Moody Blues, live 2014: any good?

We have them live in Grand Rapids tomorrow evening, 8/21. I'm sure some of you have seen them in recent times, and wondering what it's like. Are the performances true to the records? Strength of Hayward and Lodge's vocals? Are the Mellotron parts recreated, or have they replaced them with digital string synths? Any input would be helpful; thanks in advance.

 

I saw them last week in Englewood, NJ.
They sounded great and put on a very enjoyable show.
Justin Hayward's voice and guitar playing is amazingly good still.
The setlist is mostly crowd pleasers with a few deep tracks mixed in.
The keyboard sounds are modern/digital but not offensive.
Unlike Yes, they made the wise choice of adding a 2nd drummer to keep things rolling along properly..

 

without Ray Thomas, it's a game changer for me

 

I saw them earlier this year. Strictly a nostalgia act at this point. Graeme Edge cannot drum. He's behind a kit for show only. John Lodge incessantly motions the crowd to applaud louder after each song. That is beyond tacky. Sad really. Only go if tickets are cheap or free, or to cross it off your bucket list.

 

In Graeme's defense he is 73 years old. He CAN drum but playing for 2+ hours what is the most physical instrument on the stage surely isn't easy. The last couple of times I saw the group they had 2 drummers; one of which was Graeme and they sounded great. Nostalgia act? Maybe, but only because they've been playing for nearly 50 years!!! Seriously, what's with the negativity?

I've seen them 5 or 6 times over the last 20 years and every show has been great. The performances are fairly true to the recorded versions but obviously they change a few things around. They don't always have an orchestra or a mellotron on stage with them but (imho) the arrangements work and are very enjoyable. Plus, there are only 3 'original' members left so they tend to have other musicians on stage to help them (backing vocals, flute, keyboards, drums, etc).

Recommended.

 

For me, it was Patrick Moraz. It's like the bottom dropped out of their creativeness.

 

But...YES and Moodies are quite different. Easy to add a drummer to the Moodies, not so much with YES.
In some cases I wish Graham Edge was their only drummer. A slower "The Story in your Eyes" would be very welcome.

By the way, I saw the Moodies last year and it was a good show, but damn, they're in need of new material for their own musicians sake.
And it was like an orchestra up there with so many added players. Not a fan of that.

 

I've seen them a few times in the last several years and always enjoy the Moodies.
The set-list rarely changes and the stage patter (especially from John Lodge) is
virtually set-in-stone. Still, seeing Justin Hayward live is a treat even today. That
this man is not in the RandRHOF is a disgrace....

 

the OP asked a question as a thread title, if his review is negative then so be it. why can't forum members actually accept that not everything is wine and roses. he is entitled to his opinion regardless of what it is.

 

wow we agree on something

 

OK to answer the OP's original question......NO

 

I personally strongly dislike musicians who use instruments for props. I suppose that's because I am a musician myself. Most of the time GE is miming playing drums. In fact, he's so out of rhythm with his miming that it's downright comical. So that's why. Am I allowed to have an opinion different from yours?

 

For so many reasons.

 

Of course opinions can be different than mine. Your opinion just seemed overtly negative when you didn't mention how the music or the performances sounded. You don't like that a 73 year old doesn't play the drums the way he did in his 20's and you didn't like the between song banter. I'm guessing the OP is going to hear the songs.

 

GE doesn't play drums at all. He pretends to play drums. Big difference! The only thing GE actually does at a MB show these days is the spoken word stuff. I'd be perfectly happy if he sat on a stool or backstage until his bit is needed. Pretending to play drums is play acting, not musicianship.

The whole JL applaud louder thing is cheesy mugging and hucksterism. He didn't do that back in 1972. Why do that now? Frankly, Justin seemed quite embarrassed by JL's shenanigans. He clearly still has quite a lot of ability and a modicum of self-respect.

If the OP wants to attend that sort of show, then by all means enjoy. I wish I'd spent my money elsewhere.

 

Seen them live several times in the last few years. It's a bit panto but still impressive and a good gig to go to.

 

The OP thanks you for your spirited feedback...

 

Ya know, I haven't really followed the Moody Blues live for a number of years. Once Mike, and then Ray left I lost my interest in their live act.

Anyway, the last time I watched some of their live stuff, they had a second drummer but Graeme was still playing along. After reading your post though, I went to Youtube and sure enough, the very first recent live song I clicked on at random...Graeme is pretending to play. That IS pretty odd. I don't have time to sample more of their recent live things at the moment because I'm at work. Does he pretend to play on EVERYTHING these days ? I wonder if he has some debilitating illness, not just his age forcing him to fake it ?

If I hadn't seen them in late 1968 when they were at the top of their game, I'd still consider going to see them though, just to watch Justin play and sing. He's always been a favorite of mine.




I used to like Greame's playing. He was very Ringo-esque to my ears in the old days.

 

They put on a great show for what it is. The vocals and musicianship are top notch still.

 

He may well not be feeling well. It took him a long time to make it down the stairs from the drum riser for his spoken word part of the show. I recall that he was actually helped down the stairs by one of the female backing musicians.

I'm not trying to say he's a bad guy. Not at all. At his best, I kind of put him with Nick Mason... not spectacular but he could keep time and that was good enough for that band at that time.

I guess it all comes down to what one considers "any good," which was the OP's question. For me, it's the music. A musician who cannot make music but still pretends to is no longer a musician, but an actor.

I recently saw Steely Dan. Donald Fagen has lost quite a bit off his voice. But he actually sings what he sings. When the backing singers carry the rest of a vocal line, he doesn't pretend to still be singing (as Huey Lewis does these days). I thought it was honest and I really enjoyed it. I'll never get to see the Donald Fagen of 15 years ago. I accept that. But I saw an older guy who still had something authentic to say. Even though the set list didn't go deep, the music felt authentic and vibrant. And no one was pretending to do or be anything other than what they were.

 

He definitely plays on "Night in White Satin" as he's the only drummer on the song. Gordon just plays percussion.

I haven't seen them since 2005 so I'm not sure how much Graeme pretends to play. As I recall from back then he played but very simple stuff that was superfluous because Gordon would play the same thing and much more.

 

Thanks for the info. If he is actually ill and Justin and John encourage him to still be associated with the band, that's loyalty and kind of heartwarming.
On the other hand, I see your point also. It seems kind of silly to sit behind a drum set and play air drums for an entire concert.

I love most of the Moody Blues core 7 and a few things beyond that so I MIGHT be tempted to see them live just to see them if I hadn't seen them already, but it really looks like a case of diminishing returns at this point IMO, IF a person liked the entire core 7 band. With two of them gone and one other member basically just showing up much of the Moody Blues "essence" is missing, or something.

 

Saw them in Englewood last week for the first time. Enjoyable show. Justin Hayward can still bring it vocally and with the guitar. Lodge is a cheerleader and doesn't sing as well as Hayward, but that's not news. GE appeared to be playing very simple beats but from almost the last row I couldn't tell if he was miming. He was definitely drumming during Isn't Life Strange while the "real" drummer was spinning around plating cymbals. Speaking if the other drummer, I was feeling he was pushing the tempo real hard especially in the first set of more rocking tunes. It looked like Justin had to keep trying to catch up. I could have done without Slide Zone, would have rather hear Lovely To See You but I'm not gonna gripe about the setlist, they played You and Me, Gypsy and Nervous, all winners IMO . The second set had the classics including of course Nights In White Satin which is as classic as anything in rock history in my opinion and a bucket list item checked off for me. All in all an enjoyable show.

 

He does the same exact thing that Ringo does.

 

Ringo may be playing the simple stuff, but he's still actually playing. I haven't checked out many current Moody Blues live videos but in the one I saw and posted today Graeme ISN'T playing the song.
That is a difference. If the one video I pulled up was a random occurrence and Graeme plays most of the songs, I'll be happy to change my opinion.