For beautiful skies from around the world
Our dear friends invited us to join them for a trip to Quincy, WA and a concert at the Gorge Amphitheater this past Sunday. How could we not go? I love the music of Van Morrison and had never seen him in a live performance.
We left early Sunday morning and enjoyed every bit of the long drive north and along the phenomenally beautiful Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. A six o'clock p.m. performance left little time for photo ops, so I took advantage of what I could while riding.
Once we crossed the Columbia River and headed north into central Washington, the landscape began to change _ mountains and miles of rugged and arid wilderness, and like soldiers with flailing arms these stood as sentries atop the hillside.
As we approached our destination, the terrain changed again.
We arrived in plenty of time to check-in to our hotel ($165 US dollars), drive to the outdoor theater still 45 miles away and be at the gate by 4 pm (opening time) for a 6 pm performance... well, supposedly. We parked in VIP parking ($58 US) in order to exit more easily (not really), and we selected lawn seating ($50 each) so we could have a picnic prior to the main performance. After standing in a long line in the hot afternoon sun for 30-40 minutes, we were finally permitted to enter... but first we had to go through security.
Rules and regulations: No professional cameras (SLR or detachable lenses), digital cameras OK; no lounge and elevated chairs; factory sealed water bottles of normal size; food in clear plastic gallon bags allowed; no hard-shelled coolers; no beer or wine... oh, but you can smoke! As for the price of concessions, we were pleased we brought snacks, our water and dinner; although we did pay for a glass of wine. ouch!
Once the gate was opened, we passed through and stood in line again awaiting to be searched, belongings and a personal touch. Repeatedly the attendants were telling everyone, "You can have NO cameras or camera phones, and if one person photographs him (Van Morrison), he will walk off the stage. Really? One of the ladies even went so far as to say Van Morrison was shy and that was why he didn't want to have himself photographed, and to which I may have retorted to our friends... if we looked up hubris in the dictionary there would be a picture of Barack Obama, Bill O' Reilly, and Van Morrison.
I didn't bring my camera to photograph a 65-year-old overweight performer (whose music I love), but, as we are at one of the most beautiful spots on earth, I brought it so I could capture a piece of the phenomenal scenery. P.S. Alright, I will admit to not following the rules (this time); my camera was in the bottom of my bag and overlooked by the staff member and the photo was taken prior to any performers being on stage... so throw me out. They did make some folks take cameras back to their vehicles.
Look at this phenomenal place! And from where we sat my old eyes couldn't discern who or what was on the stage, but that did not deter from the complete enjoyment of the concert.
Around 7:30 pm, a helicopter flew in from the northeast and landed at the top of the hill behind us; subsequently a black car appeared below and pulled in behind the motor coach seen in the center of the photo. A man eventually emerged from the car carrying clothing; we waited and finally the black-suited Van the Man who was sporting dark sunglasses and a black fedora, joined his black-suited band members. Without a spoken word he immediately began to sing.
One song after another... wonderful... better than expected and with new arrangements of familiar songs to include his first major hit from 1967, Brown Eyed Girl... and the crowd cheered with excitement! I was hoping to hear two of my favourites, Moondance and Into The Mystic and sure enough they were sung loud and clear; the former had a new arrangement (I preferred the original) and the latter warmed my soul as I listened to the sax echo And when that fog horn blows... a far better arrangement than the original.
One of our friends aptly described Morrison's singing in prior performances as sounding as if he has a mouth full of marbles. (good description) As for Sunday night, his voice remains strong and amazingly clear. Many of the crowd were singing along, on their feet and dancing, (I danced sitting down); all were inspired and enthusiastic to being there listening to this genius. We enjoyed a wonderful mix of older songs, rock, jazz, a little R & B and with a group of amazing and talented musicians, from violinist, pianist, guitarist, sax... And I was quite surprised at how many much younger people were there outside our age group.
Toward the end of the evening, folks were using their phones to take photos and there were occasional flashes of light. My camera zoomed in to this extent and with no flash I was able to capture a few photos.
G–L–O–R–I–A roused the audience. Toward the end of the song the lights were flashing on stage and Van Morrison turned and simply walked off and into his waiting car without even a thank you to the audience, while his band continued to play. Interesting is that there was no acknowledgment of these extraordinary members of his band. He came on stage, sang and left! which had many looking at one another in amazement.
Summary: it was a rather expensive affair; we were a bit dismayed at what seemed to be arrogance on the part of this man; but despite that, it was a terrific concert from one of my favourite artists in this beautiful open air arena amidst this amazing Columbia Rilver Gorge; we were relaxed, entertained, and especially so, it was better than expected and enjoyed with our wonderful and dear friends.
Monday return trip: more views of Windy Point/Windy Flats Renewable Energy Farm in Washington... our federal stimulus money supplied to a CA company for California energy...
Notice the steps at the lower bottom left as to the scale of these and
you should hear the whoosh-ing sound they make.
Mt. Hood as seen across from the Wind Farm...
(enlarge to view the scale of the farm houses in the distance)
(enlarge to view the scale of the farm houses in the distance)
... a stop at Maryhill Winery, 2009 "Washington Winery of the Year",
(of course we bought some... hubby and I on the left)
a view of the Columbia River from the Washington side,
Mt. Hood and a beautiful trip home
Mt. Hood and a beautiful trip home
