ZZ Top: That lil old band from Texas (Netflix)

[Drunk Monk]

mountain winery shows make me somewhat sad. It’s a career sunset, like playing residency show in Vegas or (in the other side of the spectrum) playing a county fair.

I feel ya there, but at the same time, I've seen some great MW shows. It was a RM venue for a long time, and during the succession of supervisors, many were close friends who would give me carte blanche if I showed, but I seldom took advantage of it and regret that now. 

Nevertheless, I saw Roy Orbison there long before the remodel. It was a beautiful sunny day and we caught him as he was entering back stage. We waved and he waved back with a great big smile. It was just me and my buddy who came with me. We felt graced. And oh man. That range. Roy's voice was divine. His high notes were angelic.

I also saw Lou Reed there. I saw Lou many times, ate with him a few times, and he often got us backstage. For that MW show, he arranged a box for G2, her husband Thomas (their home is in Saratoga, one road from the one you take for MW), Stacy and me. Stacy seldom attends work things like this, but it was Lou. The box fridge was stocked with wine. Lou gave G2 a shout out from stage and she and Thomas were like 'that's nice' while Stacy and I were like 'Muthafeckin Lou Reed just shouted you out from stage! Do you know what an honor that is?' They didn't. I don't think they really enjoyed the show. Thomas and I drank all that liquor tho, which was good bonding with the boss. And Lou delivered a searing version of Ecstasy that brought down the house. Even he knew it was beyond the pale. He commented something about how it showed how to rule rock and roll with three chords.

I think my last interaction with the winery was after that suicide where some dude climbed the lights and jumped to his death about a decade ago. I was called in to do some post trauma counseling for staff. All the RMers who were there were seasoned and had seen death before, so it was a simple task. RM doesn't really do that anymore.