I think that the orchestra decision is based on logistics...The orchestra at the Toronto shows is based in Toronto, therefore no logistical problem and associated costs. The stage size must also be a factor. The stage at the Sony Centre is huge and the orchestra is on a raised stage behind the band. Not saying that other venues are not suitable, but a considerable amount of planning must have been made when the decision to tour with DOFP was made.Originally Posted by Man In The Mountain
Dave Sr.
I prefer Nature to Human Nature
Similarly, I have read that on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" Rick Wright played a piano part live during mixing, so when they remixed the album he came back in and played a new, similar part.
Not the case here. Ravinia has symphony shows all summer long. I saw Kansas with Chicago symphony orchestra at that very venue. I thought for sure MB's would have an orchestra.... but instead it was piped in.
Seeing them at Jones Beach Wednesday, tuning up by firing up the Grados and downloading the HDTracks FLAC of DOFP, and I'm off...
Saw them a few nights ago in Connecticut. They played the stiffest and sloppiest first set I've ever seen them play. Justin in particular didn't seem to me to be at all into it and displayed some of the sloppiest guitar playing I've ever heard from him.
John Lodge was much more animated and engaging but appeared to be having some problems with his voice. Isn't Life Strange sounded very much slower and very odd.
The DOFP set was an improvement and I enjoyed it very much, though the orchestra tapes were cranked up way too loud and were piercing to the ear. There was also a trainwreck during Peak Hour.
I did thoroughly enjoy Sunset and Twilight Time.
The backing musicians did a great job including their new drummer.
I think maybe its time to call it a day. They've had a great run for 50 years and I salute them, but all things eventually pass...
I was thinking of seeing them this Saturday. Not sure after that review.
Saw them last night in Boston and thoroughly enjoyed the show.
I do agree that Justin seemed to be reserved, and at one point while John Lodge was singing, the camera focused on Justin and the look on his face seemed to say he did not want to be there, but really, over the years, Lodge was always the more affable one in concert, and Justin a bit quieter.
They opened with Just a Singer, and for a moment, it sounded like Lodge had lost his voice, but it quickly changed, probably a mic or sound board issue. The rest of his vocals were excellent.
Their opening set was very good. They made a couple of song choices that I wish were different, but their playing was still excellent. Isn't Life Strange (which is my favorite song of theirs) was excellent. Whatever kinks they had in CT were worked out.
The DOFP section was very good, and the Orchestra sound was not overwhelming. My wish was that Edge performed the narration rather than Jeremy Irons. He did so little during the show, but maybe health reasons made it impossible. I also thought the visuals of Jeremy Irons were created by the man who did the special effects on the original Star Trek shows. I think it would have been frightening to a young child.
Following DOFP, they broke into Question which is still an exciting piece. Then suddenly the house lights went on, and I was shocked that they weren't finishing with Ride My See Saw, but then John Lodge got the song started and the lights went down and they finished with a great rendition.
On the positive side, I got to see them again before they retired. I was able to hear songs performed off of DOFP that I never heard live before. Lodge and Hayward can still play and sing.
On the negative side, Edge is no longer and integral part. The performance was a little "Samey" in that some of the banter was the same as the last two times I heard them, and what is on their Hall Of Fame live album.
Overall, a great night shared with my 30 year old son. I look forward to the 50th anniversary tour for Long Distance Voyager
haha I was also thinking if they did another full album I hoped it would be this one. obviously lost chord makes sense for next year given its 50th but I like LDV most and it would probably be easier on the band especially cause there is only one singing band member missing from the mix.
probably missed their opportunity for its 35th anniversary last year. not sure they will all make it to 2021 for the 40th...
That seems to be an intentional "breakdown" (unless they did the very same trainwreck in Boston).
^ It was a true mess up.
I love the Moody Blues and Ive seen them almost 20 times, I was just calling it as I saw it. I heard people around me as we were making our way out of the venue exclaiming what a fantastic performance it was, so what do I know? ;-)
Any openers on this tour? I'm heading to the Philly show this Saturday and my companion may be a bit late so I'd hate to miss anything.
In Boston, there was not an opening act. They came on directly at 7:30.
Good to know...thanks!
Saw Moody Blues last night at Jones Beach-an amazing show! The best one I've seen of theirs since they became a threesome. Tight playing, good singing, prerecorded orchestra levels were fine, good/same setlist. A great deal for 20 bucks! if you have the chance, don't miss them.
JR
Jones Beach was a good show last night. We got $15 Groupon tickets the day before. I guess the show was having a hard time selling out so they offered some great last minute deals, and no ticketmaster rip off fees. That's like a win all by itself. Many seats were empty so we moved down a level, then when it started to rain we jumped under the overhang and stayed dry as the monsoon passed.
My only complaint was the first 3 songs after the opener. I'd never heard them before. For a concert billed at "50th anniversary" I thought they would stick to the old stuff.
It was obvious why they needed a second drummer. So sad.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A gentleman is defined as someone who knows how to play the accordion, and doesn't.
you haven't heard the voice guess you didn't mind that they didn't play Gemini dream like I did? and steppin in a slide zone was kinda from the old stuff at least it was from the last album with pinder. they advertised it (on tv no less!) in my area as greatest hits then days of future passed and aside from nervous it seemed to fit that constraint. not too many hit singles from the old stuff. and given they were playing one full old album seems normal that they would give a bit more focus to the later stuff in the first half.
I just noticed this on YT -- the full DoFP performance (plus extras and fireworks!) from the Hollywood Bowl with orchestra. It's way stronger than the other vids out there (the Chateau St Michel is especially dire.) I'd say these folks got their money's worth. It's also nice that in a year dominated by Sgt Pepper's 50th it's good to see this one getting some love from the punters.
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
Was there an opener for this tour? Going to see them tonight, but ticket doesn't say.
No opener in Philly nor anywhere else that I know of.
Thanks. Same as in Atlanta. They came out right on time. It was actually very enjoyable. A good production, with nice visual effects in the background while they played "Days of Future Passed". I would recommend this show if you are into the honored album since it was the highlight for me. The first part when they played their hits was nice as well (they took a break before playing DOFP), but not quite as strong of a performance.
I felt the same way about the performance. This show was all about DOFP for me. The visuals helped me get over the fact that the orchestration was piped in. Really brought back those teenage years when I was first discovering prog related music.
I'm glad they are still out there doing what they do. I've always been a huge Moodies fan. They were to me what Pink Floyd was to everyone else. When everyone was listening to The Wall, I was listening to Days of Future Passed and Seventh Sojourn. I don't like that they stopped recording after the December album. Hayward and Lodge have both made solid solo records in the last few years so I don't see why they just couldn't have used some of those songs and added Graeme on drums and any songs he may have and just made a Moody Blues record. I thought the last too albums they recorded, Strange Times and December, were quite good.
Bill
She'll be standing on the bar soon
With a fish head and a harpoon
and a fake beard plastered on her brow.
^It's just been endless nostalgia touring for many, many years. Unfortunate that a band that quietly pioneered many things are now viewed as somewhat middle-of-the-road.
I've actually read people on the Steve Hoffman forum say that Hayward is looking 'bored' so it's not just here.
IMHO that album would not fit with what they are now- it's certainly their most psychedelic release. Don't think DOFP does either, really, although the orchestration covers for it.
I saw the Moody Blues at Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore on July 19th. I had already read some reviews of the current tour, so I knew that there was going to be no orchestra and no Ray Thomas or Mike Pinder. Still, there was some curiosity to see how John Lodge and Justin Hayward handle the songs on which they did not originally sing. I also wondered if Justin Hayward would sing, “I love you, hon” during “Nights in White Satin” as a shout-out to the local Baltimore crowd but, alas, that did not happen.
The first half of the concert was a sort-of "greatest hits” segment that obviously did not include anything from “Days of Future Passed”. “I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band” started things off and, interestingly enough, was the first of 3 John Lodge songs in a row, including “Steppin’ in a Slide Zone” and “Nervous” (a surprise choice from “Long Distance Voyager”). I started to get concerned that maybe Justin Hayward was sick or something and maybe couldn’t sing. No need to worry, though. He finally busted out with “Your Wildest Dreams” and got all the middle-aged women up and screaming (just like in the video!). John Lodge followed up with “Isn’t Life Strange” and I missed some of the background vocals on this one. The sound at Pier Six left a little bit to be desired. It was kind of muddy and, like I was saying, you couldn’t always hear all the background vocals. Too bad too, because this touring version of the band includes two keyboardists who sing and a flute player who also sings. There was also the now-traditional second drummer to back up Graeme Edge although, in reality, the second drummer basically carried the load. Then Justin Hayward followed up with his follow-up to “Wildest Dreams” – “I Know You’re out There Somewhere”. Just as before, the middle-aged women were up and dancing. You go girls! Baltimore is always a great place to go (although on this night it was pretty hot!) and people are really friendly. Everybody seems to know each other from high school. The place seemed really intimate and it indeed was a lot smaller than similar nearby places like Wolf Trap, Nissan Pavilion or Merriweather Post Pavilion. Again, too bad about the sound, ‘cause I was pretty close to the stage. I snagged a seat at the front of the second section slightly off to the side. I was glad because the lawn seats were practically worthless. You couldn’t really see anything from there and it was a really small patch of grass. Some folks didn’t even bother buying a ticket and just set up shop on the adjacent pier with lawn chairs and coolers. A potential alternative for sold-out shows in the future! The first set closed with “The Story in Your Eyes”, a classic I had forgotten about. So good to hear it again! This one got the crowd off their feet as well.
The second set was devoted entirely to “Days of Future Passed”. The video screens behind the band (which had previously showed old Moodies footage and still photographs of the band – but none with Patrick Moraz!) were now augmented with additional screens in front of and off to the side of the monitors, thus totally enveloping the group in each visual. I had read about how great the visual presentation was and it did not disappoint. Many moments inspired the baby boomer audience to act like millenials and try to capture the moment on their camera phones, temporarily blocking the view of people like me, who were simply trying to enjoy the show(!). One could say the images used were maybe stock footage but you could also counter and say that it had a timeless feel. Indeed, the presentation could, a lot of the time, have come right out of the sixties. It had a classic look. Starting out with a starfield and a recording of the orchestral overture (the band did not come onstage until near the end and stood in the shadows), the disembodied head of actor Jeremy Irons floated in to recite the opening poem. He was pitch perfect. His head disappeared and reappeared and different parts of the screen to recite the different parts of the poem., including ending up smack dab in the middle of a planet during the “cold-hearted orb” section”. Then the perspective of the screen zoomed down to earth level, screeching to a halt in the English countryside just in time for the “Brave Helios, wake up your steeds” section. “Dawn is a Feeling” included lots of lush countryside footage and it worked perfectly. Justin Hayward sang the lines originally sung by Mike Pinder and that also worked perfectly. John Lodge sang Ray Thomas’ song “Another Morning” and he pulled it off just fine. Scenes of “children playing” played in the background. “Peak Hour” included hectic rush hour scenes in downtown London and shots of commuters that could have been filmed yesterday or 50 years ago. “Tuesday Afternoon” included scenes of sun-dappled woods and floating clouds. John Lodge’s “Evening – Time to Get Away” did not completely restore the background vocals on the bridge (“Live all you people…”) that were lost on the CD version. To date, no version has been released that includes the original LP mix. John Lodge sang an octave lower than his recorded falsetto , leaving the lead to one of the background singers. I was hoping for a full harmony bridge like on the album! Oh well, you can’t have everything! “Mike Pinder’s “Sunset” was sung by John Lodge and he did a good job, although he was not as idiosyncratic as Pinder. The backing was a little more “tiki-style” and it suited the song perfectly. “Twilight Time” had a punk-rock urgency that really suited it. Some attempts at “psychedelic” computer-generated imagery didn’t really work, but nice try! Jeremy Irons’ head returned to intone the last poem bits, which came before “Nights in White Satin”, rather than in between the end of the song and the final orchestra flourish. Justin Hayward sang the song well, like he always does, but both he and John Lodge are showing sign of age. Nobody missed any notes or croaked anything, but the old “gusto” wasn’t quite there. They did a good job with the album presentation, though. It was thoroughly enjoyable. Even the recorded orchestral interludes, where the band just stood in the shadows, were enjoyable for the video presentation. I’ve seen the band so many times now that I know the show is always going to be good. Encores were “Question” and “Ride My See Saw” as they have been for a while now. I have a tape of a show labeled “Bern 1973” and those were the encores then, too.
In an interesting interview in Prog no. 97 John Lodge explains why there have been no new recordings by the Moodies for 16 years. Apparently there is no one to tell them to get on with it like there was in the past. But Lodge at least has the songs - he's planning a follow-up to his recent solo album.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks