Huge ovation for the ‘voice of the Moody Blues’
Justin Hayward with Mike Dawes at The Anvil, Basingstoke on Thursday, March 21
Review by BRIAN HARRINGTON
THE evening opened with a solo set of acoustic guitar from Mike Dawes, who would reappear as part of Justin’s band, a role he has fulfilled for 11 years.
Mike is a prodigious guitar talent and likes, as he put it, to play every part of the instrument, using the neck and body to create percussion sounds as well as tapping, strumming and picking the strings.
He opened with Shuffle In D Minor and a cover of Jump by Van Halen in a fascinating and varied set.
Justin Hayward appeared with a three-piece band comprising Mike Dawes on guitars, Julie Ragins on keyboards and Karmen Gould on flutes.
An effectively and imaginatively lit stage and backdrop featuring a dramatic seascape being used throughout to great effect.
Opening with a beautiful rendition of Tuesday Afternoon from the Days Of Future Passed album and Driftwood from the Octave album he instantly captivated the near-capacity audience, showing the assurance that comes with 60 years of touring and playing live.
When I interviewed Justin for N2 recently, he had said that many in the audience might not know much of his setlist, but while that was doubtless true for some, there was a good number in tonight who seemed to know and be keen to sing along with tracks like Blue World and Living
For Love, a solo track he released in 2022.
Of course, huge hits like Questions, Forever Autumn and Nights In White Satin were all included, before an extended and absolutely deserved encore which included Blue Guitar and I Know You’re Out There Somewhere, followed by a huge standing ovation.
A masterful performance by a master of his craft. Justin Hayward is a truly great singer songwriter.
Try to catch a show before his tour heads off to the US.
Afternoon
Future Passed
Driftwood Octave
Opening with a beautiful rendition of Tuesday from the Days Of
album and from the album... he instantly captivated the nearcapacity audience