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The
Monday Night Music Massacre in New Brunswick
It took a bit of searching to find the State Theatre in New Brunswick. All of the streets seemed to be one way, and never the way we wanted to go, but after a few wrong turns we finally happened upon the venue, and were thrilled to once again see "THE MOODY BLUES" on the marquee. We were stunned to find a FREE parking place in front of the theatre, slid into it and celebrated our major victory. NB is rich in small and interesting restaurants! I tried in vain to cajole SueC into trying Ethiopian cuisine, but she adamantly refused, American gravy girl that she is. A few steps later, we found a place a bit more to her liking - the Soho restaurant. We waltzed in as they opened around 5:30, and though the signs said "dinner at 6:30" and "reservations required", they seemed happily willing to feed us. Two other traveling fans saw us thru the glass window and joined us for coffee and conversation. We whiled away the time before the 8pm concert in a most delightful manner, then sauntered down the street in anticipation of our non-caloric musical dessert. The Venue: The State Theatre is very similar in size and general layout to the Providence PAC, however it is much less ornate, with nary a gold leaf in sight. Like the PAC, it has a balcony and a large round light structure on the ceiling. The State Theatre has dark salmon walls and a lime green ceiling. It is pleasant, but not impressive. I didn't hear whether the concert was a sellout (there were at least a few tickets sold that day), but it appeared to be nicely full with a few empties here and there. The State Theatre acoustics were an improvement over the Providence venue - the sound was clearer and less muddy, though still not of the highest quality. Lighting was good and the designs projected behind the Band were entertaining. The audience was a nice mixture of regular and casual fans, and was both enthusiastic and appreciative. Quite a number grasped the significance of Justin picking up the Olson acoustic guitar after Slide Zone, and one happy woman in the audience yelled to Justin as he stepped to the mike. I thought she yelled "I love you!" which seemed to surprise and please him. Purses were not checked at the door and security was there but not an obvious presence. The security guard I asked regarding the photo policy said that small cameras were allowed, no professional cameras with detachable lens, no digital cameras (another specific mention), no videotaping. Security was serious about their policy! A fan was told at the break to put her camera away, and the guard said that he wouldn't take her film, but she was NOT to use the camera again. I snapped away delightedly with my Leica point and shoot without any hassles. I do love a venue that says what it means, and means what it says. The stage was fairly low, say three feet high, and so one could contentedly watch the Jays' footwork - why? Heck, I don't know! I just like to watch their FEET. LOL The Concert: Tonight's concert was the roughest one I've seen in a long time! Very little went smoothly in New Brunswick, beginning with a faltering of lyrics in English Sunset. Per SueC, Gemini Dream's lyrics again evaded John, but I didn't notice any blank spots. My advice is sing something, sing anything! A HUGE glaring, horrible and frightening moment occurred during Isn't Life Strange (or ILS), resulting in obvious panic onstage. SueC said that something happened (she thought it began with JH missing on the guitar part) and it must have thrown GE off, because where the drum should be playing "heartbeats", nothing was heard! John stepped back and looked stricken, and Justin was pumping his right arm, but no drum sounds were heard. The patient had flatlined! LOL!!! Justin turned to GE and the heartbeats began, and all recovered. The patient was SAVED! I have never heard (or seen) this type of screwup on ILS; it's usually done to perfection. There seemed to be a rare problem with concentration on stage in New Brunswick. Ray received flowers at the end of FML (For My Lady) and JL was offered a bouquet after WYS (Words You Say) for which the blonde lady received a wink in return. The end mercifully came on a difficult night. An amusing moment happened during the intermission. We were chatting up a security guard who told us that Julio Englesias was the act to see (lol!) and that he (the guard, not Julio) was threatened by aggressive women who said they HAD to get backstage. One of us (I can't mention her name for fear she will leave me stranded in BFE) tried that tactic with him and said she HAD to get backstage and meet the Band. His response was "that would be the best thing to happen to the Moodies in YEARS". He still wouldn't get us backstage, though! LOL A member of the crew told me that JL has new onstage speakers this tour. The stage wasn't too high Monday night, and I was directly in front of JL and heard them. VERY nice! They sound great, and you can hear them very well if you are at the stage. If you try to get up there, please do not elbow the nice, silver-haired fan reviewer at the stage, and please DON'T yell into her ear. It HURTS! LOL!!! MaggieMay |
