After our concert in Madison, we once again boarded our land yacht for a short overnight drive to Chicago. Our driver, 'Jeff the Invincible', figured that we would probably arrive at our hotel sometime around two in the morning. As usual, Jeff was right, we arrived in downtown Chicago at just about 2:00 a.m. and we were only a few blocks from our hotel when the strangest thing happened.
I was relaxing in 'The Chair', sitting 'shotgun' next to Jeff and we were cruising down the middle lane on Michigan Avenue.... very cool. As I mentioned, we were just a few blocks from our new digs and as we stopped for a traffic light, we realized we had company. There were two other land yachts at the same traffic light, one on either side of us! An unusual coincidence to say the least! There we were, three land yachts all waiting for the light to change and all lined up like we were going to have a tour bus drag race.
Of course, I'm sure the first question that came into everyone's mind was, "who's on the other two buses?" So, Jeff got on his CB radio to see what he could find out. It turned out that Neil Young's bus was on our left and Crosby Stills & Nash were on our right. We not only arrived on the same street at the same time but our hotels were within a block or two of each other. Now, that's not the kind of thing that happens everyday. The temptation to get together and party like the old days was still there, but it was 2:00 a.m., we were tired and we were also a little older and wiser. Not being in our early twenties anymore, we wisely opted for a good night's sleep. Hey, things change.
The next morning, I woke up to an absolutely perfect day...... at first. You know there's an old saying about Chicago, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes". And sure enough, by mid-day clouds began to appear and started floating over the tops of skyscrapers as the wind off the lake started to pick up and carry them in. I had always accepted Chicago's changing weather but there was something else going on here. I suspected this had some kind of connection to the Great Book of Roadzilla and road rule #51. Just to refresh your memory, rule #51 states; "Chances of bad weather shall increase by a factor of 10 at all outdoor venues". Well, I checked my road bible and I was right. Our concert that night was at an open air stage with an ultra-modern suspended roof but the place had no walls and of course the wind off the lake would blow the rain sideways once the thunderstorm hit.
It was now late afternoon and the sky was getting darker by the minute as the wind increased and the temperature dropped. It looked like the laws of Roadzilla, particularly road rule #51, were going to apply here. This time we weren't going to be as lucky as the Hilton Head gig when the rain stopped just before show time. This time we were playing the Skyline Stage at Navy Pier, right by Lake Michigan. By the time we hit the stage, the clouds opened up, the rain came down in sheets, and the wind blew the whole mess underneath the ultra-modern suspended roof. Still, there was a great turn out for the concert, considering the nasty weather, and the show went off with out a hitch. Of course, the rain stopped and the sky cleared about an hour after our concert. Roadzilla!
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