| WORLD TOUR
WINTER 2006
Atlantis Theatre Saturday, March 4, 2006 Paradise Island, The Bahamas "I don’t care too much for money, Money can’t buy me love!" Money couldn’t buy me a ticket to see The Moody Blues in Atlantis either. Tickets to see The Moody Blues in The Bahamas were the toughest tickets in the world. They simply weren’t for sale. It was one of the most talked about concerts of the decade and the source of intense fan frustration. I could envision it: the sun, the surf and The Moody Blues. It was all that and more. The Atlantis Theatre is a very small theatre in the huge hotelopolis that is Sol Kerzner’s vision of the Lost World. He must be a certified megalomaniac, but more about that another time. Saying it with Love, of course! Joe, the embattled ticket manager and a man perfectly capable of being Atlantic City rude RIGHT to your face, said that the theatre held 400 seats. That made it half the size of the Indian casino showroom in Traverse City Freakin’ Freezin’ Michigan, heretofore the smallest venue I’ve seen The Moodies perform in. Atlantis now holds that fine distinction. I forewent Gucci (though I succumbed to Lalique) in the long trek from The Royal Towers (so named no doubt because they were home to The KINGS of Classic Rock) passing thru the casino, past a number of upscale and normal person shops, past Mama Loo’s, finally reaching a roundabout. Cavorting dophins greeted me, let me hasten to add, STATUES, not the real thing (but only because Sol hasn’t thought of it yet). The Atlantis Theatre is just an unheralded entry in the wall, indicated with an odd mural of a cruise ship and people in 50s dress. It’s out of character with everything else in this ornate Palace of Poisedon. Shrug No more than thirty rows of theatre-type seating in gently curved rows in three sections sits behind two rows of round tables of four. Tables were reserved for the casino’s whales, putting the first row of seats a very comfortable and highly acceptable 15 feet from the stage. If you don’t know what a whale is, then you aren’t one. (It’s a casino’s term for high roller.) A 6ft wall backed the seats, requiring me to walk across the back to the right side of the venue. The stage was big enough for the regular setup, but not very deep. There was one thing ENTIRELY unique about the Atlantis Theatre – an OPEN BAR! You sure don’t see THAT very often at a Moodies concert. LOL THE CONCERT – Before, After and During It helped to be a laid-back kind of person to survive the experience at Atlantis. So many things were "indefinite". Trust was required. LOL!!! I see myself as a well-balanced person, sound of mind and good-natured (mixed guffawing coming from the peanut gallery.) Were there going to be tickets, as in hard tickets? Was there going to be a list? Were the tickets going to be available at 1? I was told 1pm, then informed it would be 4. Would my tickets be at the Temple of the Moon (oh yes, the Temple of the MOON!) or at the Temple of the Sun? How can an employee tell me Temple of The Moon without breaking into hysterical laughter? Assured that it would be Temple of The Moon in the middle of the casino I joined the line with high hopes, soon to be dashed. No tickets, just chits and only 2 of my 4. I joined the second line and dealt with Joe. I am betting money Joe is from Atlantic City. He was not a nice man and gave up my other chit silently and in a put out manner. I was puzzled! What now? I overheard Joe say to someone else that it was first come, first served and that he would seat from the front middle out. How many hoops do ya have to jump through? We got out of the crowd, escaped to our room and pondered our next move. The concert start was a horrifying 10pm, doors open at 9, or 8:30, depending on who you spoke to! I had intended to nap, but was faced with yet another line.  Darling
Hubby helped me ponder and sweetly offered to make the fair trek down to
the showroom and "check it out". His report? Someone was already
waiting in line at 5pm, just as I had suspected. You gotta give her
credit – no whining, just doing whatever it takes to get the best seat
she can get.
It’s an attitude I can respect. Besides, I knew that she was going to be forced to make conversation with my husband for the next 4 hours. He’s a natural herder. I think they bonded, at least he was stuffed with cookies by the time I got there. What a line! It was pretty much them for the next few hours. Not quite as tough as sitting in the Albuquerque sun. Eating had not been planned in our concert day schedule and my hopes of a pleasant meal were crushed. Darling Hubby was spitting cookie crumbs (he really needed a glass of milk) when I arrived so I headed to whatever was nearest to beg. Mama Loo’s had a very limited bar menu but they pleasantly did me up with Diet Coke and eggrolls. The cracked conch was not slivers as described but big chunks. It was like eating a vinegar flavored rubber ball and I nearly lost a molar. Almost dislodged my jaw. I knew DH would LOVE it. He likes to battle his food, and Mama Loo’s conch was a worthy opponent. I encouraged him, after all, conch is known to be an aphrodesiac. : ) Joe (again and again...JOE) came down early. It’s not really clear to me why he was unable to give us our damn tickets at 4. Perhaps it’s the special joy he gets, interacting with and rudely treating the casino’s bread and butter. He had been clear about *who* gets *what* and proceeded to do exactly what he said. I felt I had achieved a gold medal, almost weeping when Joe put the tickets in my little hand. I didn’t really care about the concert any more! Just getting the tickets was enough for the evening. The showroom/theatre was atypical for Atlantis – it was fairly plain, very small in a place where almost nothing is small, conservative but with a pleasant atmosphere. There’s been some confusion about this concert. What exactly was it and why weren’t tickets sold for it? It was a private, casino concert. The casino uses these types of events as a perk for players, both to reward them and to attract them. A player is offered a couple of show tickets, a room, a flight is not unheard of - whatever it takes for the casino to get them there with the logic that once there, they’ll play. A gambler is GOING to play, the only question is, where? Casinos are in hot competition with each other, even on a multinational basis. Does it work? It must! I was told by a casino source that a prior act for a similar private casino event was The Eagles. At the tune of 1.7 million USD. Casinos are dead serious about this stuff.  Part
of the perk is the exclusivity. I was aware that any tickets
not taken by high-rollers could become available to hotel guests.
I saw ONE very nice couple get 2 tickets by waiting until showtime.
There could have been a handful more, but not MUCH more than that.
These tickets were sold for a reasonable $75.
Another question asked was, if they’ve given these tickets away to people, then why are there so many empty seats? One person estimated the audience to be around 300, down 100 from the house capacity. Worse, at least one third of the VERY center tables were empty until jumped after the concert was half-way. The sight of empty seats was maddening. Why did this happen? Those seats were promised to people who didn’t show. They don’t CARE! It’s just a perk to them. Some probably changed their plans and didn’t appear for the weekend, some were at a hot table and didn’t feel like leaving. Joe made it clear that the front tables were reserved and would stay reserved because the whale that the table seat was reserved for might turn up with a couple songs to go and must be accommodated. That’s life in the casino! It should also explain why people blithely got up for drinks, even in the middle of Nights, carried on conversations, picked their teeth, came late, left early, did pretty much whatever they felt like. Frankly, I expected much worse and thought that the audience was pretty well-behaved, considering. Just one thing made ME crazy (ok, a FEW, but I’ll stick to this one): if you thought Bakersfield was a dead crowd, you shoulda been here. I swear to God, it was absolutely DEAD. After a minute of polite applause, it fell completely silent. You could hear a pin drop! It was exactly the way Justin described the usual Monte Carlo crowd: "You could die in there". I’m surprised the front men could still STAND after 3 or 4 songs. There was absolutely NO energy in that place, in fact, that audience sucked it out of you. It was like playing to an empty room. Might as well have been! LOL!!! What a joyless way to make a living. It’s prostitution! A crew member must have been walking across the back with big dollar signs to remind them WHY they were there. I hope The Moodies don’t do too many of these deals, ‘cause I think it’ll kill them. Destroy their spirit and they’ll end up empty shells. I’d rather see that happen to somebody else. So, the particulars! I was very surprised that the setlist from the USA Winter gigs was performed in its entirety, without an intermission. I love that because nobody can change clothes on me! Ha! For the setlist, please consult the review for USA FALL REVIEWS 2005 Waukegan. THE FASHION REPORT GE – Blue polo-style collared golf shirt with white vertical panels, black slacks Norda – Black bustier, great hair JL – White long-slvd new shirt, ruffles down the front and some pattern in the cloth (you gotta see it up close), worn out over the snake jeans. Sweet! Boots GM – Black tshirt JUSTIN HAYWARD – The PERFECT Stage Outfit! Bernie looked nice but I was on the opposite side and I just can’t remember what she wore. It couldn’t have been revolting, because that I would have remembered. I’ve waited many years for tonight, because Justin Hayward walked out in the PERFECT Stage Outfit.  What
can I say? It suited him to a T. I liked the suit in Swindon
(pretty much perfect for that event) but it didn’t seem right onstage with
The Moodies. Paired with a long slvd oxford shirt it made me think
of a continental gigalo, coupled with the gray "holistic" doves tshirt,
it just looked wrong. I feel like Goldilocks: the black tshirt
is Just Right. When I say *tshirt*, I’m using the term very loosely.
It looks like something that might cost $150 to $200 at Raleigh’s Mens’
shop In Indy (I got DH one once to his disgust) The finely woven
material fits him closely, though not tightly, outlining Justin’s broad
muscled shoulders and slightly straining against his chest. His lightly
tanned and very toned arms are shrouded almost to the elbow while the lovely
black material falls delightfully from his chest, accentuating his flat
belly – a perfect masculine V from his shoulders to his slim hips.
I really would have liked to have had a good look at it from the back;
I’m sure it was Quite Nice. He looks like a model for Pilates, lean,
toned and lithe.
Simply PERFECT! This ensemble suits his style, making him both unique AND complimentary to JL’s stronger rocker look. It’s reminiscent of Robert Palmer, but definitely Justin Hayward. I secretly hope that the horrible tan long slvd v-neck disaster meets an untimely end. The jacket came off in the neighborhood of Higher and Higher – I liked both looks (though I prefer the jacket buttoned, it’s a much trimer silloutte), but between the two, toss the jacket off as soon as possible. THE CONCERT They Came, They Saw, They Conquered.  There’s
almost nothing to say about the concert itself, no criticism that leaps
to mind. Sound was fine. Vocals were good, instrumentals were
good, no noticeable errors, everybody’s smiling, nice show! I enjoyed
it! I really can’t single out any one song as better than the others
– maybe Nights, but then Nights is always special. It was as good
as a concert possibly could be considering it was a casino concert.
The light show was a bit different, and very enjoyable. I have to
admit that the video shown during Singer (popularly known as The Come Again
Video) is a little distracting. I love that video and I find myself
watching it! I can’t help myself. I want to stop, but I can’t.
sigh I would rather watch the show that I’ve PAID for than a video
that I own (it’s on the Legend of a Band dvd) and can sit at home and watch
it over and over, screaming REWIND at the moment the lead guitarist finishes,
ah..."performing". It’s quite a spectacular performance, breathtaking.
Riveting! If I didn’t know better, I’d think...perhaps this is not
the best time to mention Mahler. ; )
I think Joe did a pretty good job with the seating. The 15 or so "fans" were seated together in the theatre seats on the JL side. You could stand, dance, sing (if you kept it down) there with impunity. After a couple gals decided to risk the front table (and good for them), Jeff and Donna beckoned me over to their center seats and I thought I’d join them. It was nice to have a different camera angle and experience a different seat for sound and also to Share the Moment with them - a pair of very nice people. However, standing was a no-no there and I was reminded rather sharply by a highly disgruntled man behind me. I never understand why people don’t ask NICELY. I’m not the type that intentionally makes people unhappy. I sat for the rest of the concert, but risked moving up into Whale Territory for the ending, joining a fair group of people. As with everything that evening, it was a little odd. A good finish, a last wave and we’re outta here. I understood that The Band did a Meet & Greet for 20 of the casino’s favorite gamblers, this done at midnight AFTER the show.  While
the show was very nice, the venue more like someone’s living room than
anything else and the seats definitely adequate it was the other aspects
of the trip that made the venture worth my while. Atlantis
was a fun place to stay, my casino host Scott was VERY nice, helpful and
generous, the weather was gorgeous and the beach and ocean divine.
I really enjoyed the native Bahamians – most were friendly and kind with
those great island accents. Will casino shows change me too?
I don’t know, but I wouldn’t mind doing another one in Paradise Island,
just so I can find out. Uh, February 2007 would be good for me!
Boys, check your calendars.
I'm beggin' MaggieMay |
