| The DECEMBER Tour!
On The Road With MaggieMay... We arrived none too early for the concert having been failed by Sylvia (the name we christened our NeverLost GPS Lady). SueC entered our destination and picked the Shortest Route option. It was probably shorter as the crow flies, but we're stuck on the ground and it directed us through an inordinate amount of heavy traffic. I thought we were going to drive through McDonalds and was ready for a nice junk food meal but the McDonalds we drove by all had bars on the windows and hired security with Uzi's at the front doors. SueC commented that NeverLost could get us killed. I eyed every MickeyD's longingly, thinking of that utterly disgusting and delicious Big Mac, but SueC ignored my growling stomach and drove on by them. She finally stopped at a Wendy's! I wasn't CRAVING a Wendy's. sigh It was that or nothing. I wish I had gotten the store number. Blueglow waited and waited for her chicken sandwich, and finally asked the clerk where it was. The clerk called back to the grill and the cook shouted "I gave you your fucking chicken sandwich". Hmmmmm We left as quick as we could! LOL THE VENUE Ruth Eckerd Hall is a darn annoying venue. It was designed by a complete idiot! Like the Van Wezel in Sarasota, the orchestra has long rows, uninterrupted by aisles. The Van Wezel has one main entrance and you are directed to the opposite sides of the theater from that lobby. At Ruth Eckerd, they have several entrances and you have to hike around the place trying to find the correct one. SueC let me off at the front entrance and unfortunately, it was the west one and our tickets said "east". I waited there and SueC and I set off around the damn building, walking past several grim and glowering couples muttering "what the hell do they mean, west?"  There
is a courtyard by the east entrance with an outdoor bar and tables and
chairs - very nice. Lots of live oak trees with the moss hanging
down from the limbs and gently swaying in the breeze; they are the dominant
focal feature in their landscaping. It's a nice place to hang out,
and this year we weren't tortured by some awful jazz band. LOL
Ruth Eckerd has just undergone major renovation including new venue chairs and new carpet and paint. SueC said that at our last visit there the interior was salmon, and now it is a pleasant green with black carpet. The chairs are very comfortable, but I wonder if they aren't a tad bit bigger than the old ones. The walkway between the pit and the first row of the orchestra is gone and SueC noticed that while it wasn't too hard to get past people to your interior seat before, it seems much more difficult to do so now. The staff is pleasant and there are no purse searches. The stage was the standard setup, the stage was um...low enough to SIT on! The Moodies were quite close in comparison to Mizner - the mikes were about 6 feet back from the edge of the stage. Front row pit was close enough to the stage to rest your feet against the wall. When I got there there for the 2nd show, I did! Of course, as the box office gals will tell you "there isn't a bad seat in the house!" LOL!!! There were 2 shows at Ruth Eckerd, the first at 5pm and the second at 8pm. They were quite different shows, so I'll address them separately. THE FASHION REPORT - 5pm JL - White long-slvd bib shirt with ruffle, leathers, boots JH - White cattleman's shirt, black jeans, shoes GE - Hula shirt, black slacks, running shoes Norda - Gold fitted "tank" top with spaghetti straps, black slacks Bernie - Black low-cut top, black slacks Gordon - Black long-slvd knit top Paul - White striped long-slvd shirt Norda had a new top on tonight - very nice! I wonder how the studded boots would look with Justin's black jeans. I think it would look better than the shoes. The cattleman's shirt has some kind of patch or insignia on the left upper arm, but it is also white. I can't tell what it is. It was a great hair night for Bernie - particularly nice and noticeable tonight. 
THE CONCERT - 5pm I'm always wary of the early concert. I've never had a great one. They've been dubbed the "babysitter's" concerts, since a young couple can get home at a reasonable hour. LOL Unfortunately, this one fell right along with the other early shows I've experienced. We had a clean start, but it was obvious from the first song that it was not going to be anything special. The Band reflected the dead 5pm audience and gave a perfunctory performance. Just picking up a paycheck! It wasn't a bad performance, it was ok, but there was no energy. It was a typical babysitter's concert. The 2003 setlist was played in its entirety without an intermission. A few concert notes... LtSY was fine (as it always is) but was followed by one of my concert favorites that rarely escapes intact: Gemini Dream. JH left out "Make it work!" - just missed it. I could hear Bernie's vocals on Tuesday Afternoon quite well. English Sunset has had minor errors in every performance so far this tour - usually different ones. Tonight JH missed "live with humility" substituting the later "wait for the requiem". WYS was ok. Justin has gone thru a variety of introductions to The Actor. Tonight's was simple (and that's ok) This is a song from ISOTLC, This is The Actor. Slide Zone, IKYOTS and TSIYE were performed adequately, but without inspiration. The crowd was up for the song's endings and gave appreciative, if not hysterical applause. 
No break! Right on to YWD, ILS. Blueglow noticed some missing lead guitar in ILS. What I really noticed on ILS was some incredibly bad lighting for Justin. I was seeing it from past John on the front row, and at several points in ILS, it looked like Justin was wearing an orange straw wig. I looked for it again during the 8pm show, and it's not nearly as bad looking from the center. Ooooh, it's bad from the side though. TOSOL is always a treat! JL didn't budge for his move to JH at "take that step" and belatedly tried to make his way over for the highlight guitar thrusts. Graeme had a different introduction for H&H for Clearwater. GE: I live about 45 minutes down from here! I get to sleep in my own bed tonight. With my own wife! AYSC shone thru the darkness. ; ) Singer saw JH and JL singing different lyrics, but I'm getting used to that this tour. The right hand and the left hand of The Moody Blues are not as one this tour. Armwrestling is more like it. Nights was nice. Oh, how can I say that! It was wonderful! sigh The Dead rose for Question. HAHA Question and SeeSaw were a bit more popped up and ended the concert on an up note. My treat for the night was a tall, young and handsome fellow named Christopher. Chris came in with a bag and I greeted him with "What did you bring me?" He was startled but seriously explained it was copies of his cd for the guys. He was a delight and alternated singing to me with waving to his wife at the other end of the row. (Thanks for the loan!) It was as good as Justin sitting next to you in the audience! LOL He made a few, quiet, thoughtful comments during the performance. My favorite was the comment he made during Are You Sitting Comfortably? sigh This is a PERFECT song! And so it is! MaggieMay Take another sip, my love And see what you will see. A dozen golden galleons, On a crystal sea... ***************************************  The
break between concerts was an event all its own! We retired to the
east courtyard and relaxed at a table surrounded by fans and friends.
There was great celebration by The Southern Magnolia who had been blessed
with favor from Mr Rock 'n Roll. MoodyBev was personally handed a
bass guitar pick all her own to join the one I had gotten for her at Lake
Tahoe this summer. There were many hugs and kisses from our overwhelmed
southern belle. SueC had snapped a photo of it at just the right
moment, and announced on viewing it that SHE was tearing up from the experience.
Nice things *do* sometimes happen to nice people! : )
We took photos of Blueglow with a Moody friend from Canada, greeted people,
had a drink and just kicked back. It really added to the evening!
THE FASHION REPORT - 8pm JL - Black tank top/white linen overshirt, leathers, boots JH - Pink pinstriped long-slvd shirt, black jeans, shoes GE - Flag shirt, black slacks Norda - Black skirt with ruffle, red and black striped sleeveless shirt, boots Bernie - Black on black  Norda's
spiffy new outfit is amazing! I noticed the last couple of times
she's worn it, she's moved the ruffled "bustle" to the back instead of
to the side. Both looks are great. When it's in the back, it
reminds of of a lady equestrian preparing to ride sidesaddle. :
) JL's outfit has become a big fan favorite, and I always enjoy seeing
it. You betcha!
THE CONCERT - 8pm The second show was much more energized than the babysitter's offering at 5pm, as they usually are. The 2003 setlist was performed without an intermission. Prior to the concert start, Annie Summers, a DJ with a local classic rock station, came out to greet the crowd. She announced that The Moodies had a brand new holiday album out, their first ever holiday album, and that it was available at the merchandise stand. I thought that worked out VERY well. : ) A few concert notes (and this time I REALLY mean a few). Graeme's shoe was untied during H&H. He tried to retie it before he went up to his drumkit, but didn't have time. How's THAT for concert excitement? A little more excitement of another type was seen at concert's end. A gal tried to force her way between SueC and Blueglow near the beginning of SeeSaw. SueC had been *had* the night before by an aggressive fan, and was alert. She and Blueglow stood their ground, shoulder to shoulder. LOL  They
both said that the gal REEKED of liquor and Blueglow nodded to the security
guard at the stage, who nodded back. He was watching her. She
went on down the line and crashed in, but the venue had sent a female security
guard into the pit to deal with her. Apparently, she didn't WANT
to be dealt with and though the guard gently tugged at her, she pulled
away and sat on the stage! LOL That got the watching guard
into action, and I saw him kneeling DURING the song on the stage in front
of her. SueC and Blueglow said that he had lifted her off the stage
and back into the audience. I don't think his talk did much good,
although she DID keep off the stage. She was leaning in as far as
she could with arms outstretched to John. What a lucky guy!
It was the same gal that had grabbed his leg at Mizner in Boca Raton the night before! Hey there! Get a grip! You can come to SEE the Band, but you can't take them home. That's the rule! LOLOLOL There is not a darn thing else to say! The delightful Dan Cook (what a cutie!) used to wryly say "We're creeping up on the perfect performance". This was pretty close to it. Technically near perfect, but lacking much spark. Still, attending two shows nearly kills me, so I can imagine the toll it takes on The Moodies. A great job, an excellent concert.  And
NOW for a well-deserved day off! I hope the Band enjoys their day
in sunny Florida.
MaggieMay It's not the way that you say it, When you do those things to me. It's more the way you really mean it, When you tell me what will be. (And what the HELL does that mean??? LOL!!!) Photos courtesy of SueC |
| Jacksonville |
