From Sandy Palms to Snowy Peaks
May 2022

Steve in LA sunshine
Photo © Jo Hackett

Mountain road, Oregon
Photo © Jo Hackett

Following an enjoyable Minneapolis show, we flew to Denver.

It's an exciting drive from Denver to Boulder, approaching those impressive mountains rising up directly behind the town. Boulder is such a beautiful place too, replete with stores full of exotic artefacts from places like Tibet and Morocco, the tea house from Tajikistan, a wealth of local arts and crafts along with street music and theatre. The gig there was a joy in front of such a happy and appreciative crowd.

On to Phoenix, we enjoyed another fabulous crowd and again the band rose to the occasion with brilliant performances. Travelling by road from Phoenix to LA, Jo and I marvelled as always to the wild wonder of the Arizona desert.

LA was as vibey as ever, and the two shows there felt like taking a rocket to Mars! Exceptional crowds in the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre and the band were incendiary... Again, it was great to take the road from LA to Oakland. Those mountains before reaching the valley are so scenic. We did have a moment of concern though when we drove by one of those fires, which in this case came right up to the road. As I wrote in my Scorched Earth song, "fingers of flame across the land..." It's pretty terrifying to actually witness it.

The gig at the exquisite Fox Theatre, Oakland was a great success, and we enjoyed the Sacramento show too.

We had amazing views from the flight to Portland... one snowy peak after another... Jo and I joined a couple of pals to drive up one of those volcano mountains, Mount Hood as far as Timberline Lodge, where the film The Shining was filmed. The Lodge looks huge and remote in the midst of the snow. But inside it welcomes you in, with its huge fires, massive stone chimneys and old wooden beams. Jack was probably hiding in the roof...

Both the Portland and Seattle shows had a fabulous vibe and the band were totally on fire! We were thrilled that the tour ended on such a high note... My thanks to all the team and to Entourage Talent for making this wonderful tour possible.

Jo and I spent a couple of days in Seattle with friends before returning home. It was special to return to wonderful lakeside Ivar's restaurant in the style of a Native American longhouse, and to visit the amazingly picturesque spot where Twin Peaks was filmed.

Now flying back to the UK with many memories of a particularly special tour...