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Winter Tour 2005 Temecula, CA Pechanga Casino Showroom Friday, January 28 On the Road With MaggieMay... I’m sitting in our mammoth white SUV on Lancaster Boulevard, admiring the avenue of trees wrapped in Christmas tree lights, surrounded by personal pan pizza boxes. It’s pretty easy to get the primo parking place at a concert if you’re sure to arrive three hours early! Friday night’s enjoyable concert was followed by the bar (which got a little too crowded for us) then dinner/breakfast in the cafe. SueC and I have been saving time by grouping our meals. The high point of our evening was the elevator ride after dinner. Oh, the elevator was in fine working order, but When The Elevator Door Opened we faced a scene out of the OK Corral. A dozen security guards were standing in a stage of readiness, surrounding three guests who were cowering against the hallway wall. Guns weren’t drawn, but I suspected they had been. SueC and I were both startled and trapped – the elevator door had closed behind us. One guard turned and growled “Are you on this floor”? We gulped and nodded and were told to go immediately to our rooms, lock the doors, pull the curtains and crawl under the beds. (This is an exaggeration; we were only instructed to go to our rooms) It was impossible to tell what had happened, but a sobbing woman was half carried to an elevator as we passed, while the gentleman with her was told he would have to be escorted out. It seemed the perfect ending to our mixed evening at Pechanga. SueC wisely hit the bed, but poor little MaggieMay went to work and wrote until 6am. This stuff may only take five minutes to read, but every minute seems to take an hour to write. One cannot continue to type when you have to hold your eyelids open with your fingers. We were up and dressed in time to make JL’s Members’ chat and had a delightful time hearing his news. I understand his new pseudonym will be Puss ‘n Boots. A PERFECT choice! After some breakfast/lunch, I managed to finish Friday’s review in the bar as people stood behind me and read behind my back. That doesn’t bother me at all! Jean’s lovely compliments proved an inspiration. (I don’t *mind* lies, either!) I finished and was rewarded with a lovely few hours of coffee and intimate Texas conversation. It’s rare that SueC and I have Midland’s finest to ourselves and it made the trip to Pechanga very special. THE FASHION REPORT JL- Black long-slvd shirt with small pleats on the bib, black jeans with leather pockets JH – Sherbet pink long-slvd western-style shirt, untucked, blue jeans with faded knees and thighs, white tennis shoes GE – Jimi Hendrix shirt, black slacks, black shoes Norda – Black patterned brocade top with straps, narrow black skirt with asymetrical hem and flounce, boots Bernie – Black dress with reverse halter top, boots Gordon – Black knit top with white pants Paul – White long-slvd shirt with tan stripes, black slacks It’s The Return of the Sherbet Shirt, one of the most enduring items of concert attire seen on the Moody stage. I suspect it must be Justin’s *lucky* shirt. I like it! It’s nice to see some color up there. The western shirt, blue jeans and tennies are a great concert look. Sometimes the Jays are so dressed up on stage (usually in classic black) that I feel I should wear my tiara from Chastain Park. LOL John’s hair is noticeably long this tour and absolutely f-ing gorgeous (SueC won’t allow me to use the F-word and I’m afraid of her!) (Ed: Oh, I might make an exception in this case. WOW!) It’s thick and wavy and almost touches his shoulders, a lion’s mane, appropriate for the King of the Pride. I’d say more about it but I start to stutter. THE CONCERT The second concert of the tour and the second in the showroom at Pechanga Casino was a tad better than the first. Perhaps by Lancaster they’ll be fully back in the saddle and ready to give us a good ride. The 2005 setlist was performed in its entirety without an intermission. Graeme made his usual entrance onstage elegantly bowing to Miss Norda who returned the favor with a gracious curtsey. We had a clean start out of the blocks and a smooth rendition of Lovely to See You. I still long for The Voice, but LTSY is a comparably good starter. Tuesday Afternoon was strong. Lean On Me was without Squire accompaniment initially. Electric guitars perform so much better when they are turned on! After a brief moment, Justin leaned back and snapped it to life. Though chat was kept still to a minimum and was difficult to hear at Pechanga, I liked Justin’s introduction to the Actor – brief, but humorous. He said (paraphrased) This is an old song from In Search of the Lost Chord. At least, I *think* it is! The Actor showed that Justin is not 100% on his vocals. It didn’t sound bad, it just didn’t sound GREAT. He omitted some of the “oooos” and did not sustain his notes. The sound of Friday night was ongoing and the Olsen could barely be heard on The Actor. Electrics sounded great as the night before. I particularly enjoyed the last several measures of The Actor, Justin leaning toward John as they ended the song together in perfect unison. The velvet backing vocals supplied by Bernie and Norda were particularly nice at Pechanga on The Actor. I loved Voices in the Sky, but The Actor is a showpiece from top to bottom, and wows the crowd. I always get a big kick out of the “horse counting off the three beats” and LOVE the big Mellotron sound that Paul throws out there. It’s to die for. Slide Zone went well and was followed by English Sunset. That’s not right! I don’t like that effect and think it takes away from English Sunset. Nonetheless, there it is, and ES is STILL one of my favorite concert songs. It’s such a winner! JH did a great job on it and went all-out on the jam – Fantastic! The fancy lead guitar work at Pechanga more than made up for the sub-par vocals. JL’s intro to TOoT about husbands could barely be heard in the second row from the stage. As much as I hate to suggest it, I’d say a couple good-sized front fill speakers dead center are desperately needed at Pechanga. I can’t believe I’ve never noticed that Norda plays tambourine on TOoT. It’s just hard to take your eyes off JL when he’s moving with an acoustic guitar, it’s mesmerizing. Great lights for IKYOTS, a really cool violet background with moving checkered discs. IKYOTS saw at least the front part of the audience standing at the drum crescendo, thanks to the group of fun-loving cowgirls in the 3rd row. I always appreciate the opportunity to jump up for that song. Once up, it seemed natural to keep standing for my all-time favorite Moodies’s song: The Story in Your Eyes. Very well done! Again, the Band skipped the break and immediately moved into YWD. Graeme had a terrible time getting a drumstick over to Gordon, quite amusing. Justin has taken a more refined approach to TOSOL and the guitar thrusts ain’t happening. December Snow was not effective at Pechanga, it’s a song that is waiting for JH’s voice to return full force. He did not hold the mike as he sang on either Friday or Saturday night. I thought the harmony between Justin and John on DS was very nice at this concert. Graeme varied his intro for H&H from Friday night, but is still talking about his Christmas weight. Damn good performance and very enjoyable. AYSC saw a little yodeling by The Moodies’ lead singer. Ahem! It’s a little trick Justin picked up in England. Maybe he’s working out a new arrangement for AYSC for MoodyBluegrass Two. Norda and Gordon sounded great on that song. It’s a nice venue for flute and really pops it out. Singer was peppy! It’s a hoot to watch Norda perform in such a lovely manner on AYSC and then have her turn around and be doing her wild hoola-hoop act at the beginning of Singer. I’m gonna toss a real one up to her some concert and let her go at it. How she can go from lovely and demure one moment and be wild and crazy the next is something to be seen! JL’s joking around with The Girls on Singer is precious, and they’ve developed a bit where he has to try to get between them to sing at their mike. Very cute! Justin’s performance on Nights seemed largely unaffected by his vocal problems. It was great. The lights on Nights are not as blinding on the second row, but they still make it difficult to gaze up adoringly. I don’t tend to look around during nights, but happened to glance to the side (I like to see how things look on the video screens) and was startled to see a COW pattern of lights playing the side walls. That’s the only way I can think of to describe it. Steve and Rayna kindly held us a spot at the stage after Nights for us and we slid up without trampling anyone. Question was solid and SeeSaw was even better than its brilliant usual if that is possible. The second night at Pechanga was definitely an improvement over night one. There are NO concert photos to accompany this review. Not that SueC and I are above sneaking a couple for history’s sake, but we’ve seen Indian security in action and it can be pretty darn ugly for the fan who has risked it. I would not like a big fellow grabbing me, snatching my camera and removing me from a showroom. (Wait, let me think about this!) It’s a shame for the fans who could not be there. Sigh So, no photos. The Saturday night crowd was definitely wilder than Friday nights. One idiot girl in the back left side of the showroom spent most of the concert screaming bloody murder, and the “shushing” got louder and louder. I can’t understand why security didn’t take care of THAT! Probably too busy watching for cameras. LOL Hal had not given us the complete list of new merchandise. I saw a fantastic light blue Songwriter tshirt as I passed the merchandise stand. That is a must-have! I’m not sure about having Justin’s young face on my right boob, but there it is. (Ed: for those not able to make it to the concerts, Hal has this same great shirt at MoodyMall. Check it out.) MaggieMay Oh, Darlin’, you’re almost part of me, Oh, Darlin’ you’re all I ever see! (Hmmm, that could be the motto of TMB!) |
