Ray Thomas was missed tonight. Every note he didn't sing could be heard. Every single note. If you're a new fan, if you have never seen The Moody Blues before, or if you have only seen them a few times then, by all means go to see them now. If you own the Hall of Fame dvd, you will be greatly disappointed. If you have seen The Moody Blues in concert a dozen times, fifty times, a hundred times... You will be devastated. THE NEW SETLIST: 
Lovely To See You Gemini Dream Tuesday Afternoon Lean on Me English Sunset Words You Say The Actor Slide Zone I Know You're Out There Somewhere The Story in Your Eyes Your Wildest Dreams Isn't Life Strange The Other Side of Life Higher and Higher Are You Sitting Comfortably I'm Just a Singer in a Rock 'n Roll Band Nights in White Satin Question SeeSaw THE FASHION REPORT JL - White Ruffled tux shirt, LEATHERS, boots JH - Black long-slvd shirt, black slacks GE - Black slacks, white long-slvd shirt NM - Black sleeveless top, black slacks, burgundy jacket PB - Black slacks, white long-slvd shirt GM - White long-slvd shirt with stripes down the sleeves THE CONCERT The remaining Moody Blues now on concert tour walked out onto the stage sometime after 9 pm to a voice announcing The Moody Blues: first Graeme Edge, next Justin Hayward and finally John Lodge. Mr Hayward retained his place in the spotlight of center stage, while John took his usual place, stage left. To my surprise, the new backup, Norda Mullen (singer, flute-player, guitarist, tambourine) took the place in the front where the talented Welshman once stood. Her mike was placed a bit back from the line of the Jays, and like Ray, a monitor box was in front of her and to her right. The concert began with a great version of Lovely to See You, and was followed by a flawless rendition of the usually error-plagued Gemini Dream. JL hardly looked up from the cheat sheets at his feet, and seemed uneasy throughout the song. You could palpably feel his fear that he would screw up. The decision to start off the concert with two songs that did not feature Ray Thomas was a very wise one. I had never heard Lovely to See You performed live in concert, though it may have been performed at concerts I enjoyed through a hemp-colored haze, and it was a treat; a rocking song, well performed. Gemini Dream kept the pace up and the combination of the two provided a rip-roaring start. The problems began with the performance of Tuesday Afternoon. It was then that the absence of Ray hit you in the face like a cold wet towel. It sounded weak, wrong, wimpy and was devoid of its magnificent power, like a poor cover of the original by a second rate band of wannabes. I was shocked by the effect, by the loss of Ray Thomas' voice. It was nothing without Ray's booming Welsh baritone. Nothing like it had been, and I realized at that moment Ray was gone. The magic went with him. The pain continued with English Sunset, my favorite concert song since I first heard it performed in Greenville, SC on August 17th 1999. It isn't my favorite any longer, and the distress at not hearing Ray say "More tea, Vicar" was lessened only by the insult that would have been committed by any one else in the world saying those words. The MB's wisely choose to leave those words unsaid, and I appreciate that favor. However, nothing would salve the pain at the loss of Ray's harmony in that song I love so much, and I felt tears form in my eyes and gently drip down my cheeks. I leaned over and squeezed SueC's fingers at that moment, knowing that she felt as badly as I did. Ray's vocals were the foundation of English Sunset. It's not the song it was before. It's now a pale, pitiful imitation of the "real" thing. I don't like the song WYS and tired of it a long time ago. It was performed adequately, and provided a moment to dry my eyes and recover from the pain. Ms Mullen did a surprisingly good job during her first Moody Blues gig, and seemed prepared, competent and professional. All I require of a back up is that they do the job, and she did well with the big plus of not distracting me. ; ) I'm easy to please! After Words You Say, a fellow behind me in the third row yelled out "Where's Ray?". I turned around to see the woman in front of him shushing him and doing some "explaining". Coincidentally, Justin Hayward chose that moment to do some explaining himself! Prior to the performance of The Actor, Justin said, and I quote: "This is a song from uh one of our early albums, called In Search of the Lost Chord. And uh I know it was a particular favorite of Ray Thomas. And uh we miss him very much, but... there's nothing I can do. He loves you! (unintelligible) And he loves us, 'cause he's told me that as well, and everything's fine. I just hope he's asleep in bed, 'cause it's quarter past three in the morning over there. Anyway...we're very pleased and proud to have our good friend, Norda Mullen with us. (unintelligible/applause from audience) Anyway, this is a song that he loved and uh and uh I'm sure he'll be dreaming of it, maybe at this moment. Anyway, it's called The Actor." The Actor commenced and so did the pain. Sigh I remember the first time I was hit by the harmony in The Actor. I was watching Justin sing and Ray came in. I snapped my head to the left and felt that gorgeous voice pour over me. The effect of Ray singing his low part against Justin's soaring tenor was electrifying. God, I missed Ray so much on this song tonight! Slide Zone again is not a favorite of mine, and I didn't miss Ray so much here. It was different, but it was ok. JL was really animated on his song and gave a great performance. IKYOTS is, as Justin says, the song that gets me going. It was full of meaning to me tonight and simply provided a dose of more pain. It's a two man shuffle now in TSIYE. Why they bothered to do that at all is beyond me. All it did was remind me that Ray wasn't there. Under the circumstances, I think it was a poor choice. It just looks...lonely. There was no break, which is usual in a casino show. Norda shed her jacket after TSIYE and the show went on. YWD followed and included the drumstick toss. According to my ever alert SueC, JH left out the spoken "I wonder". ILS - you love it or you hate it and I hate it, though I've tried and tried to see what others see and feel in it. I sure as hell AGREE with it though; Life is not only strange, it's freakin' (the word was changed due to editorial request) BIZARRE. I had a great seat to watch Gordon and I did, so it wasn't a total loss. LOL A moment of humor and undeniable truth occurred during ILS when SueC leaned over and quipped: "They didn't need a flute player, they NEED a singer (to replace the irreplaceable Ray Thomas). It sounds like a bunch of WOMEN up there!" Yep! That's their problem, all right! TOSOL included Norda on guitar (Norda and Paul played guitar on various songs and at one time FOUR guitarists were on stage, including John on bass). The first concert of the tour had one incredible saving grace: Graeme Edge's performance of Higher and Higher. GOD, that ROCKED!!! My sadness and despair disappeared, I jumped to my feet and rocked. Graeme is a HELL of a dancer, too, and I finally went Higher and Higher, up into the sky, which is what a rock concert SHOULD do to you. It was great, it was fabulous! Go to experience THAT moment, if nothing else. Graeme Edge saved the concert! I'd like to say thank you to the lead guitarist for coming up to Graeme Edge's level for that song. "We go higher and higher and HIGHER!" The audience answered with thunderous applause. I had spent the time before the tour started consoling myself with the online rumor that Are You Sitting Comfortably would be performed this tour. I love that song! Well, it WAS performed, but saddled with an inappropriate jazzy and wandering flute solo. I thought the damn solo would NEVER end! Or did Ms Mullen screw up, wandering off into flute lala land and was unable to effect her return? How the HELL that was a tribute to Ray Thomas, I don't understand. Why didn't the Band perform it when Ray Thomas was a performing member of The Moody Blues? Personally...I took it as an insult to Ray and an insult to ME, the faithful fan. It should be performed as written and recorded, and be a showpiece for the dulcet tones of our own blonde Lancelot as he woos and romances the hundreds of women swaying in the venue audience, his voice providing the medievil setting for their torrid fantasies. (This will be my entry in the next Bulwer-Lytton writing contest) AYSC could be great, could be fabulous and breathtaking, and with some more practice, would be. Perhaps a music stand should be provided for Ms Mullen and instructions given to her to play it as it is written, with no liberties allowed, and a 12 inch ruler near by to rap her fingers if she doesn't. Gordon Marshall left his drumkit and provided additional flute on this song. Justin was on the Olson. Singer. It was Singer that did me in. Take it out. It's awful without Ray, it's dead. It sounds like some pathetic performance by a very young Moody Blues, before they knew how to make it great. John's voice on lead, without Ray screaming SCORCHING THE EARTH is just too light to carry it. It was pitiful. I left. I threw in the towel, gave up and called it a night. I'd rather stay home and listen to my old cds. SueC bravely stayed. The rest of the review is her thoughts. NIWS followed AYSC. She says Nights was the same as it always is: no better, no worse. The flute part was ok. There was nothing special about it. Question was next. It was good. SeeSaw was their usual great job and did not suffer from lack of Ray. Norda joined Bernie behind her keyboards and both played tambourine. At the end of the show, each Big Guy got gifts and flowers. Justin was the last to leave the stage. The End. I had alternated between feelings of excitement at a new setlist and the chance to finally hear songs I had never heard performed live, and sick feelings of dread at the absence of Ray. Since *I* couldn't do a damn thing about Ray, I tried to concentrate on the opportunities that now presented themselves. I attempted to go to the concert with an open mind and a generous spirit. Some things were great, like Graeme's brilliant performance of H&H and some things were among the most awful I have EVER heard. Was the good enough to outweigh the bad? Can *I* work through this, as a fan, or have I already experienced The Moody Blues at their best? Will I heal? Or is it time to move on? SueC calmly told me, that perhaps we were "biased" (pun intended) and weren't capable of giving them a fair shot. I began to think of the changes the Band has gone thru since I first became a touring fan: the loss of Sue, then Bias and Tracy, the addition of Bernie and now the loss, no matter how temporary, of Ray Thomas and the addition of Ms Mullen. I survived the former changes, but those people, as fine as they were, did not materially impact THAT SOUND. The loss of Ray is spectacular in comparison. The effect of his absence is MUCH greater than I could EVER have imagined. Hearing is believing. IMHO (which is never "humble") The Moody Blues made a grave error in coming out on stage with a completely inadequate vocal line up. Perhaps it would have been better to resort to flute programming and concentrate on finding a substitute baritone. They've lost what they're famous for: beautiful, powerful harmony. There's no substance to their sound, no power, no strong foundation on which to build. The effect is lightweight and unanchored. This was not a Moody Blues concert. It was only a shadow of what they once were. I'll hope for more someday. MaggieMay |
