamboat Annie, but we would hear something from Ann’s solo album – the crowd let out a deafening roar of appreciation at that thought. We would also hear Led Zeppelin. “We love Led Zeppelin, right?” Again, the crowd was in a frenzy. “But not like we love Heart!” Even louder now – and at this point, all I could hear was my own screaming!

“Hot Smoke and Sassafras” began playing and when the band took the stage, the crowd went wild. I swear it was like an out of body experience. The ladies looked stunning, as usual. And seeing the band was like welcoming back old friends. I was very happy to see Darian again.

Ann’s voice was flawless. She was in top form and perhaps gave one of the best performances I have ever seen. Nancy did an “oops” at the start of Crazy on You and Soul of the Sea. But, she started over and never missed a beat after that. I love this very human aspect of Nancy. Sometimes I need to see that to remind myself she’s of this world. And I am pleased to report, we did get the kick, and it was a crowd pleasing moment to be sure.

They stayed pretty true to the album versions of all the songs except for Sing Child. They used the string section quite a bit where one of the guitars would be and added Nancy on claves and featured her on a blues harp solo after Craig’s lead. That was sweet. I love this version. They also featured two additional singers which added depth to the harmonies throughout the evening. When they played White Lightning I was struck with a thought which would remind my why hindsight is always 20/20. Wouldn’t it have been cool if all the mongers showed up with cowbells! Damn it, I wish I had thought of that before. The Mongers I would share this thought with later agreed. Ann did an amazing job on all the flute parts, althouh I don’t believe she stuck with the original flute parts. Still, as usual, she nailed it!

I’m not sure there are enough words to really convey how truly amazing Ann was on every song they did. And while I am quite the Nancy fan, being so far away from Nancy left me with time to really concentrate on Ann’s performance. And it was flawless. She sang with so much emotion and energy and with every wave of appreciation that resonated from the audience, she only got better, as if that is even possible. AFW is indeed the Queen!

When they finished the Dreamboat Annie songs, they played the Pink Floyd song Goodbye Blue Sky which I believe Ann is covering on her solo album. Again, perfection personified.

The biggest treat for me, however, was when Nancy started playing the opening notes to Mistral Wind. I looked back at Boogie and our looks to each other said it all. We were in jaw-dropping awe! We were lucky to be in this place, with all these other Mongers hearing Dreamboat Annie played in its entirety. Anything above and beyond that was a gift beyond anything we could have hoped for. When I turned back around, Craig was looking right at me, and I said “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” And with each thank you, the smile on his face grew larger and warmer and he gave a nod back at me which seemed to say, “You are quite welcome Ms. Tralwind.”

Ok, so is it too much to hope that they knew I’d be there and they played this song with me in mind? Ah, if only that were true. Regardless, this song means so much to me and to Mary and we were overcome with joy. She gets emotional when she hears Ann sing Mistral Wind and when I looked over at her during the song, it was written all over her lovely face.

For me, when I hear Mistral Wind, I am reminded of everything I love about Heart. This night would be particularly sweet because it was a complete surprise to hear it. It was the highlight of the trip and if I had only gotten to see and hear them perform Mistral Wind it was worth every bit of the money and anxiety over the flights. It was perfect and again, Ann was just amazing.

As with any Heart experience, it was over way too soon. The producer gave a shout out to the Heart fan club, thanking us for coming so far to be at the show. Time flew by so fast. And I was totally exhausted by the time the concert was over. I had yelled my fool head off the entire night, and I was just wasted by the end of it all. Mary and I looked at each other and no words were required. It was the look of two people who have been together for a very long time and knew what each other was thinking and feeling. Later, she thanked me for bringing her and I couldn’t imagine being there without her so I thanked her back.

We headed back to Broadway Bar after the show. Everyone’s reactions were pretty much the same. We were amazed. We were on cloud 9. The entire experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. And as much as I wish I had been able to stick around longer, it was time to head back to the hotel and get some rest. Our bodies were still on central time and though it was early in LA, it had been a full and draining day.

We said our goodbyes and headed back and dreaded the trip home, where post Heart-um depression always awaits after any Heart show.

I had every intention of trying to go to the beach at some point before our flight was to leave on Wednesday. LAX is right near the water, and we were staying just a mile away from the airport. I didn’t think it would be that difficult to do. Unfortunately, due to some crappy preparation and terrible directions from the hotel people, this was not to be. After lunch at Chili’s and a huge margarita and tequila shot, I was ready to tackle the return flight home. During takeoff, there was a couple with their child sitting behind us. The kid was probably about 3 years old. As we were taking off, she kept saying, “No crash. No crash. No crash.” Gee, thanks kid. And I was feeling so relaxed UNTIL NOW!

We did take off over the beach, so at least I got to see it. Although Mary very cruelly reminded me that in the event the plane wound up in the water, the seat cushion could also be used as a flotation device. Thanks Hon.

We landed in San Antonio 2-1/2 hours later – the flight being uneventful. Thank GOD!

I want to thank Magic Man and Motley Sue for all that they did to make this happen. You guys work so hard and take such good care of us. And I want to thank Ann and Nancy and the band. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and it wouldn’t have been possible were it not for you guys.

And one more note of thanks to everyone who was so welcoming to Mary. She can be a bit shy, but everyone was so warm and friendly and you guys made her feel like one of us – which she really is even though she doesn’t post.

Take Heart, see you guys in Vegas Bebe!

Andrea