USA SPRING TOUR 2006 Seneca Niagara Casino Saturday, April 1, 2006 8pm On the road with MaggieMay... The Chances of Anything Coming from Mars, Are a Million to One, He Said (ooooooh, oooooh) The chances of anyone getting a ticket to the Friday night *private* casino show were about the same as in Jeff Wayne's musical version of War of the Worlds (premiering in Bournemouth Thursday April 13th). I tried! Shrug I heard a number of things about it, including high praise from one of the many high roller attendees. The Friday evening concert was part of a private gala event celebrating the grand opening of the new hotel and was limited to the Seneca Nation and the casino's high rollers. The Moody Blues were the third group of performers on the evening's bill and capped the evening's festivities. I was told by a casino employee that it cost the casino a jaw-dropping thousand dollars plus per plate. Holy Moley! I spent the evening chortling with two of my favorite people instead, moving to coffee and Baileys and a seat at the bar after dinner at the Three Sisters. I can't imagine ANY performance of my favorite band where droves of people, wearing extremely cool blue light lanyards as invitations were loudly moving down the showroom escalator after a few songs. It's unthinkable. Sigh It didn't take a rocket scientist with a bird's eye view to know that the crowd inside the showroom was dwindling. Reports were that as few as 75 people remained at SeeSaw. I hope the cleaning crew carefully swept the jagged pieces of dignity and self worth that were scattered across the stage after the show. The crowning moment of the evening? I politely asked one of the Big Guys how the evening's concert had gone and his reply: "Well! YOU were there!" LOL Not me; I'm no gate-crasher. My Momma didn't raise me that way. What *I* am realizing is that it is a completely different concert situation when you offer tickets for sale to a public that literally "buys-in" to the experience. Those concert attendees give value for the experience and attach value TO it. I think pretty much any type of work is honorable. It's how you feel at the end of the day. Shrug I'm not sure how I'd feel about a day spent throwing pearls before swine. The declared "last" Moodies USA 2006 show (and NOW one is set for the Orange County Fair in July) was set for April 1 in Niagara Falls, NY. SueC decided she could spend one of her precious vacation days on a little trip and told me the drive wasn't "too far". SueC and I have put thousands and thousands of miles on various cars since 1999 and she didn't bat an eye at a 6 hour drive. "Hey, you made it to Atlantic City and we drove that!" she argued. I reflected. Didn't I insist on FLYING to AC the last time we went? I've tired of arriving at 4am to the open arms of every hooker the boardwalk has to offer. Weather was also a worry - Spring is defined differently in Buffalo. I crashed and burned on the sale, but SueC scored a 2nd row and a 4th row seat. Good enough! We were going. A four day trip to Niagara Falls is surprisingly similar to planning a four WEEK trip to the UK. (Unfortunately I was planning BOTH at the same time.) I surveyed the car as I prepared to run away from home. I've decided that female travelers fall into 2 camps: those that pack clothes and those that pack equipment. I pack clothes, sure, and I make certain I've packed the black push-up bra for the low-cut slinky top that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing in my home town. Heck, I'd be branded with a scarlet "A" and run out of town on a rail. It's not the kind of thing I wear to Go Krogering. I'll pack a few things for fun and this included my Johnny Cash black bowling shirt, purchased at Sun Studio in Memphis. While I casually glance thru my clothes, making sure every base is covered I survey my tackle like I'm going to war. Camera batteries! (check) Handful of big memory cards (check) Battery recharger (check) Camera (check) Do the same for camera 2. Ipod, and now, Palm Pilot. Sigh I check and recheck, double check and triple check. It's a sickness!  SueC
lives closer to Niagara Falls than I do, so it was up to me to drive to
her house. "Set a time and I'll be there" I promised her. I
was cut right to the quick by her cruel and derisive laughter. "Noon"
she said, "but you won't be here so I'll plan on 1". It was worth
rushing and running over those three dogs on the way just to see the shock
on her face at 11:55am. We had a very pleasant drive to Niagara and
for once, I stayed awake. My current single-minded interest is The
friggin' War of the Worlds and I'm in the midst of a Total Immersion project,
meaning, play it Over and Over until it's coming out of my pores and the
lyrics are wall-papering my soul. I tried this on Darling Hubby and
he loved it, but would SueC? She was willing to give it a try, God
bless her. And now, Houston, we have a problem.
She loved it and wants to GO! Let's hear the Martian cheer! ULLA! I've never understood why Niagara Falls is the traditional honeymoon destination. 
Shrug Is it because watching the water rush over the falls makes
you WANT to screw or is it because there's nothing else to do there BUT
screw? I must continue that metaphor by stating that if you are stuck
on the American side, you ARE screwed. It's rundown and dilapidated
and so sad and sorry that someone should write a song about it. The
Canadians got the *good* falls and the attractive fun town. I suspect
that if you could even FIND a job in Niagara Falls, NY it would be at the
Seven-Eleven. It's a grim place. Even the Niagara Falls spray
falls on the maple leaves. The Seneca Niagara casino sticks
out like a sore thumb, completely incongruous with its lowly surroundings
both in sheer height and grandeur. To make SURE you can't miss it,
changing colored lights run up the new 25 floor casino hotel. You
can see it for miles and it dominates, nay, overwhelms the skyline.
I'm sure it's making a statement, but I'm not sure what it's saying.
Perhaps, let us fiddle while Rome burns.
THE VENUE
The Seneca casino is owned and operated by the Seneca Nation. It's a very nice third level casino, with first being the standard Vegas casinos, second the nicer ones of AC, a place like Atlantis and tribal palaces such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun and third level being well...The Mountaineer Casino in West by God Virginia, that drunken but friendly Hinckley, MN establishment, various ones in Indio, Cache Creek, etc, etc. God forgive me, I've been to MOST of them in the past few years and have declined to return to several of them. I don't have to and The Moodies can't make me. The hotel is new and its grand opening/dedication the main reason for The Moodies visit.  The
original casino is a large, hanger-like structure. The main entrance
on the casino side is attractive with Native American sculptures lining
the entrance and a multi-colored tree motif, bringing some much needed
color to the drab gray surroundings. One thing I noticed about the
casino is that you're greeted immediately by a traffic person and there
seemed to be a bountiful number of valets. The wait for a hand payoff
at the slots is nothing too. I take it that providing jobs was probably
touted as a reason for going the casino route in the first place.
If this was a union situation, I'd be shouting "featherbedding!"
It shortens the wait for the casino patron and that's both noticeable and
enjoyable. Were jobs limited to members of the Seneca Nation?
I doubt it, though I didn't think to inquire at the time. There were
a large number of obviously Native People employees in all capacities.
I interacted with a number of employees who might not have been on the
roll. All employees I dealt with seemed competent. While the
jury is still out on the question of Native American casinos, this is one
place where a casino *may* have been a very good idea. At least it's
a start.
The casino is a pleasant combination of slots and tables, dominated by slots. Machines appeared to be in good working order and while smoking was allowed, ventilation was excellent and the smoke didn't overwhelm you. I've never seen so many Wheel of Fortune machines of every denomination. If Wheel is your game, you'd be in Paradise. The slots I played were moderately loose. I wouldn't make a special trip to gamble there. A bar, Club 101, was in the middle of the floor and featured live music with the band situated on a platform over your head. While Thursday wasn't crowded, they definitely have a weekend crush. If you walk straight thru the casino and out the monitored security exit (they check ids of young people) you enter the large foyer of the new hotel addition. It's not Mohegan Sun, but it's very nice and much smaller. Is there a style called Deco-Indian? Lots of wood and lots of glass. The foyer is lined with restaurants and bars and overhead is a huge rotating dreamcatcher-type object with hanging feathers 12 feet long. Cool looking! The Three Sisters restaurant became our 2nd home with a pleasant staff and better than average food. The outside of the eatery was lined with cattails while overhead were intense halogen lights in the shape of dragonflies. Walk straight through the foyer and you come to the hotel elevators, where a uniformed security guard checks for room key cards. Behind the elevators is the hotel entrance and again, free valet parking, and to one side is the front desk.  The
area in front of the elevators feels like the heart of the hotel.
The columns there change color in a fashion similar to the outside center
neon lines of the new building. One side of this area is anchored
by the elevators, across from the elevators is a large stylized eagle sculpture.
It took me a couple looks to realize what it was! SueC and I lucked
into catching a Native People dance group Saturday afternoon - the Niagara
Iroquois. Fantastic! Great costumes on both the male and the
female dancers, but each man was crowned by an exquisite headress of curly
feathers. I couldn't take my eyes off them. They did several simple
dances, only accompanied by a drummer/chanter. Additional percussion
was supplied by the bells of different sizes worn on the ankles of the
male dancers. Most of the dances were simple themes, for example,
the Canoe Dance reenacted a fellow visiting his love on the other side
of the river. It was my favorite part of the trip. The program lasted
about a half hour and ended with most of the dancers pretty winded.
The final dance was the Friendship Dance which onlookers were invited to
participate in and a couple children joined the group. The dancers
danced in a line shaking the hands of the audience. I realized later
that the Iroquois group was the first of at least four dance groups.
Arrrgh - I missed the other performances! It was a great way to spend
the afternoon.
I understand that the hotel rooms were very nice. I couldn't get in. The hotel staff was VERY firm that Friday night was reserved for the Seneca Nation as part of the grand opening. (A few fans *must* be Senecas then!) There are several, well...I won't call them fleabag hotels exactly, but lesser accommodations available within a 2 block area. I booked into the first one I found available and will always remember it as having the HARDEST bed I ever tried to sleep on. Asphalt would have been kinder to my back. Next to the foyer bar is a set of escalators leading to and from the showroom. It's very convenient. A decent sized reception area with bars and restrooms is at the top of the escalators and a flight of curved stairs leads to another open floor area. This is where tables were set-up for will-call. Will-call turned out to be something of a problem at the Seneca. Tickets were sold at the 8 Clans gift shop, but they informed me that will-call would be near the showroom a few hours before the concert. I trotted up at 5pm to pick up a pair I had purchased the day before on-line but the TM rep took his LARGE box of tickets and left, announcing that they had been misprinted. The will-call line was down the stairs at 7pm. It was one of the few glitches in an otherwise fairly smooth operation.  The
showroom was exactly how the seating chart was laid out: a flat floor that
seated 2100 in that configuration. If you were in the side sections,
you were probably past the stage. SueC took her usual walk during
the concert (when there is no official break) and said it looked FILLED.
Few tickets had been available in the past couple of weeks though some
were released in the side sections on Friday, at least online. It
was Sold Out!
The temporary stage had the usual Moodies setup and was fairly high, perhaps 4 feet. Front row section 100 was about 5 feet from the stage. The ceiling was low for concerts and you couldn't see the entire screen behind the stage. The gauzy white curtains on either side was a nice touch. It was reminiscent of Cache Creek, on the upscale side for a multi-purpose room. The sections were well marked, though I had to count seats. What surprised me most about the evening was the sound - it was really good! I particularly noticed Norda's flute and Justin's vocals - very clear, no distortion, a nice warm sound. I could hear every delicate note on the Olson. VERY nice! The drums were a bit over much and at one point I shoved in a pair of ear plugs. It was more than usual. The signs said No Photography but when I saw a SECURITY GUARD taking photographs for people I started to have my doubts. I asked another guard and she said they hadn't heard, so she *guessed* it was ok. That's good enough for me! No purse searches though a guard was keeping an eye on things as tickets were scanned. All in all, it was quite civilized all around. THE FASHION REPORT GE - Blue and white block polo-style shirt, black slacks Norda — Black bustier Bernie - Sound of Music outfit Justin - Gray "hollister" tshirt with white dove, blue jeans (nice!), black suit jacket, studded boots John - Black tie shirt and leathers, boots  What
a great night - ALL my favorite clothes onstage. I couldn't have
been happier - Justin wore his boots with an attitude and JL had donned
his leathers. Sigh Life is GOOD! I do wonder what the
heck Justin's gray tshirt is about. Did he pick it up at a garage
sale? Is it from some guru led spiritual retreat? Is it a new
indie band? A restaurant? A spa?
THE CONCERT A Moodies concert can be great and yet not be unique. This concert was SURE to be unique. It was the first (to my knowledge) public concert since Red Rocks without percussionist Gordon Marshall. I don't recall who told me that Gordy was practicing with the War of the Worlds in England and would have to miss the Niagara show, or when I heard about it. I thought it was quietly though generally known by online fans. It wasn't and at least one big GM fan was both shocked and disappointed. It has always seemed to me that Gordon is a very integral part of the Moodies, an employee, but a Very Important one and I thought his absence might portend disaster. I was pleasantly surprised! Peter May did an outstanding job of anchoring his side of the stage and doing it in tandem with Graeme Edge. A number of places did sound *different* but were acceptable and a casual fan might not have even noticed the exchange. I definitely missed Gordon and love what he brings to the performance, but Mr May did a fine job that can't be criticized - at least by me. The general consensus in the bar from band, crew and fans was that he was did a great job, that he came fully prepared and was up to speed in no time at all. Whew! One surprise of the evening was the setlist - the ENTIRE setlist from the USA Winter Tour 2006 was performed, no songs were omitted to get people back out into the casino. Thank-you, that was greatly appreciated. While a little break (the last concert was 3 weeks earlier in The Bahamas) can cause some rough spots, the "practice" the evening before had the band cohesive.  Every
person on stage came out smiling and obviously happy to see such a large
and excited audience. I'd characterize the performance to be bouncy,
energetic and upbeat. No one phoned in their performance (Justin's
phrase, not mine). The crowd wasn't big on standing but was otherwise
very appreciative and enthusiastic.
No stick toss in YWD (understandable!) JL's patter included the hope the band would be back at the casino and a mention of the magnificent falls. I was surprised they kept in AYSC since this version is characterized by two flutes, but Norda's solo version was just gorgeous. I didn't miss Gordon at all on it. Lovely, lovely, lovely! Justin introduced all four backing musicians after AYSC. It's always so nice to see them recognized. It was just a really enjoyable evening. I'd say everyone left pleased as punch, both the audience AND the performers. To play to people who love you, love the music, even know the lyrics and have a connection with it, fond memories associated with the songs...that must be a great pleasure for a musician. For anyone who hasn't seen the falls, it is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. SueC and I spent some time there Saturday afternoon and were awed and amazed all over again. It's humbling and exhilarating at the same time. We could hear the thunder of it just walking out of our hotel. I don't think I could ever tire of it. Note: I plan to write about the War of the Worlds experience; if you're interested in Justin's next project then check SueC's site for updates as the spirit moves me. MaggieMay There must be something worth living for. There must be something worth trying for! Even some things worth dying for... Photos courtesy of SueC |
