Keb Mo accentuates weekend get-away 4 miles from home

By Susan Wood

STATELINE – A relaxing weekend getaway featuring a Keb Mo concert, urban walk, jaunt to a new state park and pool time at the Forest Suites Resort proved there’s more than one way to enjoy the home we call Lake Tahoe.

“More than One Way Home” is but one track off Mo’s 1996 Grammy-award winning album “Just Like You” that the blues singer, guitarist and writer belted out Saturday night at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe South Shore Room. The artist, who started his career in a calypso band and is now known for his eclectic arrangements of blues, Delta rhythms, country and soul first played Tahoe almost a decade ago for the Harveys Outdoor Concert Series blues show. It was his first time to the lake.

Since then, Mo (Kevin Moore) has grown personally and professionally – with his own record label Yobelle International, a move to Nashville, a family and a new album released this month titled “The Reflection.”

With the opening number, an Eagles’ hit “One of these Nights,” the showroom’s capacity crowd whooped, screamed, danced and swayed in delight. But many of the dedicated also quietly and intently listened to his easy swings from the sexy blues to the sentimental – including one track off his new album called “We Don’t Need It.” The acoustic number told the story of a man fraught with concern over losing his job amid the expressed desires of his family. From that, his little girl in the song informed him:

“We don’t need it, we can do without it; We’re gonna make it, no doubt about it;

We’re gonna stick together, make it better; We don’t need it, all we need is you…”

The words and Mo’s stage presence seemed to catch his audience off-guard. They had been calling out songs for most of the two-hour show. But after this song, a hush came over the room. And at the last guitar strum, one man in the fourth row shook his head and said: “Awesome.” Tears welled up for some in the audience, as the hit-you-between-the-eyes lyrics were appropriate for our contemporary hard times.

Few artists can pull off those hard-to-sit-still tunes, yet captivate an audience with lyrics that matter. And the crowd responded – including Tom Conely of South Lake Tahoe (Captain Tom of KTHO), who patiently waited to get his daughter Kristin’s guitar signed by Mo. He obliged.

Dressed in his signature jeans, Fedora-like hat and Converse tennis shoes, Mo had come to please – especially the women in the audience. A few found it difficult to sit down, with one who showed up in front to sway to every note.

“Watch it now, girl,” Mo said, noticing the follower. “A party’s going on tonight,” he added, as he checked in with his audience.

He and his band consisting of drummer Les Falconer, bassist Vail Johnson, keyboardists, guitarists Michael Hicks and Jeff Paris along with the enthusiastic keyboardist, guitarist Kevin So cranked out the blues with energy and style. To appease one special request, Mo threw up some slack of his electric guitar cord and opened “Dangerous Mood” off his “Just Like You” album in front of the woman.

Mo has collaborated with many musicians including Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Brown on “Just Like You” and now “The Reflection” with jazz saxophonist Dave Koz, who has shown he can play with a variety of artists as seen during his “Friends” jazz show over Thanksgiving weekend at the Hyatt Regency in Incline Village.

Mo has also worked with television executives with “I See Love,” a song he wrote for the opening of the CBS series “Mike and Molly.”

“I’ll play the whole thing,” he promised, flashing his pearly whites.

It became obvious this band has fun – finding the perfect rhythm for “The Door,” the title track off his 2000 album and the lively rhythm and blues tune “Gimme What You Got” off the same album and the angst filled “Perpetual Blues Machine” off the “Just Like You” CD and hopping “She Just Wants to Dance” from his 1994 album.

He rotated his albums like his handful of guitars, returning to the stage for three encore songs including the slide-guitar Delta blues track off “Just Like You” — “Standing at the Station.” He ended with the soul-searching number off his so-named 1994 album “City Boy,” who is looking for a home where the buffalo roam.

Home is where the heart, mind, soul or appetite is

The Keb Mo show was the highlight of a weekend away from our South Lake Tahoe house on the Y side of town. I don’t have buffalo roaming as Mo described in his quest for South Dakota, but the occasional wildlife is often joined by the interruptions of the day. The phone rings. The hot tub needs cleaning. The stove needs tending. You know the drill.

That’s why the Forest Suites Resort nestled in the pine trees at the corner of Montreal Road and Heavenly Village Way near the state line summoned the perfect, quiet blend of scenery, amenities and comfort with location, location, location.

The place may often get overlooked in the search for rooms at Stateline, given Harrah’s, Harveys, Embassy Suites and other notable properties along Highway 50. But what it lacks in recognition it makes up for in serenity and options of what to do from there.

For those who like to splurge, the Black Diamond suite – which starts at $299 a night — is situated alongside Bellamy Court where the city parking garage sits. Traffic is next to nil, allowing light sleepers to snooze all through the night and even get up late as we proved we could do. Even in the heart of the day, it’s quiet – including on the patio steps away at the swimming pool and hot tub with the Heavenly Gondola cars going by overhead. Another pool and hot tub are located on the opposite side of the 5.5-acre landscaped property. But we enjoyed the closeness of our set next to the suites.

The pool is small-to-moderate sized – but I had no intention of swimming laps. We spent hours reading. For a little action, the core of the Village Center is a three-minute walk. A longer jaunt for shopping or people watching may include a wide swing to the highway to the Heavenly Village, which has been recently bustling with summer pedestrian traffic. In front, the Stateline Brewery sets up a day-and-evening bar and mini restaurant outside. We opted to continue to Embassy Suites’ “Upper Deck” restaurant where the seating and service are better than the nachos and musical act.

Hunger pangs for Italian food can best be served with a short drive down Nevada’s Loop Road to the highway east of Lakeside Inn and Casino to Lanza’s. The menu is vast for meat eaters and better-than-usual for vegetarians on the South Shore. I had the baked penne. Kae ordered the Portobello mushroom ravioli, which I liked better. The restaurant offered a worthwhile wine special, a bottle of Chianti Classico from Straccali of Tuscany. This $20 selection went well with the weekend’s reading from that region of Italy.

And on foot from the Forest Suites, a gondola ticket opens up a whole different type of terrain for hiking beyond the Von Schmidt flats on the ridge around Heavenly’s Tamarack chairlift. Climbing up to East Peak is a favorite for those wanting to stray from the urban life.

But besides going to a concert at Harveys or Harrah’s on a one-way, 7-minute walk, the Forest Suites Resort’s claim to fame should be its proximity to another best kept secret – the first bi-state park in the United States. Van Sickle Bi-state Park opened less than a month ago, just across Montreal Road – literally steps away – from the resort. This day-use urban park’s bang-for-the-buck views will give it instant known value when it catches on. So says Brian Smalkoski of Minnesota. He was waiting for his wife to finish her spa treatment and stumbled across the sign driving by with his two youngsters, 2-year-old Alex and 4-year-old Chaz. They found much joy doing a little rock scrambling on the boulders Nevada State Parks had placed there.

“What better way to kill time than to bring them to a park?” Smalkoski asked.

Back at our forest, Forest Suites, down time was appreciated. Inside the room, the décor was spacious, stylish and comfortable, with a big chair and cozy sofa situated in front of a large flat screen television and gas fireplace. The same duo is on the other side in the master bedroom. I remember thinking this room would be grand during ski season – especially with a Jacuzzi tub to warm up in and a full dining room table and kitchen complete with microwave, stove, oven and refrigerator if going out seems out of the question.

Two notes of improvement – Internet service inside the suite is sketchy at best and the grassy greenbelts scream lawn chairs to lounge in.

Also on the grounds, amenities are rounded out with a small gym, massage unit and game room with Foosball and pool tables above the lobby. Off to the side of the lobby, a wedding chapel sits, which according to staff, sees a steady business for those who want to tie the knot. And for groups who want to unwind, Al’s Saloon opens up for private parties. Forest Suites offers a Champagne and roses package with all the wedding touches.

The privately-owned 119-room resort hosted a family reunion last weekend, along with a stage crew from Another Planet, the production company that puts on the Harveys outdoor concerts.

Standard rooms start at $129 during a summer special period.

If you go:

Forest Suites is located on Lake Parkway (Loop Road) behind Embassy Suites Resort. Reservations may be made by calling 800.822.5950 or (530) 541.6655. For more information, email info@forestsuites.com or go online.

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