My dear wife, Carrie, thought I had lost my mind. I told her we were going to get on a plane and fly from Louisville, Kentucky to Denver, Colorado to see The Moody Blues at Red Rocks Amphitheater not many miles west of downtown Denver.
We were on the back porch when I gave her the news. It was in late March 2011. We flew to Denver on May 6th and flew back on May 8th. By the way, if you fly out of Louisville the day before the Kentucky Derby and fly back the day after the Kentucky Derby, you can do so economically compared to most other days. I wish you could have seen the look on her face the day I let her know of our upcoming trip. It said somewhat of a combination of the following:
What?… Oh…that’s great… Really? (Not the annoying “really?” that was made glam by a TV show)… You’re kidding, right… Another Moodies show?… You know I’m scared of flying. What?… (again)… Are you crazy?… Well…okay.
I just asked her a few minutes ago about what she thought about the trip. “Surreal”…is the answer I got. She’s right. And like me, she enjoyed the trip immensely. We packed so much into so little time. We rented a car. We stayed at the foot of the Rockies in Estes Park. Neither of us had ever been there before. We drove into the Rockies as far as we could. There was a foot and a half of snow up there and the Trail Ridge Road was closed at 10,000 feet and it was a good thing. Any farther and I am sure I would have passed out. We ate great food. I ran into Bill Benner, a Moodies fan from Indy. Bill and I saw each other at shows in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The coolest thing was going to Red Rocks the day before the show.
Red Rocks is a park that doesn’t cost a penny to visit. Folks exercise up and down the rows of the venue and the views from the top of Red Rocks are fabulous. I recognized the rocks as we were driving up the hill to the place. I had been looking at them for nearly twenty years and now they were in front of me. Wow.
Red Rocks is a natural amphitheater. It is situated between two…well…Red Rocks!
The view from the top of the venue.
The view from the stage.
The ROCK..exit stage right.
Red Rocks is significant in Moody Blues history. On September 9th in 1992, The Moodies played a concert for the first time with an orchestra. Many whom have heard The Moody Blues groundbreaking album Days of Future Passed, recorded in 1967, might think this was a band that had worked closely with an orchestra. Not so. When the Moodies recorded Days of Future Passed they did their parts separate from the orchestra. The Moodies parts and the orchestral parts were put together through the magic of recording. I have spent some time in a recording studio. The end product for this place and time was nothing short of… meant to be. I, like the Moodies, am very thankful.
When The Moody Blues took the stage that night at Red Rocks in 1992 and recorded their exploits, Justin Hayward, the songwriter-lead singer-guitarist of the group, told the sold out audience that twenty-five years ago that very week they handed a piece of tape to their record company, Decca Records. That piece of tape was Days of Future Passed and it featured their signature hit Nights in White Satin.
I’m listening to that concert as I present this post on speaktherights.com.
I remember watching this concert for the first time on a PBS broadcast in March of 1993. Not long after that it was available to purchase on…gads…a VHS tape. DVDs soon followed…at least in my backwoods neck of the woods. But I still remember right where I was the night I watched it. I was captivated. Though I had seen my share of Moodies concerts by 1993, it was the first time I had watched a show of theirs on television. In retrospect, the popularity of this event and the fact that this vehicle allowed The Moody Blues to continue touring while being backed at shows by orchestras into the next century probably gave the group stronger legs to keep standing on.
The first orchestra show I saw was at Deer Creek northeast of Indianapolis in the summer of 1993. The last Moodies orchestra show I saw at Deer Creek in 1999. The place was packed. In between I saw the Moodies play with orchestras in Louisville, Cincinnati, Evansville, Lexington, Huntsville, Noblesville, and Ft. Wayne. I think I saw thirteen Moodies orchestra shows in all. They were all a joy. A full orchestra is something to behold.
Had this venture not been such a fruitful endeavor for The Moody Blues…who knows? It worked. Thank God. No, I really mean that. The Moodies music is full of hope, love, peace, and optimism. Who doesn’t need that? Especially in our quick to bitch about world. The Moodies have stayed around for a good reason. I have no doubt.
The Moody Blues…Red Rocks 2011
John Lodge…just a singer in a rock and roll band
Justin Hayward taking it in at Red Rocks after Nights in White Satin…looks a bit familiar to those with the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary lithograph.
Yes. Justin Hayward told the crowd that night that it had been 25 years since Days of Future Passed. It seemed like such a long time…25 years. How could these guys still be rocking we asked? Well…
On May 10th The Moody Blues will return to Red Rocks….twenty-three years after the twenty-five year celebration. To this fan…that doesn’t seem possible. This time Justin can tell everyone….”48 years ago we handed a piece of tape to Decca.” Wow again.
They still put on a great show, you know. Maybe you don’t know. Take my word for it. When you get Justin Hayward and John Lodge and Graeme Edge in the same room…good things happen. They just do. After looking at them and watching these guys for so many years, I am convinced that what they share is the music they bring. I doubt they spend much time together away from the instruments. They don’t need to. They found what they were looking for and they have continued to rock and roll year after year without fail. So many of us are thankful.
The first time I saw the Moodies was the fall after my senior year of high school in 1986. Since then I have seen them play in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, ( this four year gap is due to me drowning in my own music and recording) 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. As of yet, I have no plans for one of the scheduled 2015 shows. The only time I ever got on a plane to see them was in 2011 for the Red Rocks show.
The Moody Blues love to bring their music to the people. If they didn’t, they would have packed it in a long time ago. I, for one, hope they keep going. We need more love, peace, hope, and optimism.
Another thing I like about The Moody Blues is that they don’t “milk the cow” like other artists do. The Moodies keep their ticket prices down compared to what they could charge….hope I don’t give them any crazy ideas.
Case in point is the May 2015 Red Rocks show. If you are in the know, there is access to great tickets to Moodies shows. Some include perks…some don’t. The perk-less tickets are face value tickets. The Moodies offer pre-sale tickets to those in the know. These tickets, to the Moodies credit, are ones the TRUE FANS pick up at the box office.
Translation: these tickets are for fans and not for ticket brokers…ticket scalpers…and cow milkers.
For the upcoming Red Rocks show, The Moodies released a number of pre-sale tickets. They sold out. More were released. They sold out. I got a third email alerting that more had been released for fans. They sold out in a hurry. I am glad that they did. The Moody Blues took care of their fans.
I have been fortunate enough to get great Moodies tickets by being vigilant to the process.
This photo was taken by Carrie. In the background is Gordy Marshall. He has been playing with the Moodies since 1991. He does most of the heavy lifting of the drums for the band. Gordon Marshall too is awesome.
When he is not singing, Justin’s guitar playing is amazing.
Playing the song Higher and Higher…by Grame Edge
Graeme Edge comes off his drumming perch to deliver Higher and Higher. Note the lunar landing pictures behind the band. The song was inspired by Neil Armstrong taking that first step onto the moon’s surface.
Justin Hayward and John Lodge
The boys taking it in after the last song at Red Rocks in 2011.
I hope all of you who are fortunate enough to take in this sight this coming May have a great time. Well….you will. It’s The Moody Blues.
Speaking the Moody Blues Rights.
Danny Johnson