June 4, 2014
Destination: Canyon Club, Agoura
Cost: $55.00 plus gas (add $11.50 for cocktail, including tip)
It was 1970 and I was in my first year of high school. Like most nights, I was
listening to KABC-FM – “Stereo 95 and a half” as the jingle said. This station
was the pre-curser to LA’s powerhouse 95.5 KLOS. Jim Ladd was the DJ. My Dad was an audiophile
and we had the biggest, baddest stereo in the neighborhood.
A song came on, starting with a frenzy of twelve-string
strums. I was struck by the lyrics. “Why do we never get an answer, when we’re
knocking at the door, with a thousand million questions about hate and death
and war.” Then the song morphed into a
lyrical ballad.
And that voice – there was something about it, something almost
harsh and foreboding, but a voice that seemed truthful. So began my love
affair with Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues – forty-plus years and going
strong.
Tonight he played a show without his Moody brethren at the
Canyon Club in Agoura. Now nearing 70, his voice is still strong and resonant
and I was flooded with memories from the years I wore out the grooves on my
Moodies records. I saw them for the first time at the Fabulous Forum in 1972. I
was up in the rafters where the clouds of reefer smoke gathered. Tonight the
sedate audience of retirees ate prime rib and drank pinot noir, while I stood along
the perimeter dancing and swaying.
I’m so grateful that The Canyon Club is hosting a wide range
of music within easy reach of the Valley. The venue is a perfect size, there’s
rarely traffic getting out there and parking is free. I’ve had a few mishaps
with the box office, but all is forgiven when I can enjoy a musician of Justin
Hayward’s stature in an intimate venue within a fifteen minute
drive from my home.
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