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| Wes in Cunard Queen Victoria's Theater in February, 2011 |
Around the time I graduated from high school, one of my favorite bands was the Moody Blues, so I had no hesitation when I saw they would be performing at the former home of the Lakers, the Fabulous Forum in Inglewood. I took high school friend Lee Ann Bauer. She had recently returned from Japan having represented the US in an international beauty pageant, which I found quite impressive for someone who lived at the end of my street growing up.
That 1971 show was excellent. At that time the Moodies were at the peak of their popularity, having released a string of impressive concept albums that their fans cherished. However, the Moody Blues concert I would put into my top five concerts of all time came about a quarter century later.
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| Julie on Coronado Island, June 2010, with San Diego backdrop |
Once again, I had a beautiful…make that gorgeous…woman with me, this time my wife Julie, who had actually gone to that earlier Moody Blues concert too, before we met. Oddly enough, Julie had heard about the show at GDE Systems where she worked, and we attended the show with a couple of other executives and their wives.
I remember one of the VPs was also a leather-wearing member of a Harley Davidson club when he wasn’t wearing his corporate suits and ties. It’s funny how old hippies grew up and assimilated for success.
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| Crystal clear waters of Tulum |
The show was part of the San Diego Pops series, and I wish I could pinpoint the date, but they did similar shows in 1994 and 1996. I’d guess the one in September of 1994 was the one we attended, but I really don’t know. I confess here that my crystal clear memory for other concert dates is really a nod to internet searches and deductive reasoning.
In any case, they performed with the San Diego Symphony in an outdoor venue on San Diego harbor. With harbor lights, the fresh sea air, great company and the Moody Blues accompanied by a full orchestra, it was nothing short of amazing. Those extra decades of practice sure paid off.
As any serious concertgoer knows, the audience response feeds the performers, and this crowd of usually buttoned down business people brought out the best in the Moody Blues and the symphony.
While we listened to old albums as we drove to the show, thinking of all the old favorites we hoped to hear live, it was the newer material that we actually enjoyed the most. The highlight of the show for both Julie and me was “The Other Side of Life.” The bass seemed to be hardwired into our nervous systems. It was positively electrifying.
As a further note, the Moody Blues actually helped me win Julie’s heart, it turns out. When we were on one of our very first dates, I bought a cassette of The Voice that I happened to see on a shelf while on a short stop of our day trip. Julie told me years later that she was impressed that I would pick such good music for us to enjoy together on the rest of our date.
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| Wes and Julie aboard Radiance of the Seas |
I have no doubt the great entertainment so easily accessible every evening is a reason we love cruising. I haven’t seen a cruise show centered around Moody Blues music yet, probably because their songs don’t generally bring to mind dance numbers, but I’ll let you know when I find one.
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