Welcome
to The Higher and Higher Tour!
We left the benign and unimpressive Turning Stone casino Wednesday morning. It was less cold, but still nippy. The ride to the airport elicited the driver's life story and we wish his two daughters well in their college studies and hope that his grief lessens someday. TSA was polite and we headed up to the security check. What an interesting experience! I was waiting as they elaborately hand-checked my film and Sue was waiting on a purse search when we heard yelling behind us. Unbelievably, it was two SECURITY guards yelling at each other! A full gate was pulled down behind us, blocking anyone from entering the security area, and another guard asked me if my "stuff" was out of the machine. I indicated that it was, and that I was waiting on my film. We were more or less "shooed" from the area and missed our hoped for fistfight between the guards. I think the gal could have taken him! She looked tough. We put as much distance as possible between us and the quarreling protectors of our safety. The flights seemed short with my entertainment for the second leg a very nice fellow. We talked Sears, a language in which I am fully conversant. It's wise to learn all the masculine languages. I have seriously studied them and can speak football, basketball ("games of chess played by freaks" per a recent Band member interview...can a dig at Mom and apple pie be next?), money and plumbing. We were met at the airport with hugs and kisses by our good friend and sometime concert companion, Blueglow. ("blueglow is spelled P-A-R-T-Y) It was balmy in Branson and we were happy to leave winter behind in Verona. Branson! The people are friendly and life goes on at a slower pace. A *much* slower pace. No one seems to hurry, neither taxi drivers, desk clerks nor bellmen. The drive in from the Springfield airport was not encouraging. Small businesses dot the brown winter landscape and tired neon signs beckon Branson's elderly visitors. I have never had a desire to go to Branson. I think it's the preferred destination of the people who are afraid to go to Vegas. It's obvious that Branson is growing and there are a number of new buildings, hotels and showroom/theaters. It's good that there are different types of entertainment for different kinds of people and I'm sure that many people enjoy coming to Branson. I would just say that this is not my kind of place. I would not have come to Branson had it not been for The Moody Blues. Is it *their* kind of place? ; ) We'll see! THE VENUE The Lawrence Welk Theater is a fun venue around 6 years old and very new appearing and nicely kept. The complex includes a restaurant/bar and is designed to be a place for hanging out. The staff is Branson-friendly. The showroom is on the large side, but nicely laid out in a wide theatre-style. It seats 2200 and only a few tickets remained at 5pm. It was very close if not in fact a sell-out. The stage was medium height. I could not see the Jays feet from my front row seat, but could if I raised up a bit. At least they had ankles! The mikes were fairly close to the edge of the stage, set about 4 feet back. Front row was 10 to 12 feet from the stage. I was quite pleased with my center seat but surprised to see a large black box adjacent to the stage and directly in front of me. I asked a guard just what it was, and he told me it was cloth covering a set of stairs! I suppose the stairs are utilized by some fan friendly entertainers. (HAHA What is that, you might ask!) After seeing a tipsy gal waltz up a similar set of stairs at the Gold Strike in Tunica, I thought it was a VERY wise idea to hide that option. An online UK fan on LC revealed that The Lawrence Welk show, unlike many other American programs, had never appeared on UK telly. I fondly recall it as a form of torture inflicted on me for YEARS as a small child by my parents, who viewed it as a source of "healthy" and acceptable (and to them, quite enjoyable) music. No Beatles or moptops here, and in third grade, THAT was what I was dying to see. I grew up with Mr Welk, his gentle smile and little baton, the matching and hideous suits of his band (not unlike those of the Mark IV Moodies), with Bobby and Cissy and the Lennon Sisters, and then had to live through that hell again when spending cheap evenings on the couch with my honey and future mother-in-law who would NOT go to bed until she had her dose of Myron Floren on his accordion. The name "Welk" will forever represent champagne bubbles (his signature), syrupy renditions of "The Days of Wine and Roses", and worst of all, OUR PARENTS. I don't think the irony of the Moodies appearing at, of all places THE WELK THEATRE, was lost on ANY American fan, though the Moodies and their management were oblivious to it. It was bad enough to *have* to go to Branson and I kept this little tidbit from friends and acquaintances, for fear of the inevitable hoots of derisive laughter. THE FASHION REPORT JL - White long-slvd shirt with pleated bib front, cuffs undone first half, black long-slvd shirt with pleats second, leathers, boots JH - Black long-slvd shirt (thin cloth, crepe-looking), black jeans, no change at half GE - White long-slvd shirt with multicolored funky circles first half, flag shirt second, black slacks GM - Short-slvd leather shirt, second half : ) THE BATTLE OF THE BUTTONS (back by popular demand) Has the competition begun? Possibly. Previous concerts of the Tour 2003 had seen the Jays buttoned up tight, not to the top, but with a single modest button undone. Tonight saw JL risking a second one. I was startled to see JH undo one...hmmmmm perhaps after H&H. It's not much, but it's a start! The fully buttoned look seems almost to be a physical metaphor for being "uptight" and the music loosens with each button. THE CONCERT The new 2003 setlist was performed in two sets, the first ending with TSIYE, the second beginning with YWD. There were no additions. All in all, the concert went smoothly, with a few exceptions. ; ) I love Gemini Dream. I love the harmony between the Jays, I love the beat, the tune, Justin's funky guitar part and most of all, the lyrics, which describe *my* life as well as theirs. There is something about Gemini Dream that causes it to have more flubs than any other song in the setlist. JL and JH omitted an ENTIRE verse tonight! Not just one word or one phrase; we were treated to a segment of instrumental. LOL It was a perfect karaoke opportunity. I'm finally beyond caring. I figure, why fight it? I love the song and I've accepted the fact that it will rarely be perfect. LOL Not singing AT ALL was kind of obvious, though! The introduction to The Actor included both the mention of Ray Thomas AND introductions for the backups. : ) Justin did a great job accomplishing both tasks. I've noticed that when that boy gets on a roll, he can just talk talk talk. (This is a good thing) ILS had another bit of feedback early. I've noticed a little something with each performance of TOSOL this tour, which is very minor and a bit amusing. If you are familiar with the TOSOL performance, you will know that left to right movement is the physical theme. At one point in the latter part of the song, the Jays and Bernie stand stock still for a set of measures, then again begin their rocking to and fro (in time of course).  One
can't help but notice that Norda has not yet caught on to this! While
the Jays generally face forward and are otherwise occupied with delivering
their own performances, Bernie can see Norda and must surely be aware that
poor Norda obliviously keeps moving around as she plays guitar. Bernie,
you little stinker! Let the poor girl in on it! She's ruining
the effect.
H&H had a varied intro tonight (Graeme's so good at doing that). I particularly noticed the beginning drum part that Gordon played, and love it. It really makes you want to dance. I was amazed and delighted at GE's butt wiggling at this concert. There's just no other way to describe it! Justin's introduction of AYSC was "interesting" tonight. He started off with "Here's a song from a an old album, ISOTLC. (slight pause, finger put to his chin) No, it's not! It's from Threshold of a Dream." LOL At least he didn't have to go through the entire catalog to find the right one. : ) And yes, it was lovely! The rest of the concert went smoothly. The sound was pretty good. Keyboards took a back seat in the mix this evening. Vocals have been quite good on this tour, with Justin having an extremely minor bit of cracking from time to time. It was another excellent concert. I was very surprised to see Branson show up on the Moodies' tour schedule. While my state is not adjacent to Missouri, it is a reasonable drive and I know many people who have been to Branson and some who go there regularly. It's a driveable destination for the same people who might alternate it with Dollywood. LOL The impression I have had of Branson was that it was "countrified" both in music and in theme, and attractive to the unsophisticated and retired RV set. I disagree with a recent article that Blueglow brought with her from her metropolitan newspaper that described Branson's acts as "decrepit 2nd rate performers". After all "Blue Velvet" was a favorite childhood song! I'd go to a venue in hell for a front row seat, and was willing to give Branson a chance. It has not impressed me and does not appeal to me. It has a "Dogpatch" quality and I have thoroughly expected to see Daisy Mae and Lil' Abner appear at any moment. On the plus side, it seems to be a fine place for buying lawn ornaments: windmills, gazing balls, and the racially offensive and demeaning statues of lawn jockeys. Marie and Kirsten could have picked up several for the yard. Still, it's an area on the move (plans for a Ritz hotel are in the works) and there's obviously an attempt to create greater appeal on the higher end of the scale in both lodging and entertainment. They'll have to go a long long way before *I* ever have the desire to visit Branson again. Sullivan Productions is at the forefront in the effort to change the face of Branson's entertainment industry. I applaud them! They have taken a new road and borne the risk to bring high quality, albeit classic rock 'n roll to Branson. Styx was said to do well in their recent Branson concerts, and has been followed up with my favorite rock 'n roll group. Ticket sales don't lie, and The Moody Blues may find themselves a victim of their own success here. Can a Moody Blues Theatre in Branson be far behind? ; ) In addition to tonight and tomorrow night's impressive ticket sales (and at a good price per ticket, I might add - these weren't charity concerts) it was OBVIOUS that there was a thirst for rock 'n roll here. The crowd was quite enthusiastic and appreciative. A number of regulars have traveled here and enjoyed great seats that were purchased at cost from the venue. (I believe the brokering of tickets is illegal in Missouri and the national brokers were devoid of "connections") That in itself was a treat! I talked to several locals who were THRILLED to have the opportunity to see the Moodies. One online fan was hardly local, but had driven from San Antonio, TX for her very first Moody Blues concert. I love an enthusiastic crowd. It pops up those guys onstage and shoves the performance into overdrive. It's always a good concert. The crowd is the wild card that can make it a fabulous concert! There were slight detractions along with it, including a LOT of drinking and the behavior associated with it: people up and down to buy beer and get "rid" of it (SueC said one guy struggled past her seat and over her eight times during the concert), there was a great deal of inconsiderate and loud talking. One couple in the third row behind me actually got into a bit of a marriage spat (and a loud one). I heard a number of two-fingered whistles DURING the songs and wanted to drag out and tar and feather a particularly obnoxious female offender in the aisle seat of the fourth row. Hey, it ain't opera, but there are still quiet moments to be enjoyed, and you can't enjoy them if you can't HEAR them. The crowd was definitely on the raucous yee-haw side, but there was no question that they were damn glad to be there. You gotta love them for that! I guess I'll just have to learn how to "whistle"! Photography with point and shoots was allowed at the Welk. I thought that would be great, since I've left my heavy 35 mm equipment behind me and gone with a P&S. While I got a few good shots (I think), I didn't anticipate that there would be a stream of concertgoers walking to the front to take their little pictures, usually with disposable cameras (sold in a venue shop) with flashes. Several crossed in front of me during the concert. The sound board area was roped off and people could not cross through the aisle there. Rather than go to the very back of the hall, some blithely choose to cross in the front. It was annoying, but not regular enough to be maddening. <shrug> There were a large number of very pleasant and even heart-warming chance meetings with locals who were just thrilled to death to have the chance to see The Moody Blues! One couple we had chatted with prior to the concert outside the venue made a point to find us again outside at the interval to tell us what a good time they were having. The gal gushed on at how GOOD-LOOKING the guys were. Ah yes, I thought! You come for the music and discover there's even more to enjoy. ; ) I was sitting next to a couple who were the lucky winners of the sponsoring radio contest in Springfield for Oldies 105.1 (they wanted to make sure I got that right). The fellow told me he had already bought a pair for Saturday night and then had won the front row pair for Friday night. They gave their Saturday tickets to a friend, explaining he had just gotten married and they wanted to give the newlyweds a "night out". I had to chuckle at the thought that ONE Moodies concert could ever be *enough*. Neophytes! They snapped photos and gogged at their good fortune. As usual, the front row went to the stage for Question (in my case it was up to the hidden stairs) and I turned to see the official radio contest winners still politely sitting in their seats. I beckoned to them with my hand to join me and they exchanged an anxious glance. The wife said "oh, what the hell!" and they happily joined me at the stage. May it always be so! Would I go back to Branson? Yeah. Not with great enthusiasm, but I liked the venue. I'd go to see The Moody Blues there. Maybe next time I'll dust off my cowboy boots, work on my drawl, let go of the Big City and embrace the slower pace. MaggieMay, anonymous fan from Indiana |
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Look for the article with our own Blueglow online at Springfield News-Leader |
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