Purple Rain in Reno

It's been a wonderful first week of this US tour. So nice to be be met at Reno airport by Tim with a gorgeous bunch of lillies. I love all flowers, but lillies to me are so divine. Full of mystery and the scent of night. After a full day of travel, the flight from San Francisco to Reno was worth the effort. Gorgeous snow capped mountains and a clear view of Lake Tahoe. We stayed a couple of nights in a lavish spa room at the Peppermill Casino, and, after a sweet house concert on the Tuesday night, arrived back at the hotel, wonderfully overdressed and looking for fun. We found it in the form of the house band, called Patent Leatha. They were great, and Tim and I felt very special when they dedicated an incredible version of Purple Rain to us. I'm a Prince fan from way back. I also liked the name of the band, which honours the Australian unwillingness to pronounce the letter R at the end of words.

From Reno we made our way south, following the Eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Yes I know it's winter, but I wasn't really expecting to see snow on the west coast, so this was a great surprise. Truly beautiful and epic snow covered mountians and a  blue sky of bright contrast. We moved through open snow covered plains, and then pine forests. Always these crumpled mountians in view. The air was so crisp and cold and uplifting. I could feel  a wave of true joy and hope return to me after the exhaustion of a way too heavy schedule.

On Thursday we crossed the magnificent Death Valley to reach Las Vegas. Endless folds of mountain and valley. Bare canyons or tumbled rock. The Wild West! Broad expanses fo nothingness, filled with hidden secrets. An alien landscape of extremes. Thankfully it was mild, and a beautiful drive. I'm not sure I'd want to brave it in summer, when it becomes one of the hottest places on Earth. Whatever the case, though, I'll definitely be back to explore more of this incredible land.

From Vegas we did a crazy day of driving to San Deigo, then straight to a gig. We were pretty exhausted when we arrived, so were thrilled to discover a wonderful audience waiting for us. The concert was in a witchcraft shop called Tree of Life, and was filled with the most wondeful, giving people. A sweet little baby almost stole the show. The happiest little thing. She sat down at my feet when I was opening the circle at the end, laughing and smiling. Very cute.

Now we're in LA after a couple of lovely shows for the Goddess Temples in the area. On saturday night we performed in Passadena, and had a great support band called Silverphial. They did an awesome version of Xanadu! Then on Sunday we played at the Goddess Temple of Orange County. This is a most precious space. Deeply sacred and beautiful. I felt honoured to share my energy in the temple, and even more honoured that Tim and I were invited to stay the night there. It was magical.

Now we're about to head north to Santa Barbara for a concert on Wednesday night. Things slow down a little now, and I'm looking forward to a gentle few days before Pantheacoon in San Jose on the weekend. Iv'e never driven up the coast between LA and San Francisco, so am very much looking forward to experiencing that legendary drive along Big Sur. I'm imagining it will be a little like our Great Ocean Road. Of course I'll share with you what I find.

Until then,

Love and Magic

Wendy