May 22, 2004 - Merrillville, IN
WELCOME TO THE SUMMER TOUR 2004! We watched the limo and the van pull away with their precious cargo, important with the task of delivering our favorite musicians to a haven of safety and rest. After wishing them all sweet dreams, we got into our van for a very interesting trip through Chicago. Hubby is a madman on the road and I've learned to keep my screams of terror to myself and just let him be. He did a great job of getting us to Merrillville in good time! SueC and I struggle over our Tour logistics and we considered staying in Chicago, but decided to plant at Merrillville for a couple days. The Radisson at Merrillville is not the nicest hotel I've stayed in (and that's a wild understatement) but it's connected to the venue and it's FUN. We don't so much stay there as camp out.  Sue
and I chuckled when the hotel clerk gave us the very first room we ever
had there: a third floor balcony room with a perfect view of the front
desk. It brought back a lot of great memories. Hubby escapes
to a comfortable bed while the three of us party on thru the night out
on the balcony, waving and calling to other fans similarly employed.
Drinking coffee, telling stories and laughing ourselves sick is our occupation.
I'm only sorry The Moodies didn't schedule two concerts there as they have
in the past.
It's great waking up the day of the concert with no travel concerns to worry about. We were already exactly where we needed to be! Hubby got out his cattle prod (yes, he really HAS one!) and drove us downstairs for breakfast. I didn't want to leave my cup of coffee and the balcony, but the Party was moving along and I wanted to be a part of it. It's wonderful to laze around and waste a day (a rare opportunity while on Tour) and we did just that. Hubby went out for a look around with CL and returned with two of the new Moodies posters for me and SueC and CL was holding (to my extreme amusement) a poster of Steve and Eydie. Where did they get them? I don't want to know!!! THE VENUE The Star Plaza is one of my favorite venues, and though it's a good three hours from my home in East Central Indiana, we go to at least a couple of other concerts there each year in addition to The Moodies. It's a good sized theatre with a large stage. I've described it in detail a number of times previously so I won't go into specifics (for details see prior reviews). It has a large main floor, Celebrity Circle (the first 6 or 7 rows nearest the stage, Orchestra and Mezzanine. It *has* a balcony, but I've never been there. I can honestly say that front row at The Star Plaza is not a good place to be. The stage juts out and is surrounded by seats on three sides, but the stage is so high that your view is severely cut off. If you sit normally in your seat, you can only see the performers from the knees (or waist, depending on your height) up. LOL I've sat 4 rows back and can honestly say that the view of the stage is better from there. However, there is nothing like being AT the stage at the end of a Moodies concert, so you're forced into a trade off. It's not a very hard decision! LOL Venue staff and security is pretty benign. Purses are not checked at the door, and if camera use is not strictly allowed, it's at least tolerated. I did notice a staffer telling people to sit down in sections 4 and 5. The lady came back during Singer to section 4 to admonish the dancers, but a fellow was dancing in the aisle and handled the situation by grabbing her and dancing WITH her. She escaped even as he was calling her back to him. I'll have to try that trick myself sometime! LOL Whatever works! I didn't confirm the attendance numbers, but while it wasn't a sell out it was a good crowd. THE FASHION REPORT JL - White long-slvd shirt, black jeans, second half NEW black concert tshirt and black jeans JH - The sheet shirt (SueC once had bedsheets with a similar pattern of green-brown leaves/pink flowers), light blue jeans, studded boots, second half sherbet western shirt, dark blue jeans and the new WHITE deck shoes GE - Jimi Hendrix shirt, black slacks, second half hula shirt Norda - Black beaded bustier, black hiphuggers no change at half Bernie - Lovely green top, white pants  JL
made the big fashion news at Merrillville, coming out for the second half
in black jeans and the new black concert tshirt. WOOHOO!!!
Oh, I mean he looked *very* nice. I don't think I have EVER seen
him onstage in a tshirt and I LOVED it. SueC LOVED it. I'd
guess that every woman in the house LOVED it. LOL It kinda
made him look like a biker. ; ) I just hope he
keeps that particular stage outfit in the front of his closet. The
only thing that could improve it would be a leather jacket (as reported
he wore in Hinckley). Please God, let it be cold in Denver!
I won't complain.
THE CONCERT The Moody Blues seem to have put all their troubles and uncertainty behind them in 2004 and have reunited in America ready to play. Each of the three concerts I've seen so far this tour has been strong, polished, energized and professional. Merrillville saw the same kind of performance. I think there may be a trend here! LOL The only screw up of the concert (well, that I noticed) was in Slide Zone. Justin was fooling around at the back of the stage and didn't come in for the intro guitar solo. He changes from his Olson to the Red Gibson at that point, and seemed to have caught the guitar cord inside his pants. I don't know what it was caught on, but it seemed to "hurt" when he pulled it out. (MaggieMay sobbing with laughter as she is typing) Yes, there are sacrifices to be made in music and sometimes it will hurt. ; ) JH realized he was late, and looked up at Graeme chagrined. The Band coolly continued to vamp and Justin got his act together and joined them. Things like that don't seem to bother him the way they used to. He be cool! SueC and I were pleasantly surprised during TSIYE when the Shuffle came right toward us, ending what seemed like 6 inches away. WOOHOO!!! I'll tell you that is a hell of a lot of Big Guitar in your face and we enjoyed every minute of it. We went out for a breath of fresh air (haha) and were warmly greeted by Michelle who told us that she "voraciously" reads our little reviews. It was lovely to meet you and the encouragement is greatly appreciated.  The
second half was every bit as great as the first set. December Snow
is always gorgeous and powerful but tonight I was MESMERIZED by Justin.
He has taken to holding his microphone with one hand, then the other as
he croons into the mike. It is WILDLY erotic! It perfectly
conveys the passion he pours into that song. I wouldn't have said
that he could possibly do it any better than he performed it last fall,
but Merrillville proved me wrong.
The end of the Merrillville concert was particularly joyful for me! Hubby winged his way up to stand with us for Question and there was a special delight in swaying to that song with my arms around the man I love. John strode out to SueC and me at the beginning of SeeSaw, then wickedly jumped away. Hubby got a nod from his favorite Moody, Mr Graeme Edge, and another great one hit the books. This is turning out to be one FINE tour! It had been a long time since someone yelled out "Where's Ray Thomas?" from the audience. I heard it at least three times and each time from a different part of the theatre. Logistics and reason prevented us from attending the Hinckley show, but we are having a fine time in the Mile High City. I'm rested and ready to rock 'n roll at the Universal Lending Pavilion in Denver tonight and hope that The Band is feeling exactly the same way! MaggieMay Listen to the tide slowly turning, Wash all our heartaches away... Photos courtesy of SueC |
Denver |