June 18, 2004 - Atlantic City, NJ
WELCOME TO THE SUMMER 2004 TOUR! Atlantic City is a place of stark contrasts, where the Haves and the Have Nots coexist uneasily. This was the first time SueC and I had driven into town during the day, and I was amazed at how lovely the skyline looked; the casinos perched on the very edge of the Atlantic reminded me of the Emerald City of Oz. You have to drive in to town to realize that great wealth is right across the street from poverty. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to be poor. It’s a fact of life. However, grinding out a life on the margins must be that much more difficult in the shadow of tremendous greed. It’s the stuff that revolutions are made of! Sigh I shudder every time I glance across the street, so I do what I imagine every casino owner does. I try not to look. 
Having stated the sad obvious, Atlantic City is, nonetheless, a fun place.
The Boardwalk is very attractive and the casinos range from slightly shabby
to very, very nice. There are loads of people enjoying themselves,
walking up and down the Boardwalk, chatting and laughing, filling the restaurants
and the casinos. Unlike Las Vegas, AC looks to be more of a regional
attraction. I can’t imagine that too many people fly here.
It’s a place where couples and families can drive for a weekend of fun.
East coast accents are the main thing I hear as I pass through the crowds,
and while I feel slightly out of place, both staff and fellow vacationers
are friendly.
The Trop is not on the high end of the casinos in Atlantic City. I did notice a number of improvements from my last visit, and it’s pleasantly obvious that the powers that be are trying to improve its appearance. In years past, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see cock fights held here. It definitely shows signs of moving up! Still, it’s a bit dirty, and a lot of the slot machines are old and tired. I’ve found that a casino attracts a certain crowd, and the middle-class come to The Trop. They feel comfortable here! LOL I don’t stay here anymore. The Trop is not inexpensive (though they have deals for their players) and I prefer to stay in a less depressing atmosphere. LOL! SueC and I made our way here from there, thinking it best to arrive early for the concert. I’ve had a fair amount of luck in AC and it had been AGES since I had played the slots. Ok, it had been since New Year’s. SueC pointed out the Wheel of Fortune slots to me and took off to find some cow machine (Ed: COW machine?? I said Mystere, you goober, not Miss Steer!) for herself. I immediately realized this wasn’t Vegas! The machines are worn and slightly dirty and the ashtrays are permanently affixed at the sides of the machines. The first machine wouldn’t take my money though I tried and tried. Boy, how stupid is that? The Trop needs a woman to come in and turn the place around. <shrug> I was tempted to take a hankie out of my purse and shine things up a bit, but rather than spit in the ocean, I moved down the line to another machine more willing to take my money. MUCH more willing! I’ve never seen a slot machine so slow. You had to hit it two or three times to get it to pull and the reels moved in slow motion. I’ll have to go back to Vegas to reach Slot Machine Nirvana. Still it was fun and it’s always good to hit 2 red sevens and a five times. Heheheh SueC came back and was startled to see a big number on my credits. Fans were starting to go up the escalator to the concert and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t play it down. It’s an annoying fact of casino life that when you need to leave is the time that you just can’t lose! LOL I finally had to cash out, and the gal who paid me was thrilled with her tiny $20 tip. It would have insulted any employee at The Paris! We ran into Paul Bliss in front of the elevators as we made our way in through the concert crowd. He was looking around in a puzzled manner and I said “Aren’t you going to play tonight?” His reply was “What?” LOL! I repeated my question, tongue firmly planted in cheek and Paul replied “Oh, I don’t know! Do you know the way backstage?” No, we didn’t, but we offered to go back with him. He did chuckle at that and smartly replied, “I’ll let you know later!” Yeah, right! : ) THE VENUE The Trop has been The Moodies’ home venue in AC for years. I’ve heard tales from the old-timers about line-sitting for Caesars, (which did NOT sound like fun to me), but the first time I came to AC in 2000 was to the showroom at The Tropicana. I like it! The box office is on the first floor as you walk in from the parking valet and they’re generally very nice there, at least, they’ve always been nice to me. There’s an escalator around the corner to the casino level, and another escalator up to the showroom by Nickel Heaven. If you turn right off the escalator, the bar is at the far end. It’s not a big lobby area and can get pretty crowded. If The Trop thought they’d cut down on smoking by removing the ashtrays in the lobby by the bar, they were wrong. All they did was up their non-existent carpet cleaning bills. You usually have to turn right off the escalator and swing around to get in line for entry to the showroom, and while purses aren’t searched, there are a number of guards controlling the line. They want you to have your ticket out in your hand to show them, and I must have waved it at 5 different people before it was actually torn at the showroom door. The merchandise table is near the showroom and it’s crowded as all blue blazes. I don’t *know* but I’d guess a LOT of money is spent on concert t-shirts at the Trop. They wisely have a roped off waiting line to get to the merchandise stand – very civilized! 
I have to say, the showroom at The Trop is one of my all-time favorite
venues and always has been. I’ve been to fine small venues with great
acoustics (the lovely Burbank Theatre in Santa Rosa, CA comes to mind)
but small venues are not a great place to hear a big rock ‘n roll concert.
The Trop is a good-sized showroom and is just about perfect for The Moody
Blues. The Moodies are an interesting package, musically speaking!
They’re outstanding musicians and their repertoire ranges from driving
rock ‘n roll (Singer, SeeSaw, TSIYE) all the way to delicate ballads (AYSC,
December Snow), and includes music in between (IKYOTS, YWD). Some
venues can handle the rock side, some specialize in the acoustic, but The
Trop is one of the few that does well through their entire range of music.
The rock songs sound great, the ballads sound great!
The wide stage (and it’s annoyingly deep, too) has a big set of 3x3 speakers flying on both sides and they’re supplemented by a few large and dangerous (I’ve had my eardrums cracked by them when I’ve had the bad luck to sit on the side) speakers underneath. The venue is filled by that hardware. The special thing about The Trop is that the stage is low enough to allow the stage speakers to effectively fill the sound in for the front several rows. I was front row center and yet had a completely balanced sound. Though I was directly in front of Justin, I could hear John’s bass perfectly well from his Ampegs. My only minor sound complaint might be that Big Red was not adequately pushed out, but that is a personal preference. ; ) It’s a BIG sound! I had to put in my earplugs, but was able to take one out after a couple songs. I think the other one might still be in my right, extra sensitive ear. LOL Vocals sounded very good too, distinctive and clear. VERY nice! The depth of the stage is one of the few disadvantages of the AC showroom. The Band is pushed back at least 10 feet from the edge of the stage, and the front row is perhaps four feet from the edge. It’s not TOO bad, and the Jays are brave enough to come up; John came to within a foot from the edge and though he wasn’t grabbed, his left leg was at least enthusiastically *stroked*. Justin worked within two feet of the edge, close, but keeping out of harm’s way. ; ) The Trop did not appear to be a sell-out, but there was a large crowd and the showroom was nicely filled. Photography was tolerated and I got a couple spectacular lifetime shots of the Blonde Guitar God for which I am grateful. They won’t be appearing on eBay. What is the downside to The Trop? Ah! It is one of the most expensive tickets of the tour. You *can* find front row center tickets for The Trop, but I promise you that they will cost you dearly. East coast ticket brokers have The Moodies’ fans number. Is it worth it? OH YEAH!!! THE FASHION REPORT JL – Beautiful white long-slvd gauze/linen shirt with white embroidery, black jeans with leather back pockets, boots JH – Drops of Blood shirt, black jeans, black shoes Graeme – Red and white short-slvd “block” shirt, black slacks, black sneakers Bernie – Blue keyhole top, blue striped serape, white slacks Norda – Black patterned bustier, long black skirt with ruffle (her riding skirt! LOL) Gordon – Black t-shirt, white pants 
This was the first time for SueC and me to see John’s new white shirt and
it is a beauty! Sigh VERY nice! John rolled up his right
sleeve during the concert, leaving the left one down to dangle, cuff open.
Bernie’s serape is off one shoulder and though I can imagine her adding
a sombrero and chewing a home-made cigarette, it is very cute.
The big fashion news of the night was hair. OOOOH! John’s was cute and curly in front, and Justin’s was full and lovely. We were all starting to frizz in the humidity of the last few days, and the guys looked great at The Trop! I only wish they were playing a week there. THE CONCERT The Summer 2004 setlist was played straight thru (no intermission) as is common for casino venues. The Band looked rested, relaxed but enthused, playful and happy. How happy? Well, Justin was smiling right and left, and John was doing that extra bit of fancy footwork that says to me “I’m a happy camper!” What a predicament! If you watch JL’s dancing, you might miss one of Justin’s beautiful, sweet smiles. I just HATE it when they’re both *on*! LOLOLOL It was a pretty outstanding performance, an Atlantic city treat. A few concert notes…Justin did not mention the Monte Carlo concert as he has generally done since the Denver gig. He’s been using an elaborate introduction to English Sunset that winds around the world, ending up in England. I thought it particularly odd; AC would have been a perfect market for that Monte Carlo event. It was surprising that he didn’t mention it. <shrug> I’ve been noticing Bernie on tambourine on LTSY. She’s back there, working her little heart out and it’s amazing. You can hear that tambourine ring through the entire auditorium. The vocals from Miss Barlow have been excellent this tour, well-balanced, subdued when appropriate and very complimentary to the lead part. SueC thought Bernie’s beginning to AYSC was extra primo good in AC. In fact, SueC started ticking off a list of Bernie’s concert highlights. 
(I finally had to shut her up) SueC went on to praise Bernie in Singer,
the yeah yeah yeahhhhhh after Justin’s throatily spoken “I’m just a singer
in a rock ‘n roll band”. I particularly noticed Miss Bernie’s vocals
in Voices in the Sky. : ) I’m darn tempted to do a Girls
Review one night! And I think I’ll showcase a photo of Bernie sticking
her tongue out. HAHAHAHA
Norda’s performance was its usual fine job. She’s so consistent, and has set the benchmark so high that I’ve just become accustomed to it. The only little bobble that SueC remembers (oh, and she’s MUCH harder on the performers than sweet little ole me) was John singing Come To Stay while the background tape was playing Fade Away. LOL Other than that, the concert was near perfect, and without that feeling of boredom that can come with Moodies perfection. It was relaxed AND energized. As is usual in AC, the problems of the concert were not on the stage, but in the audience. One second row *lady* (said with extreme sarcasm) was not content to dance at her seat, but squeezed between a couple of gals on the front row to make her solo move to the stage. Yes, John *is* a magnet, and the woman followed him as he moved up and down the stage (moving and blocking the view of others on the front row). She finally reached out at one point and rubbed up his leg! Lord have mercy, girl! What are you thinking? She was up and down and made several trips to the stage to get her rush. (Note to her husband: Next concert, please bring duct tape and secure her butt to her chair). It was very wise of her to not pull the same act in front of me. Another woman, already sitting on the front row moved in front of me and SueC and stopped in front of me as I was standing for a song. I firmly told her to move and her reply was: Make me! Hmmmmm. You’ve heard of road rage? I would suggest that FAN RAGE is not far behind! She *did* move (wisely) and when another gal also told her to move, her reply to this lady was, and I quote: Bite Me! In the 200 plus Moodies concerts I’ve been to, I’ve rarely seen worse behavior than I’ve seen, over and over, in Atlantic City. Ya’ll need to chill. Aggressive, disrespectful, inconsiderate and just damned nervy. Lots of bad karma here! LOL I was pleased, however, that no one tried to climb over my back screaming “JUSTIN, JUSTIN, JUSTIN” in my ear as has happened at a few prior AC concerts, and the stage rush, though early, was not a horrible crush. SueC and I already had our purses at the stage in front of us and we jumped when we saw it coming. You gotta be on your toes. 
The final amusement came at the end of the concert, after the bows.
The rest of the crew had left the stage, but poor little Justin was left
there alone to make his way across the stage, picking up a ton of gifts
and flowers. I thought it was extremely nice of him! I’ve seen
gals left with their flowers after a concert, and they are SO disappointed.
He gamely started at the Rayside (oops! I can’t let go of that habit)
and picked up one load, carried it to Graeme’s steps and set it down with
an expression of complete embarrassment, then came back to pick up another
huge load. THREE armfuls in all! LOLOLOL Lord, that boy
is popular on the east coast! He smiled and thanked everyone, and
was as lovely and gracious as it is possible for any human to be.
: ) What a good boy! And a darned nice man.
MaggieMay Take your share of the gifts that are there, They all belong to YOU! Photos by SueC |