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We
reluctantly left Atlantic City and started the long 5 hour drive to Providence,
RI, cheerfully tossing McDonalds' sacks into the back-seat as we made our
way north on 95. It was hard to leave the handsome young doorman
at our hotel who seemed to enjoy both the playful banter of three "Momrockers"
and the one$ which we showered him with. We had places to go, people
to see and music to rock to!
Providence is a very attractive and quaint town with narrow streets and restored buildings. Even though it was Sunday, parking on the street was hard to find, but find one we did: just behind the venue. Two catering vans were parked across from us, and as we parked, we noticed the evening meal being taken to our favorite, famished rockers. I wish I had thought to inquire what was being served, but at the time, I was wondering if perhaps a ham sandwich had fallen off the trays and onto the van floor, and perhaps they would appreciate my checking for them. Alas, food had to wait for these two traveling fans who had arrived at the venue early in hopes of um, "improving" their seats. (I was finally fed a fine breakfast at the TA truckstop, much, MUCH later, just in time to keep my stomach from self-digesting.) The Venue: The Providence Performing Arts Center (PAC) is another in a long line of recent Moodies venues, small, intimate and lovely. My personal security guard, Bob, told me that it had fallen into serious disrepair, and had nearly been torn down. Wisely, it had been rescued by the community and has been spectacularly restored. It is quite ornate! Bob told me that he had had a call to work at the venue, and was surprised when he arrived with his assignment: he was to sit and guard the paint! LOL!!! A great deal of gold leaf was involved in the restoration, and he spent a day watching the paint, valued at (gasp!) $300 per gallon! The PAC was worth the trip; it is a vision. There were no purse searches or obvious security measures. The PAC website lays out their security policy, which includes no large bags or briefcases. I did notice security guards studying the crowd as we filed in. I believe there was a sign stating No Photography, but Bob did not feel that that applied to me! lol He said the policy of the evening was no large lenses or videotaping, that small cameras were fine. There was a small pit for the concert, three rows of freestanding (and uncomfortable) chairs. The concert was AGAIN sold-out, and very well attended. Since tickets were pricey at face for this kind of venue, I was not surprised that people made the effort to attend. The stage was high, perhaps 5 feet and I have a stiff neck from looking up all evening. Lighting was adequate, the back projection of colors and figures behind the Moodies was quite nice, and I'm sure very impressive from farther back in the hall. They were a bit heavy on the smoke tonight (used to enhance the lighting effect and not incense as some mistakenly believe) and the Moodies appeared to be standing in a mist on the moor at times. I was not impressed with the sound. It was very muddy and indistinct. I would have expected better from this type of hall. The setlist was the same as Saturday night in AC; AGAIN The Actor was omitted! It was performed with a 20 minute intermission. I found the contrast between the lovely theatre and its surly box office amazing! It was hell to get tickets for this venue, and the box office lied thru their teeth. They were very unpleasant to a number of fans, and it reflected very poorly on the venue. I hope the venue and the promoter treated the Moody Blues better than they treated us! The Fashion Report, with MaggieMay reporting the Fashion News for Entertainment Tonight: GE - Didn't catch his shirt first half, second half the American Flag shirt, black slacks RT - White long slvd shirt first half, black long slvd shirt second half, black slacks JL - White embroidered on white shirt first half (appeared to be fully buttoned tonight - lol), black long slvd shirt second half, leathers, boots JH - White tuxedo shirt, black slacks, policeman shoes. An additional button was undone tonight, whether an intentional device to throw off the waiter comments or a merely missing button, I couldn't tell you! Quite a nice effect, however. : ) Since JL's shirt was unbuttoned LAST night, I thought perhaps that the Jays might have discussed taking turns titillating the audience. (hypothetical scene from the Jays' dressing room: JH - it's MY turn tonight! Yours went unbuttoned LAST night!) The Concert: The concert was good, but unremarkable. Nothing went wrong, but nothing was exceptional. The Moodies uniformly and professionally put out a great product, and they did that tonight. One unique thing happened: Ray received a standing ovation immediately after his flute solo in LOAM. I have not seen that happen before. There were very few traveling fans there; this was the appreciation of a great piece of music, beautifully done, by an audience of music lovers. It was wonderful to see, and great to be a part of! I didn't see behind me if everyone continued standing for the rest of LOAM, but *I* did, as did most of the pit. It was incredibly COOL! I feel that the flute interlude on LOAM has been a struggle since Bias has left (my personal opinion only). Paul seems a great guy and obviously a wonderful musician, but he has yet to "connect" with Ray and it's too often a case of Ray following Paul, rather than how it SHOULD be: Paul following Ray. A lot of following is done with body movement (at least in a string quartet, trio or duo which is where *I* am coming from) and perhaps Paul just can't SEE Ray from his spot over by Gordon. Perhaps it will come in time, but a darn lot of gigs have come and gone, and it STILL isn't there. Ray deserves better! Gemini Dream is back on track - no glaring mistakes or miscues tonight, thank God! I may start to relax and enjoy this song. The "crashing of the sea" again saw Gordon glued to his drumkit instead of standing in his accustomed place next to Graeme Edge. I miss Gordon whacking GE's Zilgens and hope that Justin lets him out of the doghouse SOON. Graeme looks lonely there without him. I feel SO SORRY for the audience in Providence, Rhode Island! They missed one of the jewels of recent Moody performances - The Actor. It was a brilliant idea to add it to the setlist, and a high crime to take it out. I always hear thrilled squeals when The Actor is announced. sigh Of course, the good people of Rhode Island do not come necessarily expecting The Actor, and so don't realize what a wonderful experience they are missing. I hope the music lovers of New Brunswick, NJ are not similarly cheated of this incredibly beautiful piece of music, performed by the Truebadour of our time. (misspelling intentional - do not write Magwaw with your complaints!) "The sound, I have heard in your hello..." One thing I have noticed in the past few concerts, and failed to mention, is Graeme's inspired and soulful recitation of Nothing Changes. It's always a great piece, but it has glowed with a new vitality lately. The Health Watch: Justin seemed pretty good tonight, similar to last night. He certainly feels extra energy, for he was hopping around a bit before one of the songs. The sound quality was too poor to make any comments on anyone's voice, but I didn't notice any obvious problems. There's still quite a bit of "snuffling" going on up there! LOL!!! (I haven't had the burning desire to hop up onstage with a box of Kleenexes though.) Here's hoping that he's well on the mend, and caught this cold before it really got a hold of him. Perhaps a nice jar of Vic's Vap-o-Rub would be JUST the thing to clear up that nose! Remember when your Mom spread it thickly on your chest before you went to bed, then covered it with a washcloth and you snorted it all night? If he's never experienced THAT, then he hasn't lived. (reminder: pick up Vic's and small giftbag tomorrow for the New Brunswick show. Now wouldn't that be a gift of love? He surely has all the cards and flowers he'll ever need, but some Vic's Vap-o-rub? I bet he's NEVER received that! LOL) Everyone else seems fine! And Finally... Since our car was parked behind the venue, we couldn't help but notice the good-sized crowd gathered to send the Band off into the night. Although SueC and I are, of course, MUCH too jaded and blase to stand around to see the Band get into their cars (hoho! like we'd miss ANY chance to see the Band - lol) we spent a bit meeting and greeting, giving hugs to friends and spending some time making new ones. The real job was trying to keep our toes from getting run over by the cars roaring thru the narrow little street. Every car stopped and asked "who" was coming out and my standard reply was: Peter, Paul and Mary! HAHA That made them peal out, with nary a look back! Finally a large SUV stopped, no doubt because of all the comely middle-aged women there at the curb, and the city workers inside effectively blocked my view while trying to pick me up (I'm *sure* it was me!). I did get to see two handsome heads (Ray and Graeme) and was treated to the sight of a number of women rushing toward their limo with flowers in their hands and love in their eyes. I hope Justin and John got the same adoring fan treatment! I, however, left for my car, with music in my heart and damn near nothing in my stomach. Can't Hal set up a weenie stand next to the merchandise for starving concertgoers? He could offer a "Ray" fish sandwich, a "Graeme" burger, and possibly, a "Jay's" weenie. Or is it a "banger"? That's it - I'm falling off my bed laughing! Next stop: New Brunswick! MaggieMay |
