|
USA Summer Tour 2005 Saturday, June 11 th The Greek Theatre Los Angeles, CA On the Road With MaggieMay... LIVE at the Greek! A late night in Vegas was followed by a gruesome early morning. I woke with a start at 6am, feeling the ache in these old bones and groggily sat up, wearily wondering what I had been doing having breakfast at 2am in the Zanzibar Cafe. Vegas does things like that to you! I tried to think out the day ahead and anticipate any problems, and finally realized that the seat of my pants was all I had. I smiled, thinking that I always had at least ONE option: I could make SUEC deal with it! I knew I should have packed up the night before, but I didn’t and the atmosphere in our room was frantic. I zipped up my bag, asked SueC to pack up the laptop and went down to settle our bill. I was pleasantly surprised – only one couple was ahead of me at the desk, and the lobby was empty. I thought “No one checks out of Vegas on Saturday!” Maybe no one checks out of the Aladdin on Saturday morning, but a truckload of people (several lorriesful) had also decided to leave The Town of Brotherly Love. (Wait! That’s San Francisco!) McCarren Airport was bursting at the seams with travelers. Stupid travelers! Why in this world would you go inside to check in when the Skycap check-in line has only 6 people in it? To save five lousy bucks? Or is it some kind of strange penitence? I know *I* feel like a better person when I waste an hour standing in line – it teaches SO many things. Patience. Posture. Bladder control. We had a few spots of difficulty making our way through the crowds; the line at the United indoor check-in was completely blocking our way. We struggled through, hearing only a few pitiful yelps as we jerked our rolling luggage through the packed crowd. It waren’t pretty! In contrast to the check-in area, security moved very well. McCarren has separate security areas for each concourse and plenty of pleasant staff. A very odd person was in front of me in the security line. I wasn’t sure he should be traveling alone, however, I was VERY sure he shouldn’t be traveling with me. I don’t know what was in his backpack, but security spent a long time studying it via x-ray and finally pulled him over for a look-see. I threw on my Birkies and bolted past him, and I truly hope his prison stay goes well. Our flight was nothing and I barely got my coffee down before it was time to land. I hate LAX. I hate JFK. I hate LHR (a pissing hour in passport control can do that to ya). I hate PHX, though I must admit their new OBSCENE message boards over the walks added an element of humor to the experience (Tasha Foreskin – WHAT kind of name is that???) LAX was the flavor of the day and it didn’t taste bad. Our gate wasn’t too far from civilization, baggage was pretty quick and the taxi queue wasn’t long. It would have been a lot shorter if I had only REALIZED that the man approaching me with a clipboard was, in fact, an employee of the airport’s traffic system and was attempting to assist me, rather than to solicit me. A minor misunderstanding! SueC and I do a LOT of impromptu planning on the fly, letting our hearts and whims dictate our passage. Our natures are naturally ones of exploration, we clearly hear the call of new frontiers. Our scheduled hotel no longer held any, um “attraction” for us and we threw it out the window despite their elegant sobbing protests and pleas, and chose a suitable one near the venue. We *thought* it would be suitable. It was not! Its only saving virtue was that it didn’t rent by the hour. We learned to live like the Little People. (No, I don’t mean the Lollipop Guild) We survived it, and it made us stronger. Meaner. More desperate. I felt like Scarlett O’Hara when I walked out into the middle of Highland Boulevard and shouted “I’ll NEVER stay at a Best Western Again!” Our Armenian taxi driver (yes, I said ARMENIAN – not Bosnian like our cab driver in New Orleans who asked me to marry him and I think, meant it) was thickly accented but kind and had driven us past The Greek. Oh, what a VERY nice place! It whetted our appetite for the evening, and after all, it was our luggage that would be spending the evening at home. I argued with SueC about leaving a place that offended my sensibilities and she sweetly reasoned. If I hadn’t desperately needed a nap, I would have MADE her move. Oh well! One night in hell is all it would be. The pleasant young gal at the desk (who deserves better, by God!) warned us to allow 45 minutes in total for a taxi. Saturday night traffic in Hollywood is heavy and The Hollywood Bowl was having a jazz festival. Shrug I hate jazz and neither of us was the least tempted. SueC made the call after a refreshing nap and we were off to the Greek. THE VENUE Rather than cite statistics (which may be found at www.greektheatrela.com) I think I’ll go all soft and give “impressions”. Inviting. Green. Pleasant. Natural. OK, that isn’t me! The Greek is a pretty theatre in a pretty park in a pretty neighborhood. It’s built into a hillside. The website refers to it as a “canyon”, but I think that gives a wrong impression and we’re all about impressions here. It goes on to say that the Greek is 75 years old, but it certainly doesn’t look like it. Someone 75 years ago was smarter than the average bear, and came up with a timeless design that has endured. It’s white, very clean and has retained a park-like atmosphere. One can grab a hotdog and plop onto the grass and feel quite natural about it! Large signs (at least 4ft by 6ft) were prominently posted on the fences informing patrons that the event would be filmed. This point was underscored by the Image representative who told the audience that “if you’re here with someone you SHOULDN’T be, then better put some space between you!” There was noticeable security present; bags were searched at the entry gates. What they think I can carry in the small bag I usually bring is beyond me. My Beretta .25 perhaps? I don’t know; I’ll have to check and see if it will fit. The smell of kettle corn was in the air, and wafted all our worries away. The most distinctive aspect of The Greek (and it’s very impressive in appearance) is the seat layout. The back section is steeply pitched against the canyon, and I imagine if you could make it up there, you’d have a fine, Red Rocks style view. There is no way *I* could sit up there, for a number of excellent reasons: 1 Fear of Heights 2 Fear of Steps 3 Nosebleeds 4 Vision so poor guidedogs press their leads into my hands 5 That bizarre desire to JUMP (am I the only one who experiences that?) The lower levels were much more to my liking. The pit was VERY nice with chairs far more comfortable than usually provided. The stage was the perfect height and it was nice and wide. Sigh ALL venues should be this good! A couple big guys who meant business checked tickets at the pit entrance and nobody could get past them without um...well, “offering” something might have worked. Shrug This was a good thing and a bad thing. The Damn Brokers (saying it with LOVE of course!) have a stranglehold on The Greek and were listing tickets for over 700 each. Needless to say, half of the 2nd row was empty. Sigh This is one time I wouldn’t have minded people moving up into pit seats. As it was, they stayed empty for one of the BEST Moodies concerts I’ve ever experienced – it was just a shame. No Photography! I’d say that was quite forgivable for a taping night. THE FASHION REPORT JL – Long slvd silver crinkly “Cossack” top, blue jeans, boots, 2nd half black Cossack shirt JH – Pink long-slvd sherbet western shirt, beige slacks, beige shoes, no change at half GE – Car shirt, black slacks, 2nd half GE Tshirt Bernie – Green with gold design halter-style top, white pants Norda – Black narrow skirt, black strapless top, tart’s trotters Paul – White long-slvd (I think) pleated top Gordon – either a white knit top and black pants or a black knit shirt and white pants Someone better hose JL down, ‘cause he is dressing WAY too hot for that stage, and blowing his bandmates out of the water. John wore a pair of blue jeans that looked like they had been custom made for him and BOTH of those shirts with the jeans were fantastic. They’re equally great, but I have a certain fondness for black, and the only drawback of that shirt is that it makes him look a little thin. It was a knockout! VERY rock ‘n roll, but a touch sophisticated. A guy would have to be pretty masculine to pull off those shirts (so to speak!) and JL does it with aplomb. He looked very comfortable and relaxed. I got a good look at the jeans a couple times and was a little amazed to see a small SNAKE embroidered near the front right pocket. Very cool! The black shirt had side slits and was gauzy – a little see-through. Really, a breath-taking look and just PERFECT. I can’t wait to see it over and over on the dvd. : ) In contrast, I can only say that Justin’s concert attire was puzzling. I don’t for the life of me understand the beige pants. Did he pick those up at Goodwill that afternoon? With matching beige shoes? Jeans, it should have been JEANS with the pink sherbet western shirt. Sigh And now that awful, lackluster, no style outfit is immortalized. I can not believe SOMEONE did not stop him as he was walking out of his dressing room and say “you are NOT wearing that onstage!”, and physically push him back into his room, only to be allowed out after a fashion committee had approved. You take a good looking man, and put him into crap and he STILL looks good. He *could* have looked FANTASTIC. I could really wring someone’s neck for not making SURE he was dressed to kill. What an awful mistake! Arrrrrrgh It was the biggest disappointment of the evening. Bernie looked good, but something happened to Norda at The Greek. She looked drop dead gorgeous. If someone did your makeup, I want their name. I have NEVER seen Norda look so beautiful. I realized something was going on when the big guy next to SueC was panting, and when I turned, I followed his gaze. LOL I liked Paul’s shirt, loved GE’s GE Tshirt. Graeme always looks good – gorgeous hair, a lot of style. Gordon always looks very nice, but one must remember, he’s there to beat things. THE CONCERT The Moody Blues concert at the Greek Theatre was, without question, the single most exciting concert experience of my entire life. It beat out seeing Cream at the RAH, and that was a pretty incredible experience. I have never been so pumped up about seeing The Moodies in concert before. I was at the taping of the Hall of Fame, and while that was a great event, this surpassed it. Perhaps it’s because The Greek seems more intimate than the RAH, perhaps it was because the crowd was less Brit-style staid. The very air was pulsing with energy, and a little nervousness. I was surprised to see a LOT of Moodies Tshirts as I watched the crowd come in. Fans proudly wore their 86 T’s or their 2004 ones. There was a huge crowd and I would guess it was close to a sell-out. It was a damn shame there was a single empty seat in the pits and a sad reminder of ticket sales gone wrong. That was one of the very few negative aspects of the evening. SueC and I had never been to The Greek before and despite studying the seating chart and visiting the website, had problems visualizing the layout. It reminded me of a Chinese take-away carton with the lids folded back. The two side sections looked like wings from the stage, and the entire bowl looked like it could lift off the ground. There was a LOT of activity prior to the concert. The bowl was roped off prior to the concert and even lingering a moment at the open gateway inside was not allowed. “Either get to the bathroom or get out” was the policy. Stephen Bishop started around 7:30pm and did a nice set (which we enjoyed from our picnic grounds in front of the plaza). I didn’t realize he did the song which goes: “On and on, on and on, ON and on” It was nice background music, and I have nothing against him. SueC and I went in to our seats after Bishop was done and saw a heck of a lot of activity, most of which seemed strange and alien to us. One cameraman was onstage closely looking at every piece of equipment through the large camera. What was he doing? We don’t know! A camera on a boom was behind Bernie and it reminded me of the alien creatures in Gene Barry’s War of the Worlds. Another camera boom was stage left in the terrace area. The Image spokesman said that TEN cameras were being used! I only noticed a few of them. One pro photographer was present, readily identifiable by his long (archaic) lenses. I watched one fellow tape down Justin’s floor cord with tape that was the same color as the carpet. Setlists were brought in and put down. You just couldn’t watch everything at once! I turned around at one point to see what activity was going on in the seating area and caught a glimpse of Kirsten and Emily Lodge taking seats about 20 rows back, then saw Marie Hayward take the aisle seat in the same row. It’s nice they were there to show their support. The concert started with Lovely to See You in the usual way, and it seemed fine to ME, when Justin stopped, backed off the mike and said STOP, STOP! It took a while for the rest of the band to realize that the lead singer had jumped ship. I didn’t think Justin had overtly seemed nervous. He apologized and said he had been singing the wrong lyrics and that might be a problem matching things up in the studio. “Could we go out and come in again?” he asked. Even if the lyrics flub had been entirely unintended (and I think it was) it was brilliant, fortuitous. The Band went offstage and came back in and this time, the crowd was on its feet, hooting and shouting enthusiastically. I think Justin created a bond with that flub and brought “in” the crowd. It certainly made for a VERY different entrance and a much more promising second beginning. The first half went VERY well and no retaping was necessary. I think it could have made for a VERY long evening, otherwise. Hey, and I’m always saying the concert is too short! The performances were excellent, backups being their usual professional and the Jays commanding the stage. I thought though, that John’s performance at The Greek, while very very good, was not nearly up to his Aladdin show. John captivated the audience at the Aladdin. Justin shone at The Greek. He danced, he sang, he emoted, he thrilled. It was the single best performance I have ever seen him give in concert. Spectacular! The first half went VERY well – excellent performances all around. I nipped out at the half to get some air, then wandered back in on the early side. I was turned toward SueC as we chatted and caught a glimpse of Gordon Marshall out of the corner of my eye as he climbed up to Bernie’s keyboard. “Oh my God, Sue! They’re going to do Forever Autumn!” It was the most incredible performance of that gorgeous song I have ever heard, performed by a man filled, CONSUMED, with passion from his head to his toes. SO! I guess that info@notachanceinhell.com addy works after all! LOL!!! Hey, I don’t mind egg on MY face as long as it’s served with hollandaise. I never ever ever thought I would hear Forever Autumn performed in a Moody Blues concert in the USA. I may go to church on Sunday, ‘cause Honey, the end of the world must be near. I’m ready to go, for I’ve already heard the Angel sing... The second half? Super! Energized, powerful, and hey – entertaining. It was like putting a Moodies concert on rocket fuel. I realize they can’t do that every night. They’d burn out! But just to see it once was SUCH a thrill. I thought TOSOL was utterly fantastic – hard. The sound sucked at our seats, but who cares? Guitars sounded great and I’m sure the mix was fine in the center of the audience as it should be. I can’t wait to get the dvd, to find out what Justin said in the intro to The Actor. I couldn’t hear him and he was only 4 feet away. I know it was on the line of “We brought our 2nd album with us when we came to America in 1968, we came here and played at the something and we never found it. (The Lost Chord, that is) I know Justin said something HE thought was funny, because he leaned back and chuckled. GE set into stone “when my hair was brown and my teeth were white”. His cue *worked* tonight after not being picked up despite being given TWICE at the Aladdin. John contributed, “when you say something and 20 seconds later (5 at The Greek) you think, WHY did I say that?” The positive aspects of the evening were almost overwhelming. The negative aspects were minor for the most part: absent vocals in my particular neck of the woods, security that was a little more forward and tougher than warranted by a basically laid back crowd. It was a little too cold for my taste and I had to put on another shirt, then finally my jacket – I ended up with four layers of clothes. LOL!!! It wasn’t Wente, but it was cold enough. At least it didn’t rain. The saddest thing about The Greek was that The Moodies didn’t care to include their fans and only the very few traveling fans that had made prior plans to go there and the ones who scrabbled to make arrangements at the very last minute were able to be there, and it was a VERY small number. I think a lot of people would have made a special effort to come even with pit seats way out of reach, in order to be part of Moodies history. An event like this is important to fans, and it’s a HUGE matter of pride to be able to say “I was at Red Rocks” or “I was at the RAH taping” or “I was in Monte Carlo”. Only a small number will be able to say “I was at The Greek”. It shows either a lack of understanding of fans or an abysmal lack of interest. Maybe they didn’t WANT fans there. It’s the only shadow on a great evening and one I won’t dwell on. I’ll work to forget that *I* was nearly forgotten, and I’ll try to look over the fact that *I* was looked over. It’s one thing not to be invited to the backstage party, but it’s another thing not to even be invited to the concert. Still, it was a great evening, with a fantastic performance that should make a fine cd, dvd, and tv program, WELL worth having. I’ve longed to have a pristine copy of H&H and Are You Sitting Comfortably?, and December Snow, and I’ve never even HOPED to have a great copy of Forever Autumn. That song because of its rarity was a wonderful gift. It’s too bad it wasn’t included in the setlist at Humphrey’s. Darn! One more reason that fans would have loved to be at the taping. Shrug If you missed the taping, you weren’t alone, and I’m SORRY to say you missed one of the best Moodies concerts, perhaps THE BEST I have ever been to. And, if The Band didn’t miss you... I did. MaggieMay I wonder if you know, I wonder if you think about it, Once upon a time in your wildest dreams...
|
|
