Welcome to the Higher and Higher Tour! A price had to be paid for impetuously going to Easton. Instead of having an entire day to leisurely do the 6 hour drive to the Leatherstocking region of NY, we had to either spend the night in Easton or drive after the show. We had a room waiting at Turning Stone and we were in *fairly* good shape, so we decided to make the long COLD drive after the concert. Our rental had a temperature gauge on the review mirror, and we had watched it sink over the day. SueC sped through the mountains in the most uncomfortable rental car (an SUV) that she had ever driven. The witty and fascinating conversation for the next three hours was as follows: SueC - "My back is KILLING me!" MM - (snore...) SueC - "And my butt hurts too!" MM - "What? Oh...I'm sorry!" (snore...) This bit was alternated with: SueC - DAMN it's cold! MM - Turn the heat down! We called the casino from the road and got directions to Turning Stone. It's an okay place, but pretty modest and much more on the line of the Fantasy Springs casino in Indio, CA than the very lovely Mohegan Sun. The hotel of the casino is only four floors with very long wings on either side. Our modest room is at the END of one of the wings and was an agonizing 20 minute hike after check-in. It was all I could do to keep from saying the hell with it, and stretching out in front of one of the vending machines we saw on our way. A highlight of our visit to Turning Stone occurred Monday when we drove thru the light snow to the airport in Syracuse to return our hated rental. (SueC viciously kicked the tires as she slammed the door on it) Our taxi driver back to the casino was a very nice little gal. She asked if we were up from the City to do some gambling and SueC and I exchanged a puzzled glance. It took a minute to understand that she was asking if we were from NYC. HAHA I guess we can pass when we make sure to remove the HAY from our hair! Conversation continued and I was surprised when she said she was Iroquois! I was so glad that I hadn't asked if she was Filipino, which was my first guess! I was FASCINATED by her accent. The trip wasn't long enough for all of my questions and she was very happy to talk at length about her background and her family dance group. She was originally from London, Ontario and told me that her family was not on the "roll" here and that they didn't like (I took that to mean accept) Native People from Canada. She was very proud of the fact that she had never had any governmental or tribal "help" in life, and that her four children had been to college. She said she spoke "Indian" (her term) and I wondered if that distinctive accent must come from speaking that language at home in one's youth. Since I collect the Native People's art from the Pacific Northwest Coast tribes, I was interested in the similarity between Native cultures and couldn't have talked to her long enough. It was an impressive success story from an impressive woman who was working to keep her culture alive. What a powerful and indomitable spirit! We felt fortunate that Turning Stone has several restaurants, including one that serves 24 hours. Breakfast anytime is among our most treasured phrases! LOL It's an isolated place without a Wal-mart or a Denny's in sight and we were very happy not to be required to go back out into the cold. Thank Goodness it's supposed to be warm in Branson! THE VENUE The showroom seats 800 and was sold out. It's the same size as the Traverse City showroom, but set up more on the line of Tahoe with rising levels and a mixture of tables and booths. It looks bigger than it is! The stage is deep and the mikes were set at least 10 to 12 feet back. (Justin! Is that YOU back there? Graeme! I can't see Graeme!) I've come to realize that *my* feeling of intimacy for a show pretty much depends not on the size of the venue, but on the closeness of the performers to the edge of the stage. The front tables butted right against the stage making it one of the coveted "elbows on the stage" venues. However, unlike Tahoe, where you can almost reach out and touch a boot, they're WELL (and safely) out of reach here! ; ) The tables which seat 8 have a bit more room between them than at Tahoe, but it is still a bit of work and wriggling to get in and out. THE FASHION REPORT JL - White long-slvd shirt, leathers, boots JH - Black long-slvd shirt, black jeans, still no boots GE - Two Ladies shirt, black slacks  I
LOVE Justin in black, it does wonderful things for his hair. HOWEVER...I
couldn't help but think of Johnny Cash when he walked out onstage tonight
and almost expected him to start singing Ring of Fire.
An announcement was made prior to the concert that no photography was allowed. I respected that despite having a clear shot at the Jays from my Rayseat. Someone else will have to supply photos from that venue. ; ) If I had tried to take photos despite the policy, security would have had to disrupt the concert. One ODD note! There is no liquor served at Turning Stone. The bar here serves smoothies! LOL Though none is SERVED, it is not forbidden. I was amazed to see people in line to get in the showroom carrying coolers full of BEER. It's allowed by the venue, but the beer must be uncapped, so these coolers are carried very carefully. It's strange! THE CONCERT The setlist was the same as the prior concerts I've attended this tour. The Band looked a little draggy and tired tonight (as was I) but perked up as the evening went on. Two concerts in one night must be wearing. Though they LOOKED a bit tired, the music was not! Nothing remarkable happened at the first Tuning Stone concert; it was an excellent performance. A few notes... Gemini Dream rarely goes perfectly. I'm as bad as JL about lyrics, so I can't criticize him. Wait! I can! LOL I don't know *who* bobbled, but Justin sent JL a surprised look during it. Hell, maybe he was surprised that John was doing it correctly! I can't identify the culprit and SueC who is very GOOD at that was tucked far away at Table 10, where she said, and I quote "I couldn't see crap!" Tuesday Afternoon had a beautiful backdrop of leaves lighted on the panels behind the Band. It's very effective. I don't know if it was an oddity due to the venue setup, but Tuesday Afternoon "sounded" different. I know Ray's part in the harmony, and I swear I heard it last night. Is JH singing Ray's part? Come here a little closer sonny, so grandma can hear you! SueC also thought that TA sounded different. I certainly may be wrong, but I liked it. The first of two feedback squeaks hit during TA. God, they're annoying! Justin's introduction to The Actor again mentioned Ray. Ray was a "good" mate tonight instead of an OLD one. : ) Justin again said that "He's decided he doesn't want to tour". He did not introduce the backups during this concert. I suppose the introduction at Easton was intended as an introduction to the entire United States of America. HAHA It's better than nothing! Again, the harmony sounded different from the prior concerts, notably after the phrase "the sound, I have heard in your hello". I could hear JL singing Ray's part. (I was beginning to wonder a bit if I was hearing correctly.) It's not a replacement for RAY, but it works. I think I'm beginning to adjust! There wasn't the usual response from the audience for The Actor. Slide Zone - WOW!!! The keyboards were really HOT and forward in the mix. Go Paul! I have never heard the keyboard this well in this song, um not since the UK tour. MaggieMay likes! The sound was quite good at this venue, and those keyboards just rolled out on this song. I put down my little blue book and perked right up. It's funny how featuring a different instrument (though I'm sure it was unintentional) can give new life. It was great! IKYOTS was hit by the second feedback squeak of the night. It's rare to hear at a Moodies concert, thank God! JH had a problem with lyrics on that song. I think he sang "the beauty of your soul" (it's the secret of your beauty and the mystery of your soul). Oh, he KNEW and he looked surprised. It's a look that says "aaaaargh!" LOL No big deal, but painful to that polished professional. I wouldn't have noticed (being as impaired about lyrics as JL) but I saw his reaction. There was a quick recovery. Again, the applause was surprisingly short for a song that is, and will always be, one of the highlights of the concert. I didn't get the shivers down my shoulders, back and legs as I did at Easton, but it was still a fabulous rendition. YWD brought back the phrase "Oh yes, I wonda". I glanced over at Norda (tearing my eyes away from the magnificent Jays is pretty darn difficult) and then stopped there to watch. She plays tambourine 
on YWD and her movements as she walks forward and back made me think of
the dancing I've read about performed by a peculiar religious group in
the United States called the Shakers. The Shakers did not believe
in sex (which is why they've died out!) and danced to and fro during their
religious services to achieve spiritual ecstasy. This is a neutral
comparison, not intended to be an insult or criticism. It's simply
what I thought of at the time. Norda is the new thing on stage, and
though it is still painful for me to look in that direction (oh, the pain,
the pain, the PAIN), I want to figure out her style. It will take
a while. So far, so good! She's truly a wisp of a gal with
a slight build, with short, pixieish hair, modestly but nicely attired
on stage, going for a professional, classy look. I like her small,
understated movements. She comes off very well! Her performance
on flute is superb. Norda's monitor box was gone at Turning Stone,
though it was present and accounted for at Easton. I wasn't sure
why she was using both the box and ear monitors, and perhaps she has chosen
to go with the ear pieces alone.
It's a difficult transition for everyone, that's for sure (well, not for the cults of adoration for Justin and John who may not have even noticed yet!) Norda's concert persona is understated, and while I like that, it leaves a hole on the left side of the stage. Is she a back up performer, or is she supposed to be one of the Big Guys? I'm not suggesting that she is one of the Moody Blues, but she's out in front in an almost equivalent spot to the Jays. I might have preferred that the Jays share center stage and Norda be placed somewhere behind them with the rest of the employees. I don't know. Right now, one third of the stage is underlighted. It doesn't look right, it's unbalanced, it's uncentered. Norda could have been by Bernie or behind the Jays. The stage looks "lopsided". On discussion with SueC, we agree that the stage will ALWAYS look lopsided unless the Jays move to share center stage. I'm not sure Justin's shoes can be unglued from that coveted center stage position! LOL Graeme's introduction to the fabulous Higher and Higher included a chilling phrase in reference to that time..."when we were pointing rockets at the moon, instead of each other". It's so sad. H&H was a great performance, but showed how much the stage is fed from the audience. The Turning Stone audience was a pretty sorry and dead group. You get what you give! AYSC is a magic moment, a piece of incredible beauty. It's an honor and a joy to hear it performed and it is a PERFECT performance. Every time! I was struck by Bernie's vocals tonight. They are perfectly lovely and provide that mysterious, eerie quality. It's a wonderful job by Miss Bernie! I hope EVERYONE now knows it is part of the concert list. One boorish "fan" loudly shouted out OH MY GOD and disrupted Justin's opening guitar work for the people who wanted to hear it. Singer saw few up, but my table consisted entirely of fans and we stood for that fan favorite. JH was into it the most he's been during the tour thus far, and gave a spectacular performance. There's no way to know when the spirit will move him, and I wouldn't have expected it in front of this sorry audience. He's a mystery! Still, there's no denying that anthem to rock 'n roll and even the dead will rise on Judgment Day. They had to get up at the end of Singer! Nights was it's usual excellent performance, but Question saw some confusion on stage. Justin looked unsure after starting the opening cords, and I saw Graeme glance over pointedly to Gordon. I don't know what happened, but no matter what, it's sure to be poor Gordon's fault! It smoothed out almost immediately. SeeSaw was fine and I spent a little time watching Norda and Bernie working together back at Bernie's spot. 
Hmmmm They'd look quite the Moody thing of years past in bustiers
and handkerchiefs! LOL Please, let's not. They look great
together and do a fine job on SS.
I had the pleasure of sitting next to the girl that Justin "picked" at the bows. It was her first Justin pick and she was very happy and excited to get it, and it was sweet to see what joy a tiny piece of plastic can give. Seeing it made me feel like a young fan again, and I left the showroom with a satisfied smile on my face. SueC brought a grinning and pleasant pair of fans over for introductions, who thanked me for writing the concert reviews. The daughter of the pair told me about discovering the Moodies on MTV when she was 13 and of BEGGING her mom to take her to her first Moodies concert in 1986. She has been a fan ever since! I had forgotten WHY I write concert reviews (other than to entertain SueC) and they reminded me. Rachel and Pat...this one is for YOU! MaggieMay Photos on this page from Atlantic City and Easton, 2003 - Sue |
