NEZ AND THE HELLECASTERS IN OREGON - August 18& 20, 1994

By Donna Bailey

Looking back on all the times I have seen Michael in person as a soloartist and with the Monkees, I would have to say that I enjoyed his concerts in Oregon themost. I wish with all my heart that every one of Michael’s fans could have been therewith me. The concerts were that good and that special. Although both shows featured thesame selection of songs and the same group of musicians, the two performances were asdifferent as night and day.

The Albany show (8/18/94) was nothing less than perfection. This is theperformance that would make the perfect video recording. The music was excellent andMichael’s vocals were unbelievable! All of the things that we most admire and loveNez for were a part of this show. We saw his serious side and his unlimited vocalpotential during songs such as "Silver Moon". Then the next thing he did wasoutrageously funny and you laughed yourself silly. The show was full of variety with bothserious and silly moments that left me with the feeling that I had experienced a liveperformance of all his record albums and his comedy videos combined.

The Hood River show (8/20/94) was a very informal relaxed performance.We sat among the beautiful scenery in the park with the most beautiful full moon off toMichael’s left side. Nez talked to his fans throughout the night. This is the showthat I enjoyed the most and it would be on this night that I would get to meet Michael.

The Hellecasters performed first each night and would then join Michaelon stage for his show. Nez refers to this band as "The miracle that is TheHellecasters." Nez knows what he is talking about because I have witnessed thismiracle happen at the many Hellecaster concerts I’ve attended. They are funny, witty,charming, entertaining and the most talented musicians I have seen since The Beatles.

At the end of The Hellecasters performance in Albany, the audience wasgiven a real treat when John Hobbs entertained us with his "five secondconcert." I must admit that I am a die hard Hobbs fan. This guy is so funny, and heis such an incredible musician.

Nez’ show in Albany started off with two of my favorite Nesmithsongs, "Laugh Kills Lonesome" and "Total Control." Nez was veryconfident right from the start. He began to talk to the crowd and before we knew what hitus, Nez the comedian cut loose and the insanity began! Nez asked us to pretend we were inParis and went on to say with a very heavy romantic French accent "my name isArmando.... ARMANDO THE NEWT!" A man in the crowd started yelling "ARMANDO"and many others joined in! Nez loved it and pretended to be Armando for much of the night.Nez continued to talk to us before singing "Formosa Diner." He went on to say,"the reason you haven’t heard these songs before is because I wrote them up inmy closet where I just played them for myself over the years...and now I am playing themfor you and it really feels...STRANGE IN A WAY...(Nez has to pause due to all thelaughter.) "It’s good to be in Albany and I want to thank...the Valley InsuranceCompany for all they have done for us!(Nez is reading names of sponsors that are on signshanging above the stage!) "This next song is about Chinese food It’s a subjectthat is close to all of us, and if you listen quietly you will hear a Chinese foodtheme." "Formosa Diner" is then played and Michael is hilarious, makingfaces and clowning around, people are again yelling for ARMANDO!

The next song was "Joanne." When he first started to singMichael asked for "more monitors." Nez may have been having difficulty hearinghimself, but what I heard was just beautiful! Nez sang "Joanne" with a verygentle softness in his vocal and I enjoyed it even more than normal. An upbeat version of"Some of Shelly’s Blues" followed and then the beautiful"Juliana." Myself and a few others gave Nez a standing ovation after that song."Tanya" was next and The Hellecasters were acting crazy and cutting up with Nez."Cruisin’" was just as insane! "Grand Ennui" thrilled the crowdwith John Jorgenson’s lead solo. John Hobbs was tearing it up on the keyboards andNez was yelling "HERE WE GO AGAIN" and "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" "IAm Not That" was unbelievable! The music was so good, so powerfully strong anddriving. The excitement was almost unbearable! Nez said, "GO FOR IT JORGEY" andthat is just what John Jorgenson did!

Nez took some time out to talk with the audience again. He told us thathe had written TWO MILLION SONGS in his lifetime! He gave a few examples, singing nonsenselike "LOOK OUT THERE GOES A TRUCK" and "THERE’S TOO MUCH SALT IN THISSALAD." Nez then sang "YOU AND I" and waited for the audience to sing"TRAVEL TO THE BEAT OF A DIFFERENT DRUM."

"Silver Moon" stands out in my mind as the most impressivevocal of the evening. I have always thought that Michael had a very beautiful voice and Iwas aware of the fact that he had much control, power and that his pitch was excellenttoo. After I heard Nez hit the last note on "Silver Moon" that night, myadmiration for his singing hit the highest level it could go to. Nez belted out that lastnote like an explosion and held it for the longest time. You could hear the reaction fromthe crowd and we all just looked at each other in a daze thinking "BOY THIS GUY ISGOOD!" My closest friend Jeannie Reed said it best in her statement "The lastnote on Silver Moon was truly one of Michael’s finest moments."

Before singing "Rio," Nez reminded us that this song was aSamba in case we wanted to dance! The show was almost over, only the encore of"Brazil" was left. During "Brazil," Michael danced around the stagewith a rose. The show ended with Nez saying, "I am Armando, you are Albany. I loveyou this much, Very Big!"

After the show Michael came out to sign autographs. This was the secondtime he made himself available to his fans. I just stood and watched this man react to hisfans. One of the most admirable qualities I noticed about Michael is that when someonespeaks to him he really listens. Nez gives his attention 100%, and concentrates on what isbeing said to him. Michael seemed deeply touched by the love and support of his fans andappeared to be most sincere and grateful. I remember a child about 9 years old coming upto him with this tiny piece of paper for Nez to sign. The child started to walk away anddid not realize she had dropped Michael’s autograph. Nez saw the tiny piece of paperfall and quickly rushed to pick it up and return it to the child. I remember leaving theshow that night feeling such respect for Nez.

Hood River was the concert of my dreams. Michael Nesmith gave meeverything I could have possibly asked him for. This concert was for his fans. Throughoutthe evening Michael made eye contact with individuals and talked to them. The atmospherewas that of closeness with Nez and a relaxed, casual feeling. Michael knew he was lovedand did his best to return the sentiment. Many people that had been at the Albany showwere also at Hood River and Nez was very much aware of this and very appreciative.

This show began with the members of The Hellecasters walking out on thestage one at a time. Each band member was wearing a black shirt with white letters thatspelled "ARMANDO THE NEWT." Here we go again! "Total Control" is asong I love to see Nez perform live. At the end of the song, Michael leaps up high in theair two or three times. At Hood River, Nez decided to tease us and pretend he was about tojump and then he wouldn’t do it! He just kept teasing and I started yelling "UP,UP, UP!" My friend Jeannie started yelling "UP" with me and we motionedwith our hands for Nez to jump. The Hellecasters got involved and encouraged Nez to go forit. I got what I wanted! UP WENT MICHAEL TWO TIMES! After he landed, Nez looked mydirection and said, "there you are."

Nez spent some time talking with us saying, "I would like you topretend we are all on ice skates. I have no idea why, but just pretend that this is theIce Capades and we are brought to you by Disney! And while you are thinking that way Iwant you to think about Chinese food. Think of a Lenny Bruce routine with Chinese peoplein it!(Much laughter from the crowd)....AND MY NAME IS ARMANDO...ARMANDO THE NEWT!!!!

The Hellecasters then played "Formosa Diner." After this songMichael said, "That was a song many of you have never heard before because it waspart of a project called "Videoranch." I began to cheer for"Videoranch" and Michael’s response was "Thank you for those of youwho have any idea of what I am talking about." More people applauded and one girlcalled out "when is it coming out?" Nez seemed very pleased and repeated whatshe had said .He put his hand over his chest and said, "my heart, my heart."This was a very special moment to me because we were able to express to Nez how much wewanted him to work on "Videoranch" and we were able to see his reaction to it.Instead of a concert, it felt like we were a group of friends having a close, personalconversation with Michael.

The next four songs were performed with little conversation from Nez."Tanya was again silly, and Nez forgot some of the words. If he had looked our way,Jeannie and I could have helped him out. "Cruisin’" was special because Nezsurprised us by jumping in the air like he does on "Total Control!" Nez wasdefinitely having a good time. At the end of the song Nez said "Remember IceCapades," and I yelled out, "ARMANDO" and once again Nez went into "IAM ARMANDO THE NEWT." He told us he wanted to name himself some verb like"float." (Jorgey and Hobbs started yelling, "FLOAT, FLOAT, FLOAT!")Nez continued, "I was thinking about naming myself "DRYWALL" and making thesign of the Nautilus, but I don’t know what that means! But there is one thing I amsure of, "I AM NOT THAT." We were all ready for the song, but John Hobbswasn’t! Nez was so funny and just repeated over and over again, "COVER, COVER,COVER, COVER, WHILE JOHN THE KEYBOARD GUY GETS SET UP, COVER, COVER, COVER, COVER!"Nez made every expression I loved and remembered from The Monkees while performing thissong. I felt like I was a teenager again and Nez was in his twenties with his green woolhat! Nez grabbed two plastic water bottles and shook them like maracas! I really thought Iwas going to loose it at this point as memories of "You Can’t Judge A Book ByIt’s Cover" filled my mind.

Before starting "Different Drum" something special happened. Agirl held up a sign that said "We love you Mike." Nez stopped to read it andpretended he could not see it very well. He said, "What does that say, turn off yourmike? Oh... That’s better. Well, I heart you too, dear." Michael had received arose from a little girl earlier in the show. The same little girl held up a sign forMichael later in the show and he motioned for her to come up to the stage. When she got upto him, Nez smiled and handed the girl her rose! This was such a very special show and Iam so grateful I was there to see and feel the warmth exchanged between Nez and his fans.

After the concert Michael came out to sign autographs. In just a fewminutes my greatest dream was about to come true. Meeting Michael Nesmith was one of thehappiest moments of my life! Nez was very kind and thoughtful. After everyone had gonethrough the line, Nez continue to stay seated at the table giving the fans a second chanceto go back up to him and talk.

With each passing year of my life I find more reasons to admire andrespect Nez. I had the opportunity in Oregon to see Nez both on and off stage, and watchhim interact with fans. We talked for a while the day after I met him and that helped meget to know him a little bit more. I had supported Nez since 1966 and now that I had methim I discovered that he was even nicer than I imagined. This left me with a great senseof satisfaction and I felt comfortable with my position as his fan club president. MichaelNesmith is not only an artistic genius, he’s a nice guy! I genuinely like the personthat he is. It is with great pride in my heart that I say, "I’m a MichaelNesmith fan."