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On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 2:10 PM, Andrew Goldstein <starless74@yahoo.com> wrote:i wish i could have seen them in 1972!!!!! or 84!!!!first time i saw them was 1986 and i got to meet all of them and get my vinyls signed--MORAZ accidentally SIGNED "seventh sojourn" which is of course a PINDER lp---PINDER IS absolutely one of the most important people in my life!!!!!!
On Monday, March 17, 2014 12:40 PM, JAMES STRAUSS <jandjstrz@verizon.net> wrote:
Andrew:Thanks for the correction.I saw them in 78 and 84 with Moraz...if there was a Mellotron in there I sure missed it.Didn't stand out like when I saw them in '72.
On Monday, March 17, 2014 11:31 AM, Andrew Goldstein <starless74@yahoo.com> wrote:
just regarding moodiesMORAZ used mellotrons on tours from 78-84.......and even later in 86-87 still used a m 400 but just for sound effects
On Monday, March 17, 2014 10:01 AM, JAMES STRAUSS <jandjstrz@verizon.net> wrote:
Struck a nerve did it?
On Monday, March 17, 2014 10:53 AM, john barrick <barrickjohn262@gmail.com> wrote:
Do NOT ever do that again. Not funny.On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 9:22 AM, JAMES STRAUSS <jandjstrz@verizon.net> wrote:Well these old guys played my town last night and given there is no mellotron in their gear anymore, and hasn't been since Mike Pinder left - this is a bit "off topic".And since Ray Thomas no longer tours with them I was somewhat dubious to go to this concert.But my wife has never seen them, and PBS TV had a membership drive and they happened to have a few Orchestra tickets to the first callers if you made a contribution. So on a whim I picked up the phone and guess what...I was first in line on the phone, so the tickets were mine.This venue for the Moodies was going to be interesting as well...it is a relatively smaller concert hall... the recently renovated Landmark Theatre which used to be called the Mosque, due to the ornately decorated arabesque tile work and gilded panels and Egyptian motiffs.So we get there at 7:00 PM and enjoy some wine and the huge dome like ceiling with all this intricate tile work. Even the aisle lighting fixtures on each seat were these old ornate brass deco panels...quite a place.When thelights went down it was just absolutely black, you couldn't even see your handin front of your face. It was like that for several minutes when, throughthe applause of the expectant crowd, you could hear this bizarre kind ofethereal hollow white noise sound, kind of like the humming noise in your headwhen you wake up in the middle of the night in an empty room.The screen at the back of the stage had this small bright whitedot…it is flickering and rotating like a pulsar, then you could hear theunmistakable sound of that mechanical voice we remember from “The Beginning”on “Threshold of a Dream” . But rather than the old recording it was thisstrange rambling mix of radio signals like from a far off distant transmitter,with what sounded like news reports grabbed from the current headlines;rebellion in Syria, invasion of Ukraine, missing airliners, and while this garbled mix increases the small white dot on the screen gradually enlarged until you could seethe whole planet earth filling the screen, and it was really quite detailed,almost like a screen grab from Gravity.All the while this synthesizer chorus begins to build up to a big crescendo, then suddenly the stage lights came on like the primordial big bang andthe show was on - with a rousing rendition of “Lovely To See You Again”.I was duly impressed with how well the sound crew had dialed inJustin’s guitar, and I have to say he took full advantage of it, the guitarbreaks seemed to bounce off the walls with a deep reverb every time heunleashed these chords, and with a smile, he seemed to be very muchenjoying the feedback, even played with it for awhile with the vibrato bar.That had the crowd pretty well on their feet and into the moment,just waiting for what was coming next.I’m not a big fan of the post core seven albums but I figured theyhad to play some of the crowd pleasers for all the second generation of Moodiesfans and I have to say they can play them well. I was sitting there comfortablythrough “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere” and “Wildest Dreams”, hoping tohear some gold nuggets from the early days. Without Ray Thomas or Mike Pinder,I knew the chance of hearing “Legend of a Mind” or “Have You Heard” are fairlyremote and pretty much long gone.Just as they finished “Story in Your Eyes” I figured the old guyswould have to take a break. So ended the first set.Yet, in a few moments to my surprise the lights went down againand the spotlight illuminated two high backed chairs on the empty stage and outcame Justin, carrying an acoustic six and 12 string and Norden Mullen flute inhand.So what we got was a very nice acoustic intermission with somegreat acoustic guitar with Norda accompanying with some very fineflute, performing “Voices in the Sky”, “Visions of Paradise”segueing into “Dawning is the Day” (which Norda really had fun with, chasing those fluttering notes around as if they were birds in flight). They concluded with Justin’s “NewHorizons”. At this point, even if the rest of the show sucked, I figured I gotmy moneys worth.No problem there...because when the second set started thelights went down and we got the dark room treatment again - but this time thehall was pulsating with this plodding drum beat, with a sparingly simpleelectric guitar chord backing, and Justin comes up to the mike and with a bigsmile says he like to introduce an old friend of us all, and then from thecorner of the stage this big mellotron sound drones out - and there on stage, right in the thespot light is none other than Mike Pinder, the melancholy man himself.In his unmistakable deep baritone he breaks into this soulfulrendition of “Lost in a Lost World”. The crowd is ecstatic. After he finishedoff this melancholy gem with many nods of “thank yous” to the crowd, Greame Edge comes up to the front of the stage wearing this swami headdress with tablas andcongas under each arm and the guys launch into “Sun is Still Shining” and, well - if you know how that starts…Justin is feigning these sitar like riffs with hiselectric guitar with Mike taking full advantage of every opportunity to sendout these indian flavored mellotron drones in this kind of mini Indian ragafest mashed up with “Om” This was great stuff.Well after the obligatory “Late Lament /Nights in White Satin”they guys came back with a rousing encore of “Ride My See Saw” and they madethe most of the now amped crowd’s enthusiasm.Ok, Ok…I confess.That’s not exactly how it went down.What we actually got was the standard “post seven corealbum” show complete with Graeme Edge, ...........river dancing to Higher and Higher.(Sigh).But I have to say - the guys can still do it.They delivered a dynamic show, even though the first set sorelyneed some more umpf for the vocals.They pulled some old gems out of the repertoire as I had not heard "Gypsy" from "To Our Children's Children" in many years and have never heard them perform "You and Me" from "Seventh Sojurn".There were three huge digital screens on the stage which were emblazoned with all manner of psychedelic patterns and scenes from the old moodies scrapbook.That light show must have soaked up a lot of powerAs intermission came to an end.... a guy came out and said that Dominion Power was having a bigproblem with the power grid. They had to cut off all power and everything onstage went dark while the emergency exit lights came on.The soundboard went dark too.It had been freezing rain outside, but I think the new renovations in this theatre had some glitches.The intermission was supposed to be 20 minutes.This lasted foralmost an hour while everything had to reboot. I noticed a few handfuls of people leaving - the majority of people stuck it out,The band must have gota good rest during this period because the second set was powerfully delivered,and Justin's vocals were spot on."Isn't Life Strange" was never one of my favorites, butthis was a standing ovation performance as well as "TuesdayAfternoon", and Norda's flute playing was fantastic on both.Of course they did the obligatory "Nights in White Satin" which had a huge disco ball behind the stage throwing star patterns all over that huge domed ceiling as Graeme delivered the "cold hearted orb" soliloquy. Norda held the flute notes on Nights for an eternity."Question" was the typical show ender delivered at full throttlAll in all, it was worth the effort.Not like the old days, but as Justin Hayward said in EGBDF....."You can never go home" -but you can get pretty close.e.Set 1:4. GypsySet 2:Encore:
--john barrick∗Leo got it right the first time∗∗then he added a second pickup and got it righter∗
--john barrick∗Leo got it right the first time∗∗then he added a second pickup and got it righter∗