One of the attractions to music for me was the knowledge that I was able to see in concert an artist who actually created a musical style or genre. Imagine 200+ years ago being able to say you saw Beethoven, Bach or Mozart?
Well, in my lifetime, I’ve been able to see artists that created traditional jazz (Earl Hines), swing (Benny Goodman/Count Basie), bebop (Dizzy Gillespie), modern blues (Muddy Waters), early rock (Little Richard) and modern jazz (Miles Davis/Herbie Hancock) as well as “classic” rock stars like Ringo Starr, etc.
The audience that almost-filled the BAPAC in Thousand Oaks came to see Moody Blues member John Lodge perform in celebration of the 1967 album Days of Future Passed partially because they collectively wanted to hear one more time the sounds and style of an era that is coming to an end. The adventurous ideas and sounds of the 1960s and 70s in popular and “rock” music created a musical environment that is staggering to the imagination in a present day of tightly knit genres and tastes.
Looking in excellent shape and voice, Lodge led his team of Alan Hewitt/key, Billy Ashbaugh/dr, Duffy King/g an d Jason Charboneau/cel to revisit a musical era when there were no musical boundaries, and creativity was king.
I mean, when else could a band put out there first album 
teamed up with a symphony orchestra, bookended with a gong and poetry? Well, that’s what The Moodies successfully accomplished with Days, an album that became a hit TWICE, once when it first debuted in ’67, and then 8 years later due to the rediscovery of the still dreamy “Nights in White Satin”.
The evening began with Lodge and company first delivering songs from the Moody Blues catalogue like colors from a musical kaleidoscope, ranging from the psychedelic and Indian droned “Legend of a Mind” to the graceful and reflective chamber music of “Isn’t Life Strange” to the driving message of putting life into perspective on “I’m Just A Singer( In A Rock and Roll Band)”.
In retrospect, its astonishing to hear such a mix of rich vocal harmonies, something never even attempted in this day of angst groaning, let alone shifts in tempo, direction and textures. Yes, there were grooves, but they swerved like an Autobahn, with different views on each curve.
The second half of the concert consisted of the entire Days album, with drummer Graeme Edge’s philosophic poem taped in at the proper time. With visuals in the background juxtaposed to the theme of each song, the album’s “Day In The Life” went through the buoyant and joyful “Another Morning”, leading on to the hectic commute of “Peak Hour”, dreamy “Tuesday Afternoon” (with Lodge’s tasty bass line), exotic “The Sunset” reflective “Twilight Time”, and closing of the day on “Nights In White Satin”.
In retrospect of 50 plus years since the album came out, I don’t think I appreciated the arrangements of the orchestration as much as today. The interludes and segues included hints and inspirations of Gershwin and Vaughan Williams that added an extra color to the musical mosaic that was lost on the ears of a teenager back in the Nixon Years. The sophistication has aged well over the decades.
Yes vocalist Jon Davison joined in to add an extra high voice to pieces such as “Tuesday” and “Nights”, and joined in for the relentless encore, “Ride My See-Saw”.
After the event, I couldn’t help wonder if the listening world appreciates what the artists of The Moody Blues have done in mixing blues, rock, classical, folk and jazz in a way that seems will never be equaled. As when I saw Goodman, Basie, McShann, etc, I felt I had witnessed an artist who not only created a musical style, but perfected it and ultimately embodied it. It’s an honor to sit at the feet of a living musical landmark.
Upcoming shows at BAPAC Thousand Oaks include Carl Verheyen 09/21, Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats 10/14, Angelique Francis 10/21 and Leslie Jones 12/03