| Welcome to the DECEMBER Tour!
On The Road With MaggieMay... We walked out of The Murat with a warm feeling of satisfaction and lightness. I got to hold my little boy's hand, as I used to so many years ago, sharing him now with the other special woman in his life. Ryan seemed pleased and happy and surprised me by saying how much he had enjoyed the concert. I looked sharply at him (he's a terrible tease) but he told me he really meant it. Maybe there's hope for him after all! We kissed and hugged all around and sent him off to Bloomington and retired to our hotel. I needed to calm my nerves from the sight of Ryan mid-concert with a (legal) Heineken in his hand. LOL I think it was mostly for show! We also said our fond goodbyes to our Moody friend from St Louis, who left with a little more "faith" in her pocket. Faith is always a good thing to find! It's funny how you can "give it" and find that you then have more of it yourself. : ) The four of us found a comfortable spot to indulge in Bailey's and coffee and REVEL in the afterglow of a musically momentous evening. I was still thinking of the things I'd like to do to The Murat box office for costing me years off my life with the pit fiasco. All's well that ends well, but I'll find ways of making Clear Channel suffer for it. Perhaps I'll take a JOB with them, and then they'll REALLY suffer! LOL The Indy concert was jampacked with small events and pleasures. I spent the concert "shepherding" a couple really nice guys, having a great time with them and gently quieting them when they became a little too excited at the *wrong* times. I had to "shush" Kelly during December Snow, but enjoyed his fervent and obvious enthusiasm.  As
he and John left, John told me his only disappointment in the evening was
not getting the chance to rub my feet! LOL (It's a long story.)
I was reunited with a pair of kind Moody friends at The Murat, who are
big fans and who had made the trip from Evansville for their only Moody
concert this year: Carol and Michael. My champion of the evening
and companion on the front row was my son's dermatologist and his wife,
Jim and Ann. They are among the few in Richmond who know of my secret
life following The Moody Blues (having caught me at Pine Knob) and it's
ok with them. They met in college, waiting in line to buy tickets
for a Moody Blues concert. I owe you, Jim, and by the way, I have
this place on my back I need for you to look at sometime. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Some surprising people were celebrating December's debut in the bar, but were allowed to enjoy their glasses of wine in peace. My honey had a GREAT time and left with his December shirt signed by his favorite member of The Moody Blues - Mr Graeme Edge. SueC and I worry sometimes that Gabe will chuck his day job and come to tour with us full-time. While he's often tempted, he just doesn't have the stamina to keep up with us, as he freely admits. "You guys are KILLING me" is his favorite saying when he's with us. It was awfully hard to say goodbye the next morning. sigh I have everything I could ever want; I just don't have it all at the same time! LOL  Our
hotel had a $75 late checkout penalty (putting them on my list right after
Clear Channel) and it gave us exactly the motivation we needed to get our
asses in gear, dressed and packed. The drive to Chicago was pretty
effortless and we pulled in to the Rosemont parking lot around 4.
Valet parking is $16 and regular parking a shocking $11 and we felt we
had scored big by avoiding it. It's the little victories on the road
that keep us going! I wrote in the car and SueC helped with the little
details. I don't know what I would do without her brain to pick.
THE VENUE Rosemont has been a regular Moodies stop for the past few years. It's located across from the convention center in a town that is solely populated by hotels because of its proximity to the airport. The box office is generally uncooperative and tickets "disappear" in that big city way that distinctly smells of corruption. This is very annoying to the hard working LittleTicketBeggar. Still, a friend helped us out and we managed to get into the pit. This is crucial at Rosemont, because the pit is well guarded. Brokers listed tickets at high prices and one enterprising fellow posted a pair of first row orchestra (not pit) tickets on eBay at a beginning bid of $1500! Can you say "highway robbery"? Rosemont is a stand alone facility surrounded by a sea of parking lot. Pleasant ushers take your tickets and quick purse searches supported the signs on the door saying No Photography. A picture is worth a thousand words, and unfortunately, I'm going to have to write a hell of a lot to make up for it. There's a large lobby with only a few chairs and they don't allow even WATER in the theatre. I spent the evening watching Justin glug glug away, and considered jumping up onstage, *not* to molest any band member, but only to grab a bottle of Justin's Evian. LOL (And don't get me started on those people that want a HALF finished bottle of water, hoping to have an intimate experience with English DNA! How disgusting! And creepy.) The large theatre is plain and in complete contrast with the more intimate feeling and highly ornate Murat in Indy. A BIG security guard told me Rosemont seats a whopping 4200 including the 90 impossible to find pit seats, 2100 is in the balcony, which surprised me. The Moodies did a good job on it, selling 3800. The venue is a monochromatic gray/green with comfortable seats of a similar color. It has a wide stage and the mikes were set back a good six feet from the edge. The stage was a little high for comfort (OUR comfort, not theirs!) at 43 inches. Seating fans out from the pit in 5 sections on the floor. We were surprised to discover that our third row pit seats were actually front row in our section way on the left. JH was far away, and JL even farther, but we had an unobstructed, angled view and plenty of leg room. I have a new companion - a cane, and there was plenty of room for it on the floor, without it being a tripping hazard. The best part of the evening and a personal relief was the speaker placement - at stage level, but past the stage. THE FASHION REPORT JL - White long-slvd shirt with bib/ruffle, leathers, boots, 2nd half black shirt JH - Pink long-slvd pin-striped shirt, tux pants(black stripe down the side), shoes, gray socks, shoes, 2nd half is unremembered (Ed: No notes and no photos makes this stuff impossible) GE - Two Ladies long-slvd shirt, black slacks, 2nd half - red Ho Ho shirt Norda - Black ruffled skirt, black brocade strapless top, jacket Bernie - Black on black Paul - White long-slvd shirt with brown stripes, jacket Gordon - white shirt w/dragon print on front, etc THE CONCERT The Chicago audience was treated to another enthralling performance by The Moody Blues, full of excitement, energy and enthusiasm. I thought it was on the same level as The Murat concert the night before. Again, a treat and a pleasure. : ) I am one lucky person! The Holiday setlist was performed in its entirety with a 20 minute intermission. (Oh, that is FUN to say!) A few concert notes... Rosemont saw a great start. Justin was particularly *bouncy* this evening. Gemini Dream was perfect, according to SueC, my lyrics specialist. Ah, but Singer! Lyrics, lyrics, lyrics! Wassamatter here? I'm beginning to think that maybe JL is switching verses just to *mess* with Justin. LOLOL Again, SueC swears they are leaving out a verse of The Voice. Or, maybe they need to go back to school. (Ed: they ARE leaving out a verse! (and this isn't the first time they've done it) The Voice is my all-time fave MB song, and I AM the lyrics specialist, right?) Despite the frequent visits to Chicago by the Moodies, at least one man did not know that Ray Thomas is no longer touring. Where's Ray was shouted out from the audience. I was tempted to yell back that he has gout! (an online joke, no, he doesn't have gout) The December songs were well received and just as beautiful as they were in Indianapolis. Justin still has me mystified on Don't Need a Reindeer as to what is supposed to happen on the chorus. I love the song, and his dropping out at different places has me puzzled. I'd like for it to sound like it does on the cd. Or close! LOL I watched his beautiful guitar work on December Snow and he vibratos the HELL out of the Gibson on it. Of course, it sounds great, but it's also fascinating to watch. The most significant and distracting thing about Rosemont was the cold. It was almost as COLD inside the theatre as it was outside! Poor Norda kept her jacket on half the time, and she's moving around on the stage. I was so cold I was uncomfortable, but loathe to put on my full-length down coat. I don't think the cold was particularly good for someone with the sniffles, either! ; ) Now, who could that be? LOL! Another OUTSTANDING show for The Moody Blues, and another set of drumsticks for a cute little girl with the biggest collection of drumsticks in the free world. LOL!!! MaggieMay Oh, oh, won't you tell me again, Oh, oh, can you feel it! Oh, oh, won't you tell me again, Tonight! (Ed: How many words have I got to say And how many times will it be this way With your arms around the future And your back up against the past) Photos courtesy of SueC LOL! |
| Detroit |
