Life's a Seesaw

Brother Dave's post on John Lodge, bass player of the Moody Blues, was a trigger. My favorite band ever. So I must weigh in.

Weigh in on what, I'm not exactly sure, but I can never resist the chance to post something about the Moody Blues.

In 1968 the Moodies were young. I was an infant. Ride My Seesaw, their concert encore song for 50+ years, was a great song then.

It was a great song 25 years ago at Red Rocks.

It still is now, 50 years later. Or at least a couple years ago at their long-overdue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Mike Pinder went his own way long ago. And flautist/vocalist Ray Thomas sadly died of cancer in 2018.

But those that are left soldier on. Justin. John. Graeme.

At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show in 2018 (linked above), Justin Hayward (guitars and vocals) was 72 years old, and John Lodge (bass and vocals) was 73. Drummer Graeme Edge, for the record, was 77... This is also the only song in the current day concert repertoire on which Justin plays a Fender Telecaster.

I've seen the Moodies somewhere around a dozen times, from venues as large as the Spectrum and the Mann Music Center to as small as the Tower Theater and the casinos of Atlantic City, from as far back as 1982 to as recently as a few years ago. I've seen Justin Hayward on solo tours in small venues in Wilmington Delaware. And they've been great every time. But I am biased.

Respect your elders. They may have forgotten more than you will ever know.

Hall of Fame Night, 2018

Maybe Justin Hayward and the rest of the Moodies, and Dire Straits (or at least Mark Knopfler, who probably won't show up), or others don't think much of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (class of 2018), but I do.

The Moody Blues are my favorite band from that era. My adolescent years. Great memories. Good times. A lifetime ahead and a world of possibilities...

Dire Straits might be second.

Good Stuff. And a connection to which will always keep me young. Young at heart anyway...

Moodies... The Story in Your Eyes, also at Red Rocks, 1992. Puffy pirate shirt and all... And more recently, at the Mann Music Center in 2107, at a show that Leo and I attended. If you listen carefully, you can hear me singing along in the background... Or Gypsy, when I was about 4 years old....

Dire Straits, Tunnel of Love, the Alchemy era...

Congrats and welcome to the Hall of Fame.

Ray Thomas (1941-2018)

Ray Thomas, a founding member of the Moody Blues, my favorite band, died on January 4 of prostate cancer at the age of 76.

Ray Thomas in recent years

Ray had been retired from touring with the band for the last 15 years or so, but I was fortunate enough to have seen him perform with the band maybe 8 or 10 times between 1982 and his retirement from the band in 2002 (has it possibly been that long??). His rich powerful voice was amazing, even though he was not considered one of the lead singers of the band (and less and less as the years went by).

Earlier times

Ray was less active with the band in later years, but he wrote a bunch of great songs from the "core seven" albums between 1967 and 1972.

Moody Blues from the core seven years

He would probably be best known for the flute solo on Nights in White Satin, but Moodies fans would probably pick Legend of a Mind (this link is Royal Albert Hall in 2000, not the famous Red Rocks show as it claims to be) performed live as his most lasting contribution. The band retired Legend when Ray left, and I still miss it. Shows always ended with Nights, Legend, Question and Ride My Seesaw...

Ray on stage, 1990's

Other favorites of mine that were written by Ray include And the Tide Rushes In, For My Lady, Eternity Road, Our Guessing Game. There are many more.

It is nice that the announcement that the Moodies were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year came before Ray's passing, but that is probably a more important event for the fans than the band.

I had hoped that the band's induction would bring Ray and Mike Pinder back on stage one last time. Sadly, that can't happen now (and likely wouldn't have anyway).

Thanks for the memories, Ray. And all the great music.

Moody Blues 50th Anniversary Tour

The Moodies are doing a brief North American tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the Days of Future Passed album from 1967 (their first album). So I bought two tickets, of course, knowing that I would need to find someone to take the second seat (Amp has been to a number of these shows with me over the years, but I have exceeded her limit at this point, and am well into "if you can find someone else who wants to go, please do" territory).

John, my other non-brother brother was happy enough to go, so on a beautiful mid-July day/evening, off we went to the Mann Music Center in Fairmount Park. The Mann is a great semi-outdoor covered amphitheater with a terrific view of the Philadelphia skyline. I have great memories of shows at this venue, including my only Dire Straits concert (c. 1985/86), two different Moodies shows (including a probable 1983 show for "The Present" album), and a Mark Knopfler solo show in 2008.

Mann Music Center and Philly skyline

The show was to be in two parts, with a "greatest hits" set followed by an intermission, followed by the Days of Future Passed album played in its entirety.

I could gush at length, but the short version is that I got to see my favorite band (for the ??? time; probably 12-15 or so...) with my best and oldest friend in perhaps my favorite venue. It's hard to top that. And for a bunch of ~70 year olds, they sounded pretty darn good. For someone who has seen them so many times over the years, seeing them do some of the DoFP songs live, songs that they haven't done live since the 1960's, was pretty special.

A good day. A very good day.

I've linked some videos below, but if you search for Moody Blues 7/15/17 you can find multiple versions of most songs from the whole show...

Set List:

1. I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)
2. The Voice
3. Stepping in a Slide Zone
4. Say It With Love
5. Nervous
6. Your Wildest Dreams
7. Isn't Life Strange
8. I Know You're Out There Somewhere
9. The Story in Your Eyes
10. (Intermission)
11. Days of Future Passed album in its entirety
12. Encore: Question and Ride My See Saw

Opening number:

I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)

I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)

Resurrecting the 1960's:

Dawn is a Feeling

Dawn is a Feeling

My happy place:

Nights in White Satin (with Jeremy Irons)

Nights in White Satin

End of show encore (normally the pre-encore exit song, and the encore):

Question and Ride My See Saw.

Question

Good stuff. And thanks John.

Justin Hayward Solo Tour - 5/20/14 - Wilmington DE

Tuesday evening was another fabulous Justin Hayward solo show at the World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington. Or perhaps Tuesday (very late) Afternoon if you prefer...

This tour is basically another small batch of shows in support of Justin's 2013 album Spirits of the Western Sky, wedged in between Moody Blues tours. After a Moodies spring tour leg, this show was the sixth in eight days (out of I don't know how many planned in total...). My write up of the August 5, 2013 show is here, and I won't repeat everything that I wrote there, as much/most of the same still applies. This time around we were in the second row of the balcony instead of the first. Brother Dave's Darling Wife and a friend were there again as well.

The backing band this time consisted of only two people, Mike Dawes on acoustic and electric guitars (and percussion on the guitar body), and the hyper-talented Julie Ragins on backing vocals, keyboards (bass parts with the left hand) and percussion. Alan Hewitt, the Moodies keyboard player, was not here this time around. This minimalist setup produced an amazing amount of good clear sound, and everyone sounded terrific.

Same as last time, Mike Dawes opened with a set of four songs by himself, and I was just as amazed this time around. You have to see this guy to believe it... Boogie Shred. And here is 10 minutes of his very first American performance opening for the first Justin show August 2, 2013... I know he did Boogie Shred, The Impossible, and Someone That I Used to Know. I think the fourth song may have been Somewhere Home, but I'm not sure.

Following a 20 minute break (to force a run up of the bar tab I think), Justin came out and played for about 90 minutes, doing 14 songs plus one more for an encore.

Set List: (links are to YouTube videos of the exact performance we saw)

1. Tuesday Afternoon
2. It's Up to You
3. Lovely to See You
4. In Your Blue Eyes (SofWS)
5. The Western Sky (SofWS)
6. I Dreamed Last Night
7. In the Beginning (SofWS)
8. One Day, Someday (SofWS)
9. The Eastern Sun (SofWS)
10. What You Resist Persists (SofWS)
11. Your Wildest Dreams
12. Forever Autumn (as an esoteric aside that Brother Dave might appreciate, the cutaway guitar in this is a James A. Olson handmade custom one of kind, prices starting at $12,000 and going up from there...)
13. Question
14. Nights in White Satin
15. I Know You're Out There Somewhere [Encore]

Someone had posted a set list on SetList from one of the shows a week or so before, and it was exactly this show, but with New Horizons after I Dreamed Last Night. We didn't get New Horizons, which was a mild disappointment, but at least it wasn't I Dreamed Last Night that got dropped. In all of the dozen-plus times I have seen the Moodies or Justin, I had never seen that one live (to my recollection).
It is a beautiful song recorded on the Blue Jays album that Justin did with fellow Moodie John Lodge (while the band was on a multi-year hiatus in the mid 70's). The set list was almost identical to last year's, with only two changes (Land of Make Believe and It's Cold Outside of Your Heart out, and I Dreamed Last Night and What You Resist Persists in).

Anyway...seeing my idol in a small theater setting like this is a slice of heaven. I'd pay the ticket price for Forever Autumn alone. Or any one of a number of other songs for that matter... There is nothing like a small venue like this. Justin was telling stories, interacting with the audience, and seemed to be having a great time. As was I.

Following the show, Julie and Mike were at a table in the lobby signing autographs, so I bought a CD of each of their solo work and had them signed. So in addition to memories, I have some souvenirs (and the CDs are really good too).

Justin Hayward Solo Tour, 2013

Justin Hayward in Concert at the World Cafe Live at the Queen, Monday 8/5/2013

Justin Hayward from my seat... not zoomed 

I have had a good run of live music over the past couple of years, but I can honestly say that I have never in my life looked forward to a concert as much as the one I saw last night - Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues touring solo and acoustic in support of his new solo album Spirits of the Western Sky. Justin is my favorite musician of all time, and the opportunity to see him in a place as intimate as we did was something that I never thought I would get to experience. The World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington Delaware is a tiny place that seats maybe 300-400 people on a ground level and a small balcony. When buying the tickets a few months ago, I logged onto the ticket website as they were going on sale and got two seats in the center of the first balcony row. We were literally on top of the stage. It turns out brother Dave and his Darling Wife also had tickets, and sat a one row back and to our left. She is almost as big a Justin Hayward fan as me. Almost.

The band was Alan Hewitt on keyboards, Julie Ragins on keyboards and backing vocals, and Mike Dawes on guitars. Hewitt and Ragins have been part of the Moodies backing band the last few tours. Dawes was a new one for me, and a spectacular guitarist in his own right. He opened the show on his own and played four songs, similar in style to Andy McKee who Dave and I saw open for Eric Johnson a couple years ago. Amazing.

I have to admit that after a not-so-satisfying Moodies show last fall in Atlantic City, I had doubts as to whether Justin could perform well live anymore (he is 66 years old after all). In that show, they skipped songs on the set list and Justin seemed to struggle throughout the show. After seeing this, I am willing to chalk that up to an off night or an illness. In this set of 5 songs from the new solo album and 11 Moodies songs, Justin was simply terrific. It was wonderful to see some of these classic old songs in acoustic arrangements in such a small venue. Of the songs they did, despite having attended over a dozen Moodies shows, I am pretty sure I have never seen It's Up to You, The Land of Make-Believe, or It's Cold Outside of Your Heart. After that many shows, seeing an old chestnut that I have not seen live before is a special treat.

The exact set list is below, and courtesy of the omni-present iPhones, links to either the exact performances we saw in Wilmington or other shows on the same tour are given. Solo songs from the new album are noted "SotWS", and Moodies songs are noted with the album and year.

Set List:

• Tuesday Afternoon, or, to be precise... Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) (MB, Days of Future Passed, 1967)
• It's Up to You (MB, A Question of Balance, 1970)
• Lovely to See You (MB, On the Threshold of a Dream, 1969)
• In Your Blue Eyes (SotWS, 2013) [Taylor 12 string]
• The Western Sky (SotWS, 2013)
• The Land of Make-Believe (MB, Seventh Sojourn, 1972)
• New Horizons (MB, Seventh Sojourn, 1972)
• In the Beginning (SotWS, 2013)
• One Day, Someday (SotWS, 2013)
• The Eastern Sun (SotWS, 2013)
• It's Cold Outside of Your Heart (MB, The Present, 1983)
• Your Wildest Dreams (MB, The Other Side of Life, 1986)
• Forever Autumn (Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds project)
• Question (MB, A Question of Balance, 1970)
• Nights in White Satin (MB, Days of Future Passed, 1967)
• (Encore) I Know You're Out There Somewhere (MB, Sur la Mer, 1988)

There is a backstage clip of an Interview here, where Justin talks about future tour possibilities as well as some of the guitars used in the show.

We did have one funny experience as we were leaving the balcony area after the show. We walked out into the hallway to catch the elevator to the ground level, and ran into Mike Dawes and Julie Ragins in the hallway. They looked confused as to where they were going, turning this way and that. Mike said "I think it's over here...". As they came around the corner to the elevator, the doors closed in their faces. Julie Ragins muttered "Aww f&*$ing Hell". I said "Welcome to Wilmington". She turned and smiled, and they walked off down the hallway...

There isn't much more that I can say about the show, other than that as I write this a week or so after the fact, I am still basking in the afterglow of a fantastic concert by my favorite artist.

Justin Hayward Solo Tour, 2013

I saw a post on Facebook a few days ago where my sister-in-law had commented on Justin Hayward coming to Wilmington this summer on a solo tour in support of his recently released new album Spirits of the Western Sky. I'm glad she did, because this was news to me, and tickets were scheduled to go on sale at noon today.

He is playing at the World Cafe Live at the Queen, which seems to be a very small theater/club. Judging from the seating chart, it seats maybe 350 people, and has bars, waitress service, food, etc... According to their web site, the Balcony area is considered the premium seating, at least in terms of amenities.

This is a "must-go at any cost" event for me, so I logged on, stalked the website until noon, and got amazing tickets at an amazing price ($118 total including all fees and surcharges for the pair). Amp and I will be sitting in the center two seats of the first row of the Balcony. If the seating diagram is to scale, this would put us right above the front of the tables on the floor level, making it about 10 rows from the stage. The website allowed you to click on what was currently available on a seating chart and select exactly what you wanted, much like registering for airline seating these days, and these were my first choice. In retrospect, I wonder what if anything would have been available in the very first row, but I am not going to second guess myself - I got in, staked my claim where I wanted to be, and got my first choice. Hard to argue with that. Looking at tickets now at about 1:00pm, most seats are gone...

I am excited beyond belief at the thought of seeing my musical hero in such a small and intimate setting. One of my favorite concert DVDs ever is of Hayward in San Juan Capistrano perhaps 15 years ago, where he does a mix of Moodies and solo music, acoustic and electric, sometimes with a band of 3 or 4, and sometimes alone on stage. I would imagine this will be at least somewhat like that. I can't wait!

Postcards from a Rock and Roll Tour

I'm not exactly sure what I was doing at the time, but I was on Amazon looking for something, and I stumbled across a link to the above titled book. Postcards from a Rock and Roll Tour is a book length series of vignettes written by Gordon Marshall, the backing drummer for the Moody Blues, and covers a summer and fall tour of the US and Great Britain in 2010. Given my love of the Moody Blues, I ordered a copy and devoured it in a couple of days.

It was a very interesting book, and a good read in its own right, but was a little disappointing in some ways.

Marshall first toured with the Moodies in 1991 in what was supposed to be a nine-week stint as a second backup drummer while Graeme Edge, the drummer, played through and recovered from an injury. Things went well, and Marshall has been touring with the band ever since. His journal-style recollections from this particular tour are a fascinating insight into the life of a traveling musician, if a bit repetitive at times. Varying quality food, some sightseeing, familiar venues, jogging for exercise, exhaustion, planes (rarely) and tour buses (generally). The Moodies have been touring for the last bunch of years with three original members as well as four secondary musicians to fill out the sound. Marshall paints a picture of the main guys being nice and down to earth, but recognizes that even after 20+ years touring with the band, there is a difference to being with the band versus in the band (not with any bitterness, just matter of fact). Things like playing a show in one city one night, getting in the tour bus at midnight for the eight hour overnight ride to the next city, while the three main guys hop a lear jet and get there in an hour and a half. As you would expect, being a superstar means you ride the bus some of the time, but not all of the time...

The only minor disappointment for me was that the amount of content specific to the Moody Blues was less than I had hoped for. Presumably in respecting the privacy of the others (his employers), there is little sharing of any kind of personal insight into any of them, and much of what Marshall writes could be true of touring with any band, not just one of my favorites. That is a quibble though of a hard core fan; this is a quick fun read that would be good under any circumstances, and had enough Moodies material to keep me happy.

Concerts - 2012

One of the things I wanted to take advantage of in 2012 was the opportunity to see as much live music as reasonable. I did a pretty good job of that.

Eric Johnson and a Fender Stratocaster

The year started with an amazing Eric Johnson concert at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville in January. Then there was Willie Nelson at the Keswick in May. Both of these were firsts for me, and great shows.

There was a gap after Willie, but the Fall and Winter were good, with Rush at the Wells Fargo Center (3rd time) and Asia at the Keswick (2nd time, but 29 years after the first time) in October, and the Moody Blues in Atlantic City in November.

In December there is one more show ahead, with Little Feat coming to the Scottish Rite auditorium in South Jersey on Saturday evening. This is another band from long ago that I have always liked, but have never seen live. Dave saw them earlier this year at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and raved about them. He bought the tickets to this show and had extras, so I will be gladly tagging along. Feats don't fail me now!

From a concert-going perspective, if every year could be like this I would be very happy indeed. Going into 2013, I will renew my commitment to seeing as many bands as I can, especially as so many of the groups that I like are getting up there in years and there may not be that many chances left to see some of them.

In 2013 I plan to take advantage of any opportunities that come along, but high on my list would be seeing Yes again if the stars align... And Eric Clapton...

Moody Blues, Atlantic City NJ, Fri Nov 30, 2012

As has been well-documented here in the past, The Moody Blues are one of my favorite bands, if not my favorite band of all time. I have seen them more times live than any other band by far (at least a dozen times beginning in 1982 at the Spectrum; Rush and Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler are a very distant second at 3 times each if memory serves). We were sitting around our kitchen table with Anthony and Cathy one evening a few months back when I got an email notification that they were coming to Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City. Anthony said that they were a band that he had always wanted to see, and I said that given their ages he should see them sooner rather than later. Before the evening was over, much to my surprise (and pleasure), we had four tickets to the concert, a pair of hotel rooms, and plans to do an overnight trip to see them.

Consequently, by 3pm on Friday, brother Dave's Darling Wife was at my house to stay with the kids overnight, and the four of us were on the road to AC. We arrived at Caesar's at around 4:30 after a quick and uneventful drive, freshened up, and then wandered around the casino killing time before our 6:15 dinner reservation. We wandered through the gaming areas (most of which I find fascinating, but don't know the rules), checked out some of the shops, and settled in for a drink at a place next to the restaurant.

Dinner was at Buddakan, a Steven Starr asian fusion place, and it was absolutely fabulous. All four of us appreciate good food, and this was a meal to remember. We all agreed to try the chef's tasting menu, and out of the 4 appetizers, 4 entrees and 3 desserts, ten out of the eleven selections were fantastic. And the one that wasn't fantastic was still perfectly fine, just not memorable. Especially memorable were the edamame ravioli, the asian "caesar" salad, the king salmon and the horseradish crusted filet. Even the side dishes of wasabi mashed potatoes and grilled eggplant were out of this world (ok, make that 13 dishes not 11).

By the time dinner was over, it was time to make our way to the "Circus Maximus" theater for the concert. I was very excited, but also a little apprehensive, to be honest. My heroes were getting pretty well up there in years, and I was unsure as to how they would sound. Since this was Anthony and Cathy's first show with them, I hoped they'd sound good. The theater was small, perhaps a few thousand seats, and was completely sold out. By my count, we were in the 21st row, a little off to the left of center. Great seats. The band took the stage a few minutes after the 9pm show time, and launched into a setlist that, having researched it on the internet ahead of time, looked to be a greatest hits show (not surprisingly).

Having seen them the number of times that I have, there is a lot of live experience that I have to draw on by way of comparison, and my initial impression was that they sounded good from an instrumental standpoint, but that Justin Hayward's voice sounded strained. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but I just got the sense that he was struggling somewhat. I began to believe that this was true when they began to skip some songs compared to the expected setlist that I had written down from shows earlier in the week. One of the things about the Moodies is that they tend to be very predictable on tour, rarely straying from that tour's setlist on a night to night basis. If the prior shows' posted lists can be trusted, they ended up skipping 5 of the intended 20 songs, making for a fairly brief hour and a half show.

The exact setlist they did perform was (and you can bet the house on the accuracy of this...):

1. Gemini Dream
2. The Voice
3. Steppin in a Slide Zone
4. You and Me
5. Tuesday Afternoon
6. Peak Hour
7. I Know You're Out There Somewhere
8. The Story in Your Eyes
9. Your Wildest Dreams
10. Isn't Life Strange
11. Higher and Higher
12. I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)
13. Late Lament / Nights in White Satin (actual YouTube performance video linked)
14. Question (video the night before)
15. (Encore) Ride My See Saw (video also the night before)

If the prior shows' setlists are to be believed, they dropped 3 songs between Tuesday Afternoon and Peak Hour (Gypsy (video from the night before), Nervous, and Say It With Love), as well as two songs later in the show (The Other Side of Life, and Driftwood). I have to admit, these drops disappointed me. Having seen the band as many times as I have, and taking into account the fact that they generally play a very similar list these days, it is the few nuggets from days gone by that they add in that are the special treats for me. For this show, I was looking forward to Gypsy, Nervous, and Driftwood. I hadn't heard any of these 3 songs live since the 1980's (as best I can remember), and hearing them again after all these years would have been the icing on this particular cake. Each of these, as they were skipped, was a tiny little dagger in the heart. Gypsy is a great up tempo song from the late '60's that has always been a favorite of mine, Nervous is a very good song from 1981's Long Distance Voyager album, and Driftwood is one of Hayward's best (but lesser known) love songs (from the "reunion" Octave album of the mid '70's). On the plus side, Peak Hour (1967) and You and Me (1972) were both old chestnuts that were a live first for me.

My overall impression of the concert, once I had some time to reflect, is that it was a good show. Not great by any means, but good. Anthony and Cathy said they loved it, which is also worth something. That being said, I had a hard time not comparing it to all the other shows I had seen from them before, and this made it hard not to feel a touch of melancholy. There were some songs where they sounded great (Nights in White Satin among others was certainly a highlight), but also some where they sounded more like a remembrance of what they have been. Perhaps this is unfair, but life, and the aging process, isn't fair.

Writing this reminds me of a couple of appropriate lines from Moodies songs. In the poem Late Lament, which leads into Nights in White Satin, Graeme Edge says "...senior citizens wish they were young...". And in Never Blame the Rainbows for the Rain, Hayward says "...the last whispered wish of age is to live it all again". Amen.

I should remind myself to see the glass as half full. Justin Hayward is 66, John Lodge is 67, and drummer Graeme Edge is 71. And they are still touring, sounding pretty good, and making me feel young. So there is something to be said for that. Something pretty important.

If they come around again, I'll be there...

Moody Blues - Never Comes the Day...

Anticipation. I have tickets for my wife and I and our friends from across the street to do an overnight trip to Atlantic City to see the Moody Blues at Caesars Palace at the end of November. Having been to a concert last Friday (Rush), and another on tap for tomorrow night (Asia), I am very much in a live music frame of mind.

The Moody Blues have been my favorite band since high school, and I have seen them live at least a dozen times, dating as far back as 1982/1983 when they toured for The Present, and the opening act was Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble. It has been a few years since I last saw them (at the Tower Theater I believe), and I am anxious to see them while they are still touring.

A few recent YouTube clips of concert footage from this year:

• The Story in Your Eyes. The perfect song. Great lyrics, great melody, great little guitar solo.
• You and Me. A song I have never seen live. Apparently I will soon...
• Peak Hour. A lesser known cut from their very first album, Days of Future Passed, from 1967.
• Say It With Love, from Keys of the Kingdom.
• Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band. Classic.
• And thrown in for a chuckle, Gypsy, and Tuesday Afternoon from the Isle of Wight festival in 1970... Note that Justin is playing the exact same Gibson cherry red ES-335 in all these clips...

It is odd to see my musical idols in their twilight years, a little saggy and with a pot-belly here or there, but that they can still do this in the vicinity of their 70th birthdays is amazing to me (Justin is 66, John 67 and Graeme 71). They might not be what they were, but when I close my eyes it is still Justin Hayward and the Moody Blues. It works for me...

The Holy Grail... Sort of...

Epiphone ES-335 Pro

I did a very very silly thing today. In a moment of weakness (or was it strength?) I took the plunge and checked a holy grail item off the list. As I mentioned in a recent post, I have been playing a lot more guitar recently and have made some strides toward actually being able to play some things passably well.

One of my favorite bands growing up was the Moody Blues (still is for that matter), and Justin Hayward has always been one of my favorite singer/songwriter/guitarists. His signature guitar is a Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow body. In cherry red. The guitar of Nights in White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon and most other classic Moodies tunes. The guitar that I have seen live in concert at least a dozen times. The guitar that probably more than any other made me want to learn how to play the guitar, or at the very least make me wish I could.

Since a very early age, that guitar (along with Eric Clapton's black Fender Stratocaster "Blackie") has been on the short list of "someday I need to own a guitar like that, even if it's just decoration". It's a very short list, perhaps including only those two plus a Jimmy Page classic sunburst Les Paul and (much more recently) a Derek Trucks red Gibson SG.

Before kids, I checked the black Strat off the list in 1993. Today, after some eBay watching, I went to the local Guitar Center store and bought a little piece of my adolescence. Specifically, an Epiphone Custom Shop Limited Edition ES-335 Pro. Epiphone is Gibson's second brand, and the usual Epiphone version of the ES-335 is referred to as "the Dot" because of the distinctive dot pattern on the fret board. The ES-335 Pro is a limited edition of the Dot with upgraded volume knobs that allow push-pull switching of the pickups from single coil to double coil mode (and rectangular fret inlays, not dots). This has the effect of making the guitar sound more like a Gibson or more like a Fender depending on the setting. The difference is substantial, and a tribute to modern electronics.

The Whole (electric) Gang

I haven't had much of a chance to play around with it yet, but it has a wonderful warm rich tone that is very different from both the Strat and from the Les Paul copy. It could use a minor 5th and 6th string action adjustment to remove a tiny "fret buzz" on the middle of the fretboard, but that is a simple adjustment that Dave can help me make.

Do I need a third guitar (four if you count the hand-me-down Yamaha acoustic)? Of course not. I barely play well enough to justify one nice one, let alone three. And the Strat from twenty years ago is still qualitatively the best of the three instruments, probably by a fairly wide margin. But that misses the point for the most part. Or misses the point entirely. Life is short. Love of music can manifest itself in many ways, not the least of which I suppose is a middle aged guy with a small guitar collection. So I see nothing wrong with indulging a fan-boy moment. Does owning this make me Justin Hayward? Sadly, no. That takes talent, ability, hard work, dedication, luck, a voice, songwriting ability and a time machine. But it sure does put a smile on my face, and there is something to be said for that.

Given that a real Gibson ES-335 goes for $2,200 rock bottom minimum, this is almost certainly as close as I will ever get to my dream guitar. But it's close enough for me.

The Heat of the Moment

There was a side benefit to the Willie Nelson concert that we saw a couple of weekends ago - I got a chance to take a look at the Keswick's schedule of events for the foreseeable future. There was one thing that caught my eye; the 30th anniversary tour of Asia, one of my favorite bands growing up. They are touring with the original lineup. John Wetton on bass and vocals (from King Crimson). Steve Howe on guitar (from Yes). Carl Palmer on drums (From Emerson Lake and Palmer). And Geoff Downes on keyboards (from Yes, and the Buggles - "Video Killed the Radio Star" - the very first video ever played on MTV).

Asia certainly had immense MTV-driven popularity for a short period of time, especially in 1982-1983, in the middle of my high school years. For a while, you couldn't turn on MTV without seeing one of a half dozen videos, and they were played on the radio constantly. Among my friends, there seem to be two schools of thought on them; great band, or sellout pop supergroup. I suppose both are true. There is no denying that all four were fantastic musicians with terrific pedigrees, but it is also hard to deny that the music (as complicated as it is technically in many places) was entirely catering to the pop market. I obviously come down more on the side of "great band". I have always liked the kind of music that some would find over-produced; melodic stuff with layered harmonies, lush keyboards and all that. "Pretty" songs. These guys certainly did that, and mixed in some amazing musicianship while they were at it.

Remembering this band, it has been fun going back and finding all the old songs and videos on YouTube, like Heat of the Moment, Sole Survivor, Only Time Will Tell (recent live version here), Don't Cry, Open Your Eyes, The Last to Know, and Wildest Dreams. Or lesser known songs that I aways liked such as Daylight. It's interesting that many of the best live videos of Asia from back then are lifted from the 1983 "Asia in Asia" concert from Japan that was broadcast on on the radio and shown on MTV (featuring Greg Lake in John Wetton's place). Not surprising I guess, since this was way before the iPhone days when every second of live music is captured and posted so fast it's virtually streaming.

As always, looking at anything on YouTube sends you down a rathole of time spent following trails to all sorts of other stuff, such as Steve Howe, the guitarist, playing some of his classic acoustic songs from his years with Yes (and yes, he does look like Elrond from TLotR movies...).

Of course, no trip through YouTube would be complete without a check-in on what my all-time favorite band of 70-year-olds sounds like these days, so check here for a 2012 version (with not great sound quality) of a classic song. Or this one (with good sound). Or Driftwood, a song they rarely play.

So... other than a trip down memory lane, what's the point? Four seats to Asia's 30th anniversary tour in the 7th row, dead center, at the Keswick Theater on October 20. I can't wait.

Rainbows

All this rain around here recently brings to mind a few different songs, one of which I hadn't thought of in a while, but I like very much. The song is a Moody Blues song (shocking!) off the Keys of the Kingdom album from 1991. The album itself is from the period of over-produced too-keyboard-oriented Moodies, but does have several very good songs on it. Which also brings back a memory of attending a Moodies show at the Tower Theater in the mid-90's with Leo, but that is a whole other story...

August 19, a rare break in the rains (from my deck)

...The changes we go through are making us strong
The shelter of friendship is where we belong
Look into the future knowing what we see


And never blame the rainbows for the rain
And learn to forget the memories
That cause you pain


The last whispered wish of age
Is to live it all again
So never blame the rainbows for the rain...

      --Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), "Never Blame the Rainbows for the Rain"

I recognize that many of Hayward's songs would put a lot of people into a diabetic coma, but they suit me... :-)

The Voice

"...understand the voice within, and feel the change already beginning..."

I suppose that everyone has a band, or bands, from their earlier days that hold a special place in their heart. For me, more than any other by far, the Moody Blues are the soundtrack of my adolescence. I was reminded of this over the last few days. The same long car ride that spawned the "Living Life" post also touched on people you would most like to meet (hey, we were driving for 9 hours!...I could blog the rest of the year on subjects we talked about...and just may do so). Thinking about it briefly, in the musical celebrity (still living) category, my answer was Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues. My response was pretty much met with a blank stare. Clearly someone's musical upbringing had deficiencies that I would need to address. But I digress...

I bought a brand new PC recently, and have an obscenely large hard drive, so I downloaded the iTunes app and am uploading CDs. With the Moody Blues conversation fresh in my memory, my first uploads were the collected works of the Moodies, with the intent of burning a CD of some of my favorites to share with my under-educated friend. With a healthy dose of missionary zeal, I began poking through the catalog to create a playlist that would fit on one CD. Sounds simple enough. What I didn't count on was getting caught up in a slow stroll down memory lane. And fitting a life's memories on one CD isn't that easy.

Circa 1982. Moody Blues at the Spectrum. Opening act - Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble. My first Moodies show. I have two primary memories from this show. One - my heroes on stage live and in person and me at the ripe old age of sixteen right there in the audience - woo hoo! Two - holy mackerel!, who is this Stevie Ray Vaughn guy! And can he really play behind his back like that!? Channeling Hendrix or something. Brother Dave's blog has a reminiscence of his Aerosmith concert, a seminal event in his musical life. Mine was similar, but without the bottle throwing and show cancelling...sorry Dave! (Actually, my first concert was a John Denver show at the Spectrum with my Dad, but that is a story for a different day...thanks Dad). This tour is for the Long Distance Voyager album, which contains The Voice, one of my favorite songs, and the song that has lent its title to this post.

Circa 1983-1984. High school junior/senior. Intermittent girl troubles (what else?). Doing the angst-ridden teenager thing and closeting myself in my room at times, playing certain songs and albums to death (yes, vinyl albums - past 8-tracks but before CDs). Justin Hayward songs tend to be good for that sort of thing. This was back in the day when you could actually grind an album into dust, and oh how I tried. Teenagers today don't know what they are missing - no amount of angst can grind a CD into dust. To this day, there are vinyl albums in a cabinet in my old room at my parents' house that probably wouldn't play because the grooves are worn out.

Work away today
Work away tomorrow
Never comes the day
For my love and me
I feel her gently sighing
As the evening slips away
If only you knew what's inside of me now
You wouldn't want to know me somehow
But...you will love me tonight
We alone will be alright
In the end

Circa 1984(?). Moodies at the Spectrum again. The tour for the album "The Present". The beginning of the period that could best be described as "synthesizers gone wild", and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. Opening the show with "Sitting at the Wheel", and thinking, gee that's odd, John Lodge can't seem to remember the words to the new song he just wrote. This while sitting in a blue haze of second-hand pot smoke (yes, second hand)...hmm...couldn't help wondering if some of that smoke was originating FROM the stage? It got much better after that. Saw this show with my best friends from high school senior year. We had a Genesis guy, a Yes guy... I was the Moody Blues guy. I remember a highlight of this show as Justin with a keyboard doing a solo version of Running Water. I've always been a sucker for the sappy romantic stuff. Still am.

Time hurries on
Look and it's gone
The changing of the autumn tide
The hopes that live
The dreams that die
If I could have you by my side
I'd give it all away

Circa 1984 and again in '86. Moodies at the Mann Music Center in Fairmount Park. "Nights in White Satin" on a warm summer evening in a semi-outdoor amphitheater under a full moon in the company of good friends. 'Nuff said. One of the great lyric lines ever..."letters I've written, never meaning to send".

1986. The Other Side of Life album comes out and contains "Your Wildest Dreams", which became the Moodies biggest hit ever. Go figure. Nice song but way pop. Can't ever hear this song and not think of a particular someone. I know you are not reading this blog, but you know who you are.

Late 1980's through the 1990's. The days of selling out stadiums have passed and I have the chance to see them a number of times at smaller venues like the Tower Theater. Good trade off.

2000+. The nostalgia years. Most local shows now are at Atlantic City casinos. I remember a show at one of the Trump properties in Atlantic City where I was in the 5th row. I've never been closer at a show. Honestly, some of these shows aren't that great musically, but they do make me feel like a teenager again, and when they get to some of the classic songs, autopilot kicks in and they sound young again too. Having played The Story in Your Eyes and Ride My Seesaw a few thousand times, I'm sure they could do these in their sleep. Maybe they are.

Nights in white satin
Never reaching the end
Letters I've written
Never meaning to send
Beauty I'd always missed
With these eyes before
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore
'Cos I love you

2009. The Great Regret. I had tickets to see them in August 2009 at the Borgata, but didn't really have someone to go with me and ended up eating the tickets. I spent the couple of days after the show checking out YouTube videos of shows from this tour and realized that (a) they sounded really good, (b) they were mixing in some old songs that they hadn't done in years, and (c) I should have checked out YouTube a few days BEFORE the show! Well into their 60's, I shouldn't be passing up chances to see them while they are still touring.

Anyway, the 19 songs that made it onto the first CD only get me about half way there, so my friend should be expecting another CD, or two, or three...

Nothing changes
And nothing stays the same
And life is still
A simple game.