SATURDAY, APRIL 6TH – SUNDAY, APRIL 7TH – NASHVILLE TO BAHRAIN WITH RUNAWAY JUNE:
Departed Nashville today at 2:30 pm for our flights to Newark, Dubai and Bahrain. Runaway June will be performing at 2 bases in Bahrain and 3 bases in Kuwait.
No issues getting everyone checked in and the flight to Newark left on time — although it was a pretty “rough” takeoff because of the wind.
We landed at Newark on time and tried to get our boarding passes issued for the flight from Dubai to Bahrain but no luck! Met up with Fab — the Director of AFE — who is joining us on this tour. She’s never been to this region so I am excited to see what she thinks of it!
I went with the girls to the lounge for about an hour and then met back up with the rest of the group before we boarded. I was pleasantly surprised that the interior of the plane looked “new” and we had really nice flight attendants. Our main attendant was a man named Fred who Jennifer was determined to hook me up with! LOL.
We departed on time and our United App showed that all our bags were on the plane. Always a good sign. Now if we can just get them on the flight from Dubai to Bahrain!
The movies once again sucked as they have on all flights since COVID. I tried watching “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” but it was even worse than #2! The meal was also surprisingly “edible” although “unusual”. I’m still trying to figure out the “blanket” situation. We have one that is beige like we usually have and then one that is a deep blue with designs on it. We originally thought it might be something that is worn but it’s just a regular blanket. I thought maybe they were going to keep the cabin temperature at “freezing” but that wasn’t the case either.
We landed on time and had to take a bus from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 and it took forever. I joked that I thought we might be driving to Bahrain! We had to clear security and then to the gate area and then clear security again. Since we were unable to secure our boarding passes in Nashville or Newark, we had to go to the “help” counter and secure them. This was a very LENGTHY process because they had to match all the baggage claim checks to the passports and then issue the boarding pass. We finally made our way to the Gate area only to learn that we were taking another bus to the aircraft.
I mentioned to Fab that from the outside, the “Fly Dubai” aircraft looked like a Southwest Airlines plane. They held us on the bus for about 20 minutes before letting us board. When we got on, it definitely was one of the most luxurious aircraft I have ever flown. Nice surprise. Our young flight attendant had a name that was hard for us to pronounce so he told us to call him “Super Mario”. Jen and I had the first class section all to ourselves. Super Mario seemed disappointed that we didn’t want anything to eat because they were serving a meal! I finally took a small packet of nuts and he was so happy that he brought me a second package. Jen said he did the same thing with her.
I watched as much as I could of a romantic comedy which was the best movie I’ve seen in years on a flight. But, we landed before it ended. Jen said she was watching the same movie and didn’t get to see the ending either. We’re hoping we can watch it on one of our other flights.
The Bahrain Airport is beautiful and our bags came out quickly. Unfortunately Fab’s one bag did not make it on the flight and the airlines was unable to even tell her where it might be. Our United and fly Dubai Apps quite working and when we finally got them logged in again, none of the bag tracking info was there. She had changed her flight so that might be the reason but her bag tag receipt showed that it was checked through to Dubai.
Momo, MeChele and Khalid were all waiting for us and I remembered them from my visit her in December of 2022. It was a short drive to the hotel and after “minimal” confusion getting checked in, we were in our rooms around midnight. One member of the group realized they had left their new, expensive earphones in the seat back pocket on the flight from Newark to Dubai.
Hotel is nice and I’m ready to go to bed at 1:30 am. Lobby call is at 9:45 am tomorrow morning for our first show. We’re going to stop and visit the Tree of Life and P8 boats before sound check tomorrow.
Jude
MONDAY, APRIL 8TH – BAHRAIN:
First show in Bahrain today at an “undisclosed” location – security FIRST! All I will say is I’ve been there before, it is very remote, and the base really, really needs the entertainment.
I did get in bed last night by 2 am and up at 6:30 am. But woke up to issues with the hotel and breakfast being included in the room rate. Fortunately Mechele got that straightened out immediately.
We met in the lobby at 9:45 am for the drive to The Tree of Life. Legend has it that the tree was in the original Garden of Eden. I visited it in 2022 with the Comedy Tour and it is so cool. It is this really old (obviously) tree in the middle of the desert with no water around it yet it survives. Supposedly if you touch it one of two things will happen….you will come back again or you will never comeback. I touched it last time and here I am, back again. I’ll be here with Vertical Horizon next month, so I touched it again for good luck.
We left that area and drove to the military base where the girls are performing tonight. First stop there was a visit to the flight line for an awesome aircraft tour and to meet the pilots and crew. Everyone in the group loved this visit and I know the flight crew did as well.
We dropped our bags at the Green Room and then walked to their DFAC. I have to say, their DFAC has the best food of any DFAC where I’ve eaten around the world. The fruits and vegetables are fresh and the meats are not overcooked. We had a few minutes to go to the NEX (base exchange) but it is TINY. Fab was in there buying clothes and essentials to get her through today. The NEX where we are going tomorrow will be much nicer.
Don, Geoff and I walked down to the wet chus that were provided for the girls to dress for the show. They are really nice and even have a full shower. We then met with leadership in their Headquarters and that was awesome. Really nice folks. The small bases like this are sooooo appreciative for entertainment visits. We had a few minutes for Geoff to take me and Fab to look at the hotel they now have available to lodge entertainers when requested. It is a beautiful hotel and each room has a balcony and faces the sea….which is full of land mines so you can’t swim there. But there was a huge pool and tennis courts. NO ONE WAS AT THE HOTEL! We went on every floor looking for the desk clerk and no luck! The only drawback is the fact that the hotel isn’t “near” anything. You even have to go off the base to access it. But still a good option when needed.
The girls started sound check but the base had to shut the power off about halfway through. They told us they had to do that so we were aware it was happening. They still finished early and everyone walked to the DFAC to for dinner. The girls got “to go” boxes and the rest of us ate there. Then everyone was able to relax for about 45 minutes before show time.
We had a huge crowd. Originally the show was supposed to held indoors because their current stage was going to be demolished and a new “state of the art” stage will be installed. But as with most Government contractors, they are running behind so we had the show outdoors. It has sprinkled on and off a little bit all day but never rained, thankfully. We had a really large, very excited crowd attend the show. And, as I predicted, when Natalie performed “Devil went Down to Georgia” and did a back bend while playing the fiddle, it brought the house down!
The girls took photos with about 100 people after their set and then we packed up and drove for 35 minutes back to our hotel. We were back in our rooms a little before 11 pm and have an 8:50 am lobby call tomorrow.
Jude
TUESDAY, APRIL 9TH – SECOND SHOW IN BAHRAIN:
Got up at 6:30 am this morning and really thought I got in bed last night in time to get 5 hours sleep but my watch says otherwise – 3 hours and 5 minutes! UGH!!! Lobby call was at 8:50 am and first stop was at the base to secure gate passes. That took about 30 minutes and then we had a “ship tour”. I had taken the tour when I was here with the Comedy Group but it was just as fascinating as the first time. The ships are made of “wood” and are “mine seekers”. The guys who gave us the tour were so sweet and everyone enjoyed this tour so much. It’s always great when the entertainers get to do special activities like this.
About an hour later, we drove to the DFAC and today was “Taco Tuesday” and the food was excellent! So far, Bahrain wins for the best DFAC food out of all the many DFAC’s I have visited.
We went to the stage area to check out the load in and then to the Green Room which is located in this big entertainment complex. They also have a large two-story Exchange very near the Green Room. I brought the wrong attachment for my curling iron and was going to grab a new one but even in that huge Exchange, they didn’t have any curling irons!
The girls, Don, Fab and I went with MeChele and MoMo to meet the Base CO, XO and CMC. They were all so nice and we had a long meeting with them.
The girls had about an hour before the guys were ready for sound check. The base brought out 5 huge fans for the stage which prompted me to email the other bases and ask them to do the same for this tour and the Vertical Horizon Tour.
After sound check, MeChele took the girls to the Hotel so they could change and do their hair and makeup for the show. So much better than having to bring their entire suitcase to the base to do this. And it’s only a 5 minute drive between the base and the hotel.
The show is outdoor again tonight. Weather is beautiful and not too hot! We had a big crowd and tonight it was a family audience. One lady in the front seemed to know the words to every song. And a lot of little kids were dancing in front of the stage. The girls brought them up on stage at one point. Again, we had almost 100 people in the Meet and Greet line. One lady had a tiny baby and Jen and Natalie took turns holding him. He was adorable! Geoff from last night’s show and his wife, son and friends came to tonight’s show, too.
We were back at the hotel by 8:30 pm because the show started at 6:30 pm. `Geoff, MoMo and MeChele do such a great job taking care of the entertainment that visit their bases. It’s always a pleasure to work with them. Looking forward to coming back with Vertical Horizon in about 6 weeks!
Jude
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10TH – BAHRAIN TO KUWAIT:
Six hours of sleep is a game changer! Lobby call was at noon and I went down at 11 am to check everyone out. Geoff loaded all the equipment in a cargo van and we rode with MaChele in a passenger van back to the base to have lunch. Oh….and Fab got her bag late last night!!!!
Lunch was our choice in the food court and I got a Cobb Salad that was excellent. We departed the base at 1:30 pm and drove to the airport. We’re flying on Gulf Air and check in was easy although not very “quick”. We were all in one record, so one person had to check us in. Had about an hour before the plane was supposed to board and that’s after clearing security and passport control.
It was a really nice plane and they offered a chicken sandwich as a snack – which I did not eat since I had just eaten lunch. It was only a 1 hour and 15 minute flight but we sat on the runway for about 30 minutes waiting to take off. Had quite a bit of turbulence on take-off and landing.
Once we landed, we picked up the Visas that the Radisson had secured for us and then went to Immigration. They had started a new process where we had to have our photo taken and be fingerprinted. Of course, Natalie and I got the slowest person working. They also didn’t make two of our guys take a photo or be fingerprinted. Strange.
We picked up our bags and then went through Customs. I got “targeted” and had to go into another room while they opened my suitcase and went through my luggage. Turns out they wanted to know what was in a small container. It was lotion! They let me go. LOL
My old friend – Travis – was there to meet us along with Darious who works for him. It was great to see Travis again. It was a short 30 minute drive to the hotel and even though the check in staff had pulled our keys, it still took quite a while to check in. The hotel is as beautiful as ever and so are the rooms. They left welcome snacks for me and Fab.
We all met at 7:45 pm in the hotel restaurant for a complimentary dinner buffet….and it is a HUGE buffet. Everyone was blown away with the hotel and amenities. We will be here for 4 ½ nights. Dinner was amazing and I’m secretly glad to won’t be here every night because I would eat too much!
It’s almost 3 am so I’m going to bed! More tomorrow.
Jude
THURSDAY, APRIL 11TH, FIRST PERFORMANCE IN KUWAIT:
Lobby call wasn’t until 11:30 am so I planned to go work out in their great gym. Went to bed at 3 am but figured if I got up at 7 am, I could get in a quick workout. And if I had not woken up to “issues”, that would have been possible. But as luck would have it, I missed my window of opportunity because I spent my time sorting out challenges all morning.
Met everyone in the lobby and the drive to the Air Force base only took us one hour instead of an hour and a half. But, when we arrived at the base, the guards didn’t have our paperwork. There is a new group on base and all the former staff are in the process of transitioning out. Our host has only been on the ground since Saturday so he’s learning the procedures as well as the layout of the base. We waited about 30 minutes while things were discussed with the guards but the end result was they told us that Security Forces said they didn’t have any paperwork on us. We were told we would have to wait 2, maybe 3 hours for it to be processed. Obviously, that meant we would not have time to sound check before the show. Then about 5 minutes later, the POC who actually worked our tour before the new person arrived showed up at our vehicles. He was terribly embarrassed and said he had never had anything like that happen before. We were cleared to go on base immediately.
As I said previously, we just found out last night that the show had been moved out of the movie theater and into the outdoor area. The base had built a new outdoor performance venue about a year ago and thankfully, it has giant ceiling fans installed. We went into the theater and upstairs to an area that was going to be our Green Room with a partitioned off area that was going to be the girl’s dressing room. It was quickly apparent that the area partitioned off was not large enough for them to use. The area behind the movie screen would have worked but there was no “outside” entrance so the girls would have had to walk across the stage in front of the screen. Since the reason we couldn’t perform in the theater was because AAFES had already announced that they were going to be showing movies that night, using that area was also not an option.
Donovan – the POC who has been working the show with AFE – left to try to find a room at lodging that the girls could use. SSgt MacKall stayed with us to try and find another alternative. The Chaplain came to the rescue and offered his facility since it was not being used that day. It was a huge “sanctuary” and we moved a few things around so the girls could use the “stage” to prep for the show. There were also bathrooms in the back of the sanctuary.
We were an hour late starting sound check but our production crew are most of the same people who went into Iraq and Afghanistan with me more than 50 times during the conflicts in those countries. Donald and I have stayed in touch throughout the years and it was great to see him again after so many years. He has a 2 year son now and I brought him “goodies” from Nashville to give to him. As usual, the crew was amazing and our group loved them. Everyone is very happy that they will be with us these last 3 shows. Sound check will go much quicker.
While the girls were on stage doing their soundcheck, we were told that a room had been found for them to use as a dressing room. The current FSS Services Commander came by the venue to say hello. She’s leaving this weekend and her new replacements are already at the base. She was so nice and I hate we won’t get to work with her again. But she is going to Scott AFB so maybe I’ll see her on a Gary Sinise Foundation tour.
Don and I packed the girl’s suitcases and as soon as sound check was over, we left for their room. Unfortunately, it was too small for two people and they didn’t have enough electrical outlets to plug everything in and unpack their things to get ready. Natalie stayed in the room and Jen went back to the Chapel with us and we set up an area with a mirror for her needs. The POC had dinner “catered” for us, so we ate in the Chapel and had about an hour before the show began.
There has been one major change on the base and that’s the fact that one night a month when the base has entertainment, alcohol is served at the show. It’s a brilliant idea and definitely encourages attendance at the performances. We had a large crowd and it got even bigger once the girls started singing. Their show was so awesome and they even called a guy up from the audience to sing. He sang a Johnny Cash song “Folsom Prison” and did a really great job! Numerous people – including leadership – came up to me and said it is the best entertainment they have had there since their tour of duty began last year.
After the show, the girls took photos with everyone in line as well as leadership and the people who had been helping us all day. We departed the base with the Air Force hosts and met our Army bus right outside the gate for the drive back to the hotel. Took about an hour and we arrived back at 10:30 pm. Got in bed at 3 am again and have another 11:30 am lobby call. I didn’t come close to answering all my emails or even writing this road report before I went to bed so I knew I wouldn’t get in a workout this morning either. My best chance is going to be Saturday and Sunday mornings right before we fly home.
Jude
FRIDAY, APRIL 12TH – SECOND SHOW IN KUWAIT AT CAMP BUEHRING:
Because the production company is so good, we were able to depart a little later today. I worked the entire 1 ½ hour drive to Camp Buehring Army Base. We made one quick stop for everyone to see the camels that are always on the side of the road in this one area on the drive. Jen – being the kind soul that she is – wanted to get out and feed them. I axed that idea very quickly after seeing a camel nearly bite a soldier’s hand in two several years back. I forgot to mention that the day we left Bahrain, Jen saw stray dogs at the Navy Base Gate as we were being dropped off to have lunch before departing for our flight to Kuwait. Instead of eating, she went to the base exchange and purchased dog food, treats, water, bowls, etc., and went back outside the gate to feed the dogs. She said they wouldn’t come near her, even when she held out the food. The guards told her that the dogs are scared to death of humans. She ended up throwing some of the dog food at them and just leaving the water and the remaining food on the ground. Once she walked away, they came up and ate. She wanted to stop by after we finished eating and were on our way to the airport but I wasn’t comfortable delaying our departure to the airport with an unplanned stop.
No issues at all clearing the gate. We stopped by the stage and dropped off the musicians/crew and Don, Fab and I went with Jen and Natalie for a Unit visit with 82nd CAB. They gave us a “tour” of the Blackhawks helicopter they were working on and a visit to their maintenance shop. Unfortunately we ran out of time to see anything else. Next stop was at Command Headquarters to meet the Commander. He had certificates made and presented to everyone. We received a message from Dave that they had finished setting up and were ready for the girls to sound check, so we headed to the stage. It’s the same stage we used during the Iraq war and has a really nice Green Room. There is a separate room with mirrors and electrical outlets for the girls to use. Sound check went quickly and we had time to walk to the base exchange before going to the DFAC for dinner. This exchange is larger than the one at Ali Al Salem (where we were yesterday) but not as large as the one at Arifjan (where we go tomorrow). There are a lot of little “Hagi” shops outside and right inside the building. There’s also all kinds of fast food restaurants (Taco Bell, Subway, Green Beans coffee, etc.) around the perimeter of the venue where we perform. There was a small jewelry stand right inside the door of the exchange and I think everyone purchased something there. The owner was really sweet and quite the salesman! I got a couple of things for Zac and Zoe at that exchange but hope to have a better selection at Arifjan tomorrow.
We drove to the large DFAC and it had all the “lines and bars” for our men and women serving (main food line, grill, Veggie Bar, salad bar, dessert bar, beverage bar). Nice to know that the men and women here can get a good selection of food.
We went back to the stage and had a few minutes before show time. The crowd was already coming in and by the end of the evening, we had 446 people in attendance! This Camp is usually our best turn out because it is so remote and they are so appreciative of all entertainment. Runaway June gave another fantastic performance and there were a lot of smiles in the audience tonight. We had well over 100 people in line for photos and gave out all our autograph cards before we reached the end of the line. We had originally planned to hold the Meet and Greet right in front of the stage on the right side where Green Beans coffee was located as well as some other fast food outlets. But when I walked over to the area right before show time, the portable potties had just been cleaned and the smell was horrific. I couldn’t believe that soldiers were sitting on picnic tables in that area and eating! We moved the M&G to the farthest point from the front of the stage under a nice gazebo!
The drive back to the hotel was very quiet since everyone was so tired. The heat really drains your energy! Fortunately, a cool breeze was blowing all day and it was 79 degrees at show time – truly pleasant. There were also big fans on the stage to keep the band cool under the hot stage lights.
We were back at the hotel by around 11 pm and have a lobby call of 2:15 pm today. Stopped working at 3 am to grab a few hours of sleep.
SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH – LAST SHOW IN KUWAIT AT CAMP ARIFJAN:
Because we have such an awesome Production Company, we changed our departure time to 2:00 pm today. Originally we had hoped to go to the Virtual Firing Range but MWR did not get the message that we needed to go between 12:15 pm and 1:15 pm and so it was scheduled during the time we have to sound check. I hate that the group won’t be able to do this but the show comes first.
Back when I was coming to Kuwait and Iraq and Afghanistan every month, the Command Sargeant Major over all the Army bases in Kuwait (there were 7 at that time) was based at Camp Arifjan. He always took time to meet with my groups, give them a coin and a certificate and also an awesome “brief” on what was happening in he area. He and his lovely wife Debbie are still here as “civilians” and he is now the Director of Installation Programs (including MWR) for the two Army bases that are still located in Kuwait. They joined me for breakfast before we had to depart for Arifjan and it was so wonderful to catch up with them! They are cancelling their plans and coming to the show tonight.
We arrived at Camp Arifjan on time and the stage was set up and ready for the group. I went with the girls to the Exchange next to the stage but that is the smaller Exchange. Since we had some time, we drove to the larger Exchange in Zone One. The show takes place in Zone 6 and it’s definitely a “drive” between the two areas. This Exchange had the little “Hagi” shops in front of it.
When we arrived back at the stage, I learned that the monitor console had crashed and the guys had not been able to do anything since we arrived. It was an hour drive to the warehouse and an hour drive back to the stage. The Production company should have had a “spare” console on their truck but they didn’t. We were able to move parts of the console to the Front of House and our amazing production engineer – Cory – was going to be able to mix monitors from front of house if the production company didn’t return with another monitor console before we had to soundcheck.
The girls started getting “show ready” while we waited for the console. It arrived and they were able to do an abbreviated sound check at 5:45 pm. We rushed over to the DFAC and picked up “to go” boxes.
The base leadership came by to say “hello” to the girls before they went on stage and my friend “Tameca” (who was formerly the POC we worked with for all our shows) also stopped by to meet the group. She is a very vibrant lady that works as hard as I do to make sure everything runs smoothly.
We had 483 people attending the concert tonight and it was a rowdy crowd. Of course, “Devil Went Down to Georgia” stole the show again. I videoed a segment of it and sent it to Hazel Daniels, David Corlew and Bebe Evans (Charlie’s wife and management team for decades). Charlie performed on that same stage numerous times during his stops before going into Iraq and/or Afghanistan. A soldier came up to me at the show and said he saw Charlie perform there in 2005 and hearing that song made him “tear up”. I said, “Me, too. Every time I hear it”.
Girls took photos with everyone after the show and once again, I ran out of autograph cards because the line was so long. Good problem to have! We were packed up and headed back to the hotel right on schedule. Jen had the hotel car take her to the airport at 2:30 am and I told her to text me along the way and let me know that everything was okay. She sent me a text when she boarded the flight from Kuwait to Qatar and then another text when she boarded the flight from Qatar to New York. Hopefully everything ran smoothly. The news is all about the Iran missile/drone attack on Israel. Honestly, I feel safer here in Kuwait than I would in the USA. It’s business as usual here with no one even talking about it!
Got in bed by 2 am!
Jude
SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH, 2023
Finally got in my early morning workout at the great gym they have here at the hotel. Did not get to work out as long as I would’ve liked but it still counts. Stopper by the huge buffet breakfast and had an egg, white omelet and fruit. Then went to the room, showered, and it was time to go down for our meeting with the local POC’s to go over Vertical Horizon’s tour. So happy we were able to do this!
We left to go sightseeing at 1 pm. First stop was the big double towers. We realized it was possible to take an elevator to the top and have a fantastic view of the city and beach. From there we went to the souk to shop. It was 3 long rows of food, clothing, and various other items. I was going to buy Jen’s little girl a traditional “robe” but every shop was for men and boys only!!!! The only purchase I made was dates soaked in honey as gifts.
We drive back to the hotel and had about 2 hours before our farewell dinner. I checked email and panicked when I saw 7 automated emails from my travel agent! It said there was a change in our flight and the new flight wasn’t departing until 1:45 am on Tuesday morning instead of Monday!!! I called my travel agent but she was in Memphis and couldn’t access a computer. She told me to call United because the website and app were not showing any changes. I called United who called Lufthansa and confirmed that everything was okay and there were no changes. So strange!
Had dinner at 6 pm in the hotel restaurant and Don, Debbie and Tameka joined us. So rare for me to have time off in a tour to do that. The meal was great and so was the company. Happy that I will see them again in a month when I come back with Vertical Horizon.
Had a couple of hours to pack and then we headed to the airport at 10 pm. Check in was easy so we had time to sit around for over an hour! Well, it was easy for everyone except Natalie. She definitely got the wrong agent to check her in for the flight. Everyone else in the group showed their passports and receive boarding passes and claim checks and she was still standing at the counter. He wanted to see a copy of her “onward” flight reservation. I had to either pull it up on my phone or pull it out of my case. I opted for the phone and it still took him a good 15 minutes to check her in.
We walked around the shops – which are I told them were very limited once we went through security. Travis – our person from the base – was supposed to stay with us until we went through security so we didn’t want him to have to stay until midnight while we shopped outside Passport Control. We had to scan our bags and then go through passport control. There was a Starbucks near Immigration so most of us sat there until time to go to the gate. There’s not a lot of seats at the gate area. Once they are ready to board, everyone has to go through another security scanner to clear and the FINALY we boarded the fight to Frankfurt. It was about a 6 ½ hour flight but we departed over 20 minutes late.
When we landed in Frankfurt, I went with Nata to try ad figure out if her upgrade came through for the 8 ½ hour flight. The line at the Lufthansa desk was way too long so I called the Global Services line. The agent said there were still 5 people in front of her awaiting an upgrade. We went to the lounge and I was surprised to be able to take Natalie in and not have to pay anything! We had a little over an hour in there and then went to the gate. She stood in line for about 30 minutes waiting to see if she had cleared but unfortunately, she was still in the back of the plane.
We boarded and left Frankfurt on time and Natalie sent me a text as we were pushing back that she had an entire row to herself. I found the great movie that Jen and I were watching on the flight over and watched the end of it. Had a very light dinner and then worked for a couple of hours before getting a few hours of sleep.
We landed on time in Newark and had a couple of hours to go to the Lounge. I was able to get Natalie in without having to pay which was a real surprise. The flight to Nashville departed on time and I slept the entire flight to Nashville. Good to be home for a few days!
Jude