Of course, I had a fabulous weekend! The Moody Bluegrass show at the Ryman Auditorium was nothing short of spectacular! When I bought tickets several months ago, I had no idea that I was in for such a treat. No seat is bad at the Ryman. Mom and I had tickets in the balcony section, dead center, in the front. I couldn't have asked for a better perspective. I've attended Moody Blues concerts for most of my life, but nothing compared to this. The show opened with bluegrass artist Clair Lynch. I'd never heard any of her work, but immediately I was impressed. I'm going to pick up a couple of her CDs soon. Her voice was absolutely beautiful, as well as her performace. She sang about 6 songs, before turning the show over to all of the fabulous musicians that participated on the Moody Bluegrass project. A man, I forget his name, introduced the artists and each song. He also told the songwriting story of every Moody Blues song and what band member wrote it. Every song on the CD was performed live, which was quite an impressive list. As the first half of the show began, I noticed some people just finding their seats to my left. With quite a start, I realized that it was Graeme Edge, the Moodies drummer, and his wife. They had come up to watch the first half of the show from our perspective! It was really a lot of fun to watch him, while the Moodies songs were performed. It was so interesting to see his reaction, and his appreciation. It was such a kick to know that he was just a row from me. The first half concluded, and Graeme and his entourage made their way backstage. I walked around and stretched my legs a bit. The seats in the Ryman are old church pews, and the legs and hips can get stiff after a while.
The second half got underway, with no less perfection. I thought one of the best performances of the night was by Jan Harvey. She did a version of It's Up to You, written by my favorite Justin Hayward. The next performance that stood out in my memory was Nights In White Satin, by Justin again, sung by John Cowan. It just blew the roof off of the place! Both of these songs received long, standing ovations. After many more songs, the moment that I'd been waiting for arrived. The Moody Blues finally took the stage, along with the bluegrass musicians. John Lodge came on first. He sang Send Me No Wine, which is from their On The Threshold of A Dream album. I never thought I'd EVER get to hear it live!! It was wonderful. Justin Hayward, my personal fav, was up next. He sangIt's Cold Outside of Your Heart from their album The Present.. Again, something I NEVER thought I'd hear live. Last and certainly not least, Graeme Edge took the stage. He performed his poem Higher and Higher from To Our Children's Children's Children. He's such a fun guy. He just banged on that tambourine and did his little dancy jig. He danced all the way across the stage and disappeared for just a moment. When he came back out, he had cloggers with him. The audience really whooped it up for that. All too soon, it was time for the finale. All of the performers, along with the Moody Blues came out on stage for a closing jam. They had more than 3 encores! Then it was over. Just a memory, but what a wonderful memory it is!
I did leave with a souvenir. It's a cute little Moody Bluegrass purse.
To hear samples of the Moodies songs, click the album titles above. To hear samples of Moody Bluegrass, click HERE. To hear 3 full cuts from the Moody Bluegrass album, click HERE.
Everyone have a great day!
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