WELCOME TO THE SUMMER 2004 TOUR (With a special welcome to Raggedy Anne) ALERT! ALERT! NEW SETLIST!!! The first concert of The Moody Blues Summer 2004 Tour was simply excellent. It was energized, smooth and exciting. If the Moody Blues weren't high fiving each other backstage afterward, they certainly *should* have been! THE VENUE The Brown Theatre in downtown Louisville is in an attractive area that shows extensive restoration.  The
theatre itself appears to date from the early 1920s, and while adequate,
could use some sprucing up. The interior is worn and non-descript.
The lobby was inadequate and very poorly laid out and getting into the
theatre from the street through the packed crowd required determination
and a strong set of elbows. I was surprised at the size of the theatre
- it looked very small. I asked no less than 4 ushers what it seated
and received surprised and perplexed glances each time. One guessed
1000, another guessed 2000. The two others looked at me and said,
and I quote: duhhhhhh. <shrug>
The layout of the Brown was similar to the common Fox Theatre design but smaller. The main floor was divided into three sections which sloped gently toward the stage. Three rows of temporary chairs had been set up in the pit area in front of the orchestra seats. The stage was framed with gray columns, setting it off from the white walls. Seating included a moderately sized balcony which overhung about a fourth of the main floor. The white ceiling was dominated by the usual decorative oval and two modest lamps. The stage looked to be fairly shallow and the three mikes were placed approximately (and wonderfully) no more than 5 feet from the edge of the stage. While most of the stage setup was the usual familiar, the 4 white panels of prior tours were replaced by a solid white back screen which proved to be a VERY effective palette for Mick Thornton's lighting genius. The stage was perhaps 4 feet high. Speakers were flying on either side and two frontfill speakers were on either side of the stage. Unfortunately for me, one set was angled right into my right ear. My bet is that the sound mix was fine midway back. Staff seemed plentiful and pleasant and there was no noticable security. My handbag received not even the slightest questioning look, and I was directed rather than escorted to my seat. There were no threatening bullies at the stage to block my view, there was no one! It was a very civilized concert experience. The venue announced a no camera/no photography policy on their intercom as I struggled to make my way through the crowd. What a load of piffle! Mine remained unused song after song, despite the numerous flashes around me. I was stunned to see a gal come up to my right, lean on a floor speaker and brazenly shoot shot after shot. I examined her carefully for any sign of an official photo pass and though she had none, she was unmolested. I hope she got better pictures at the Brown than *I* did! LOL Hal is back with the merchandise and has several new things - new 2004 t-shirt and new t-shirts for both JL and JH. There's a NEW tour program (SueC assured me there are new photos, though some were obviously from the last photo shoot) I saw keychains too, but didn't have the time to give things more than a cursory glance. That lobby was just TOO crowded. THE FASHION REPORT JL - Black tank with a black long-slvd overshirt, black slacks, boots, no change at half JH - NEW long slvd western style shirt, white with a window pane check (very subtle), tucked-in, blue jeans, studded boots, second half NEW white long slvd shirt with brown leaves and pink flowers pattern. GE - Jimi Hendrix shirt, black slacks, second half hula shirt Norda - black *strap* top, black hiphuggers, no change at half Bernie - Green sleeveless top, white slacks, no change at half  A
variety of new stage clothes and new looks were presented in Louisville.
John's outfit was very sharp and the black tank looked great with the black
ruffled shirt. Justin's new western style shirt was nice, looked
good with the jeans, but wasn't particularly remarkable. I was in
the front row far right and got a couple VERY close looks at the shirt
in the second half. The leaf/flower pattern is subtle and would have
been impossible to see past the 3rd row. Bernie's green sleeveless
v-necked top was a GREAT look; the color complimented her hair. I
might have had a photo of it, but she grabbed Gordon during the bows and
walked offstage using him as a human shield.
I particularly noticed HAIR tonight onstage. Norda is wearing hers differently, but I was too far from her to see exactly how she's changed it. Graeme's hair is beautiful and very striking, as always. Both of the Jays have started the tour without the close shearing that they have favored in recent tours. I asked another fan her opinion on John's hair and she began twitching uncontrollably. It was GORGEOUS, she whimpered. I thought Justin's hair looked very um...similarly. It's on the long side, particularly in the back, where the soft golden locks curl gently over his shirt collar. It's a little wild for both of them, and VERY rock 'n roll. They be lookin' good! THE CONCERT I've sat through a number of pretty darn awful first concerts, where the Moodies wander onstage, look blankly at each other and at the audience. This was not the case tonight! A receptive Louisville sold-out audience gratefully received a top-notch performance. The Big News - we have a new setlist! WooHoo! Lovely to See You Gemini Dream Tuesday Afternoon Lean On Me English Sunset Talking Out of Turn *** Voices in The Sky *** Slide Zone I Know You're Out There Somewhere The Story in Your Eyes 20 Minute Intermission Your Wildest Dreams Isn't Life Strange The Other Side of Life December Snow Higher and Higher Are You Sitting Comfortably Singer Nights in White Satin Question SeeSaw DJ Pru Miller of radio station WSFR greeted the crowd enthusiastically (she says TMB are her favorite group in her website bio) and seemed every bit as excited to be there as anyone in the audience. The Moodies took the stage commandingly and I was immediately struck by their solidness and cohesion - surprising, considering their extended hiatus. There was no unease or hesitation, no flavor of unfamiliarity. One thing in tonight's performance was uncommon, unusual and completely unexpected. They looked...  RELAXED!
Everyone onstage, but most noticably the Jays, appeared rested, prepared,
in tip-top shape and ready to rock 'n roll.
LtSY was on time, on cue and strong. Vocals were uniformly good, in fact, very good throughout the evening. Gemini Dream was excellent - no bobbled lyrics in Louisville. My seat was well over on the Johnside and JL was in top form - full of energy and enthusiasm. TA is one of the classics of the setlist, and was complimented tonight by Mick Thornton's new lighting designs, for TA, a sky of clouds. I can't remember any other specific lighting designs (why, I should take notes!), but I recall thinking at the time that they were new, exciting and appropriate. ES was very good, though I missed the little guitar *trick* that Justin added to it last year. Setlist changes had been coyly rumored online, giving rise to intense speculation by fans hoping to hear their favorite. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for The Moodies to choose from their huge catalog. It would be torture for me to choose! I thought Talking Out of Turn was an excellent choice and a wonderful addition to the setlist. It was very well performed and very strong. Great song, excellent vocals and a fantastic lead guitar part. : ) The TREAT of the evening was a breathtaking performance of Voices in The Sky. It was simply, PERFECTLY exquisite! JH was powered up, and had the command and control to give it the light quality the song demands. The word that came to mind was "innocent". Norda's trilling flute created the feeling of songbirds in flight and complimented the vocals beautifully. BRAVO!  VITS
received a huge and extended ovation from a thrilled audience. That
one song was worth the price of admission! Fabulous! If you
decided to miss this tour (as several of my friends have regretfully done)
just go kick yourself now. A special note on Voices must be given
to Paul Bliss. If you close your eyes, you can almost *see* a mellotron
in front of him. Every Core Seven mellotron junkie will feel like
they've died and gone to heaven. It REALLY sounds good! (Thanks,
Paul)
I didn't think The Band was going to be allowed to roll in to Slide Zone after that, but they did, we did and it was excellent. I *think* both IKYOTS and TSIYE were fine, but frankly, I was still high off Voices and barely heard the rest of the set. Odd that VITS was so overwhelming, but it was. The 20 minute intermission saw a stampede to the lobby. I could have been killed! (a slight exaggeration) I'm a wily survivor, so I got out without being trampled by those in need of hops. Two men fought over the opportunity to light me up, and I blissfully sucked in the wonderful flavor of a Zippo hit. They're wonderfully friendly in Louisville, genteel and gentlemanly. YWD was a strong opener to the 2nd set. I had a great view of Gordon Marshall and enjoyed ILS in my limited way. I *know* there's something there. I just haven't found it yet. I have to admit, I was pleased as punch at hearing TOSOL again, even though those damned blue glowsticks are BOUND to reappear in droves. It was a wild contrast to hear Justin singing TOSOL after his supremely angelic performance on Voices. TOSOL has always represented the dark side of TMB to me; it's a song that is almost sinister.  It
was hot in the Brown Theatre! Justin's upper lip had beads of sweat
and John kept blowing puffs of air onto his forehead where the curls were
sticking. We definitely needed December Snow! : )
It's a decided favorite of mine and I'm thrilled The Moodies chose to include
it in the Summer Tour. After all, it's a love song, not a Christmas
song. The familiar December background lighting was a welcome sight.
Sadly, my seat was directly in line with the frontfill speaker and flute/JL/keyboards
were about all I heard this evening. That definitely lessened the
impact of December Snow for poor little me. Big Red might as well
have been sitting backstage in its case. : ( Still, I
hope there will be other nights, other seats and the chance to fully enjoy
that power ballad and the wailing misery of Big Red's lost love.
I'm relieved I won't have to wait until the Fall Tour to hear it again.
 H&H
was its usual - one of the best things on any stage. If there was
any failure of the evening, it would have to be AYSC. The usual and
expected fine performance of that lovely song was marred by a number of
flute mishaps. What was going on there? Well, anyone can have
an off night, and I have to say that it RARELY happens to Norda Mullen.
The lyrics curse that once belonged to Gemini Dream has been officially transferred to Singer. It doesn't seem to bother John, and a benign Le Hayward simply gave him a resigned glance. After all, it *is* JL's song! It didn't affect the performance, which went on smoothly and effectively. There was a change in stage activity in Singer. Bernie did not leave her spot in back during Singer, and Norda and John shared her mike for the "woos". Nights/Question/SeeSaw ended the concert and all three were nicely done. I thought the energy of the evening was not nearly as apparent in those three, and that the peak was in the first half. Louisville turned out to be an unanticipated delight! I don't allow myself high expectations for the first concert of the tour and I was blown away by a concert that was excellent, close to outstanding. Voices was an inspired choice for the setlist and the entire concert seems "new". Fresh! There's a feeling of enthusiasm on stage, almost a sense of new commitment. Has somebody on stage read Good to Great??? LOL!!! What I was truly amazed at was the relaxed appearance of the performers, where the music flowed rather than being forced. I have no way of knowing what these particular musicians think or feel, but I wonder if the extended break from touring rebuilt their energy and enthusiasm. Maybe they missed touring, maybe they missed making that special brand of music. Whatever the reason, there's a new kick in their steps and some true joy up on the stage. I'm impressed! I have one word of warning for all future travelers to Louisville. First, I am sure that the town fathers do not intend that you pick the vegetables growing in a small plot in the sidewalk at the corner of 4th and Broadway. Second, do not let anyone talk you into trying Guiness ice cream. God did not intend for beer to be combined with ice cream. I stupidly tried it and it is wrong. Just Wrong! MaggieMay Just what is happening to me? Photos by SueC |
