August 4, 2001 - Albuquerque, NM
Saturday night at the Sandia Casino Amphitheatre provided a distinct listening change for the jaded Moody Blues Fan. First, the Fashion Report (very brief as I am not in the least fashionable) JL: Short-sleeved white shirt, black slacks, same old shoes with buckle JH: Long-sleeved white shirt, black slacks, patent leather shoes Ray: Long-sleeved black shirt, black slacks, Keds Graeme: multicolored shirt (quite similar in appearance to a painter's drop cloth) with face on front, black slacks A new addition to the Fashion Report: Bernie: Black, low cut, halter top jump suit, NO SHOES As noted in a prior post, the setlist again included The Actor (replacing Haunted) and had as a new addition, Gemini Dream, replacing Strange Times. The Venue: The Sandia Amphitheatre is in its first season, and is quite an unusual venue. In a bizarre twist, the Lawn is directly in FRONT of the stage, and regular seating begins 30 feet back, making lawn seats the front row. Security and the Powers That Be seemed unsure how to handle the lawn seating for the Moodies and changed their policies numerous times, INCLUDING on show day. A couple of admirable and determined fans from Illinois arrived at the venue at 6am, starting the line; other fans also arrived very early to hold their spots. The weaker and more pitiful of us arrived early afternoon at the venue. The Band also arrived early, (11am was mentioned) and so fans were rewarded with sound checks and rehearsal throughout the day. We were finally allowed in the venue at 6:30pm (show at 8:15ish) and all who had waited in the HOT sun were given a TOWEL by the venue and rewarded with the front spots. The stage was low, perhaps 2 feet high, and we sat on the grass about 6 feet from the stage. The rope marking our boundary was slung comfortably below eye level for most of us, and no guards impeded our view of the stage. The trust shown by the venue was appreciated. The announcers for the supporting radio station announced that the concert was sold out, in contrast to security who had said that about 150 tickets remained. Close enough!. The soundtrack to Amazing Caves was played before the concert several times, ST was also heard. The view of the Sandia mountains from the top of the venue is simply breathtaking. The view of the gathering clouds was quite worrisome! Moody Magic held, and the storm hit as the crowd was leaving the venue. The Setup: The stage was quite short across, and Paul and his keyboards were put on risers next to Gordon's drumset. The new BUV was on a riser next to Graeme's drumset, with ONE Kurzweil PC 2 keyboard and understandably, a music stand. The Concert: The first concert of the tour is often a bit "rocky" as the Band seem to reacquaint themselves with both the music and with each other. Despite the Band's rehearsal, which those of us in line HEARD, they frequently did not seem to be playing together. This was worse than any other first concert I had attended. It might not have been noticed by the casual fan. Individual performances were fine. One noticeable screw up occurred on NIWS, which is usually flawless, leaving Justin making a confused facial expression. The sound, which can not be well-evaluated from the front row seemed ok. The New BUV/keyboard player: Bernie (as named in pbaub's post via Michele) made her first tour appearance tonight. Let me say upfront that EVERY male Moodies fan should be pleased! (including my husband who misses Sue and Tracy terribly - lol!) She is young and extremely good looking, striking in appearance, with long, blonde curly hair. I am not a male Moodies fan, and so I don't care how she looks. She has a pleasant on-stage demeanor. Frankly, she didn't seem to DO much! She sang backup vocals adequately, and did not overpower the lead vocals as prior backups sometimes did. She appeared to play very little, and Paul appeared to carry the major load of keyboard duties, including the accompaniment for Ray's flute solo in LOAM, and for Graeme in Nothing Changes. I thought perhaps that the Band is easing her into the line up, and it will be interesting to see how and if she progresses. Right now, she seems to be little more than a pretty face. The only other note I can think of regarding tonight's concert is the BIG change in LOAM. The flute solo, which has always been one of my favorite pieces and it's exquisite keyboard part was DRASTICALLY changed. And not for the better! Paul carries this responsibility now in the changed lineup. The keyboard part was completely different from that of the last two years. I will check, but I believe it is very similar to that done on a boot from a concert in the 80s in Nagoya, Japan. Not only was the keyboard playing a different arrangement, but I felt the arrangement was not nearly as beautiful as the one done on the April tour. I also felt the keyboard did not play in time with the flute. As another fan said: It sucked! This observation is not meant to be a knock on Paul, who is a very fine keyboard player and guitarist. Perhaps the problem lay with inadequate rehearsal, perhaps the duet was affected by Paul's placement on the stage opposite from Ray. I don't know. However, I longed for Bias and the magic that he and Ray made together. It was not there tonight. Overall, the concert was good, and Justin was PARTICULARLY good tonight; he played, talked and sang with noticeable and infectious enthusiasm. He also did a great job killing the huge moth which spent several minutes plaguing each member of the Band. I can only think that prior bug encounters have left him both wary and vicious! A great moment was his comment regarding the album In Search of the Lost Chord, that they were still "out there" (meaning touring and onstage performing) because they still hadn't found it! Maggie |