November 4, 2003 - Jacksonville, FL
| Welcome to the DECEMBER Tour!
On The Road With MaggieMay... We were ready for a day off and spent it in relaxation and conversation with Blueglow, who was to leave us the next morning. The club room had 5 "presentations" each day, and we were determined to sample all five. We didn't aspire to anything more exciting than that. Breakfast and hours of coffee and Baileys was quickly followed by lunch. We didn't feel motivated to leave our floor, and idly looked out over the pool and the marina.  It
was a lovely view, both inside and out! ;) I caught
up on some sleep (I tend to get sleep-deprived after a week or so on tour),
while SueC and Blueglow sat on the deck and quietly told stories and muffled
their laughter. They reported later with great amusement that they
had seen three fans crash a cocktail party/reception being held on the
lawn. Out of curiosity, SueC had checked to see if we had perhaps
missed a hotel event and was told it was a reception for an insurance company.
The name? New Horizons Insurance! LOL Well...some people
will go to any lengths for a free drink. <snort>
We had some excitement in the evening while having hors d'oeurves and champagne on the clubroom balcony. An annoying group had taken a table outside with us in the far corner, and our attempt at quiet conversation was drowned out by the loud discourse of a self-important attorney in their group. Boisterous and boozy, he entertained his companions with intimate details of various court cases he was currently involved with. I wish I had caught his name so that I could be sure NEVER chose him for *my* legal representation! He startled us by LOUDLY proclaiming that he smelled pot! Well, yes, we smelled it too, but the aroma was light and I didn't feel any craving for Oreos. HAHA He actually summoned the club concierge to complain. I wondered just what the hotel was supposed to do? Slip a note under their hotel room door saying... Dear Honored Guest, PLEASE put out your joint! Sincerely, The Hotel Management Blueglow left early the next morning for the trip back to DisneyLand, believe it or not! I have express permission from Ripley's to use that expression, and you don't! LOL We had a wonderful time with her and hated to see her go. This was the most concerts she had done so far in a row, and I'm afraid we have ruined her. My favorite moments are when Blueglow does her imitation of Blondie, who sadly (and very recently) trotted on to greener pastures. She's a hoot, and a very good sport, and was a delightful addition to our travels in Florida. SueC and I said our goodbyes and got back to the job of drinking coffee and contemplating checkout. We felt quite at home there, and didn't want to leave the affectionate treatment we received from the extremely indulgent staff. sigh Home should be this good! It was a fair drive for us to Jacksonville, and it wasn't helped by the rain. We were amazed that our Town car had sensors that automatically turned the windshield wipers on and off. Our hotel had sent us off with some nibbles to go, and I exulted when I found a plastic fork in cellophane on the floor of the back seat. What luck! Otherwise it was going to be a messy project to eat the asian noodle salad with my fingers. SueC made good time and we found the venue easily. It hadn't moved from the spot. I felt for the crew - the situation looked very cramped. Both trucks and the crew bus were lined up on the street in front of the theater. We knew we were exactly where we were supposed to be! We have a giddy social life on our Moody journeys, with dinners and drinks lined up with various fans across America. LOL Our Jacksonville *date* was already at the venue, and we had dinner at the little Italian restaurant next to the theater. My spinach lasagna was very tasty and the garlic rolls were divine. I skipped out leaving SueC to take care of the bill, needing to um...see a man about a horse. I felt the siren call of front row tickets, and my gut told me that a little visit to the box office RIGHT THEN was the thing to do. It never hurts to ask! I could tell from word one that I was not dealing with any ordinary box office clerk. MM (smiling brightly): Have any front row tickets been released for tonight? BO (cagey look): MAYBE! MM (less certain): Um...well...HAVE they? BO (hard look): You're one of those GROUPIES, aren't you! MM (worried): No, no! I'm just a fan. BO (with disdain): You've probably ALREADY got 5th row! MM (uneasily): No I don't! (This was true - I had 2nd row) BO (nearly shouting): Oh, yes you do! And you're a member of the theater, too. Right? And I BET you've already been to the other concerts, haven't you! MM (shifting uneasily from foot to foot): Ummmm. Ummmmm Phone rings. While the box office lady is on the phone, I casually slip my membership card under the glass window. I'm a fervent supporter of the arts. She snaps up my membership card. BO (threateningly): Give me your tickets. MM hangs her head and puts them in the slot with trembling fingers. BO (firmly): OK, now you're STUCK with whatever comes up. I have never had to work SO hard for a pair of front row tickets in my life! Geez! : ) She was a smart one! LOL  SueC
was pleased and nodded her approval at my success - it put her in her favorite
seat. The City of Jacksonville had thoughtfully provided us a bench,
and we enjoyed talking with the strangers who came by.
THE VENUE The Florida theater is an old venue in a downtown area. I love the older venues, lovingly restored to their original beauty, unique and full of character. It was exactly how I had remembered it - people outside smoking and visiting and the same characters buying and selling tickets for the concert. The restrooms are conveniently placed inside the front door and there's a bar there too. It must have served a lot of beer, because the men's room line effectively blocked my entry to the theater. The merchandise stand seemed busy in its location in the inner foyer and the blue "sky" shone overhead so that one feels one is in a moorish courtyard. There's a balcony under a beautiful ceiling, wood beams directly over the balcony and a green/gold lattice work decorating the portion of the ceiling over the orchestra section. The lattice effect is carried over to both sides of the theater framing the stage. The orchestra has two primary sections separated by a center aisle. The front row (row A in the Florida Theater) is about 4 feet from the stage, not too far, but providing plenty of legroom. The stage is fronted by a foot wide wall ending a foot lower than the stage and with no gap to allow your purse to fall into the basement. LOL SueC found it very convenient for her purse at Question. The vintage wine seats are a bit low - I had to sit up to see the taps in The Actor. There 5 speakers and a front fill angled to the audience on either side of the stage. The stage looked on the small side and a passing crew member told me they were cramped and that the stage was only 30ft by 40 ft with not much wings. One could see the packing cases stacked up against the sides with the always reassuring "Moody Blues" elegantly spray-painted on them. The stage setup was different tonight, I assume because of the cramped quarters. The two drumkits were lower and Bernie and Paul were flat on the stage. Paul was slightly moved stage left from his usual spot, opening an entryway for the Band. I liked it a lot and thought it was a "friendlier" stage setup. Oh, I could see Paul! What a treat. : ) He nodded and sweetly smiled. There were no purse searches, security was present but discreet. Photography was allowed; no professional cameras. We were allowed to take bottles of water into the theater, which is always nice for a cooling draught after Singer. I didn't inquire if the concert was a sell-out, but I would say that it was nicely full. THE FASHION REPORT JL - Black tank top and white linen long-slvd overshirt, leathers, boots, 2nd half black long-slvd shirt with ruffle JH - Sherbet pink long-slvd western shirt, BLUE JEANS, studded boots, 2nd half white long-slvd gauzy shirt with tiny embroidered flowers or dots down the placket, red stitching on the collar, untucked. Naked right hand. GE - Jimi Hendrix shirt, black slacks, no change at half Norda - NEW Black palazzo look pants, fitted black strapless top. WOW Bernie - Black on black Paul - White long-slvd shirt with two breast pockets, 2nd half white long-slvd shirt with tan stripes  Norda
came out tonight in another winner; she looked fabulous! The Jays
walked out for concert's start in two of my favorite concert looks.
The only problem I have with John's black tank top and white shirt are
the WOOF WOOFS I hear from the audience. Justin in the most PERFECT
pair of blue jeans? MORE Woof Woofs. sigh! It's disgraceful!
It's an insult to two fine and dedicated professional musicians.
It's about the music, for God's sake!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THE CONCERT The audience was treated to an exceptionally good concert at the Florida Theater. The 2003 setlist was performed in its entirety with a 20 minute intermission. It's the perfect setlist and I love it. The more I hear DECEMBER, the more I long to hear a song, any song from that cd. Um, *not* White Christmas. sigh I NEED A REINDEER! The concert was blessed with a smooth start (so far, so good on the Florida offerings). The JAX audience was happy to be there, and the energy level was kicked up a few notches over the Clearwater shows. The early songs were perfect, including the often awful Gemini Dream. Lean on Me had a horrendous Strat note that even Justin cringed at. English Sunset: PERFECT and perfectly wonderful. The Actor provided the opportunity for a gal in the audience to shout "We LOVE you, Justin". Justin acknowledged her with an amused grin and embarrassed head toss. I have to admit that I called out "I love you, Ray" in years past just to hear him reply "I love YOU, darlin'!" :) The remaining songs of the first half were performed with energy and precision. I was amazed that more than half of the front row on Norda's side toward center was empty at the show's start. What is with that? It didn't remain empty for long - a number of fans jumped right in. I find seat jumping in the audience highly distracting. You can't help but see it out of the corner of your eye, and has caused a ruckus when the rightful owners turn up and want the jumpers out of their seats. The ticketholders didn't appear in this case, and it would have been a darn shame for those primo seats to go empty. I'd much rather see happy people having the time of their lives than empty seats at front row center. Getting out of the crowded venue at break was a chore. It's very close quarters there.  Second
half started well, and we got a good version of Your Wildest Dreams.
ILS got a HUGE ovation, proving once again that I am missing something.
LOL I've had the opportunity to sit in front of Gordon a few times
lately and I just hate those Sabian cymbals. They sound like garbage
can lids! Really! Gordon does a magnificent job during ILS
that simply can't be appreciated. Why can't he have Zildjian's too?
We got a hot, throbbing TOSOL. That song has been uniformly fabulous this tour. Yeah! Another huge ovation for H&H. I have to wonder (oh yes, I wonda) just what Norda is seeing when Graeme does his shimmy. LOL Graeme received huge applause when he came down to the mike, and laughingly said, I was going to say "I'm not going to sing" but it sounds like you already know that. Ah, the ability to ad-lib! How wonderful. Graeme screwed up the H&H lyrics one night this tour (no notes - hey, I have my limits) and laughed and said "I don't know it!" Pretty darn cute. AYSC saw another round of big applause for Ms Mullen that most definitely was not deserved tonight. I missed part of the flute solo last night after an incredibly piercing and painful note not usually heard on the flute solo. Aaaaargh. It could happen to anybody, and it hasn't happened before. Norda's problems with her showcase continued when she went into the ending measures prematurely - at least a full verse before. Everyone on stage got pretty tense - you could feel it - but Norda realized what she had done and smartly recovered. Justin introduced Norda after AYSC as has become his custom. The other backups have not been introduced in SO long that I have forgotten their names. Singer has been plagued this tour by the kind of problems that used to be limited to Gemini Dream. The Jays have been singing different verses and it sounds really, really bad. Tonight, BOTH verses were screwed up. Bernie customarily has a long sustained note at the end of Singer, but tonight it came out as a god awful screech. The girls are doing a lot of confused and obnoxious stage behavior after the Woos (which are just so good) which contrasts completely with Justin and John's classy stage demeanor. I try not to look. Tracy! Sue! Where are you???  Nights,
Question and Seesaw went well and were very effective. JL was presented
with a "set" of autographed golf balls from the children of a JohnLodge.com
member and he seemed delighted to take them. It was, overall an excellent
concert. I'd rather have artists on stage singing with energy and
passion and making a mistake or two than endure a cold spiritless but perfect
performance. SueC was stunned to see a man jump on stage to nab Justin's
orange pick off the floor. Nothing much surprises me anymore.
They'll be carrying off one of the drum kits next.
MaggieMay (email love notes to MaggieMay - no porn please! I get enough of that already.) Wherever I go, I will think of you. Whatever I do Whatever I say On this Christmas Day. Photos courtesy of SueC |
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