Moody Blues brings 50 years of hits to SPAC
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.» Show-goers had the chance to spend a midsummer night with The Moody Blues on Sunday at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Fans flocked to the Spa City venue on Sunday to see the longtime English rock group on the 50th anniversary tour of its second album Days of Future Passed.
Most event attendees were from the 50-andolder crowd, which made sense as the group was marking a 50-year milestone, but there were a few parent-child pairs in the audience, including my dad and I.
Though many years have gone by, three band members who created the album in 1967 (Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge) took the stage Sunday night, along with some other more recently added players, to perform it for the local crowd,
Hayward, the guitarist, and Lodge on bass shared the role of frontman with a unique near-symmetrical set-up of dual drums and dual keys on stage, as well as a flutist who was featured in several of the band’s popular tunes.
The Moody Blues kicked off the Sunday night show with 1973 hit single “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” then went into other fan favorites from throughout the group’s extensive discography.
The flute, a signature of The Moody Blues once played by the now-retired Ray Thomas, gave the old rock songs some fairytale flair, especially when paired with poetic lyrics like “Once upon a time/ Once when you were mine/ I remember skies/ Reflected in your eyes” from the 1980s acoustic tune “Your Wildest Dreams.”
“That’s a beautiful song right there,” I heard a man say afterward through the audience’s applause.
The band kept the groove going with late-80s hit “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere,” then turned their amps up a notch for 70s single “The Story in Your Eyes.”
After an intermission, the act came back on stage to celebrate and honor the 50th anniversary of Days of Future Passed, a seventrack concept album that takes listeners through the storyline of a day.
This record features two of the group’s biggest hits “Tuesday Afternoon” and “Nights in White Satin,” which were both highlights of Sunday night’s show.
During some of the songs, old black and white photographs of the band were projected on the amphitheater screens, complimenting the music that was certainly reminding fans of days passed.
Even a half-century later, The Moody Blues sounded spot on performing their songs from decades ago. Hayward’s voice in particular stayed surprisingly strong, as he proved belting out the long-noted chorus of “Nights in White Satin.” “He sounds just like he did 50 years ago,” my dad remarked after the show.
The Moody Blues closed their set with a fun encore of “Question” and “Ride My See-Saw,” leaving concert-goers satisfied with a broad range of material from The Moody Blues’ career.
During some of the songs, old black and white photographs of the band were projected on the amphitheater screens, complimenting the music that was certainly reminding fans of days passed.