JOHN LODGE
One always had that feeling that John Lodge was the rocker in The Moody Blues. He added a bit of bite to the band’s output, while Justin Hayward provided the supply of sweet ballads. Lodge’s entrance tonight, as his band strike up a sort of Moodies overture, pays testament to that. Looking trim and healthy and sporting as fine a bouffant hairdo as a man of 75 possibly can, he and his band, that includes long-term collaborator Alan Hewitt on keyboards and Moody Blues’ drummer Billy Ashbaugh, break into 1978’s rockingly good Steppin’ In A Slide Zone from Octave.
The Moody Blues cast a big shadow over the evening’s songs, although the likes of
Nervous, Lean On Me (Tonight) and Candle Of Life aren’t ones troubling the Moodies’ own
live repertoire these days, which tends to stick to a ‘Greatest Hits’ format. It’s all too much for one punter who can’t help but take to the aisles throwing shapes possibly last seen at a free Stonehenge festival. Vocally, Lodge may not quite be up there with Justin Hayward anymore, but it doesn’t stop the audience revelling in an enjoyably robust Gemini Dream from 1981’s Long Distance Voyager.
Playing three songs from the symphonic delight of Days Of Future Passed allows Lodge to reminisce fondly of former Moodies colleagues Mike Pinder and the late Ray Thomas, with touching words preceding a cover of Legend
Of A Mind, which brings the first set to a close (apparently the venue insists on an interval at all performances).
We get three songs from the spirited 10,000 Light Years Ago – In My Mind, Get Me Out Of Here and the title track – as well as Saved
By The Music from the sole Blue Jays album from
1975, but nothing from 1977’s Natural Avenue. But there’s little room for complaint – with a musical catalogue as envious as Lodge’s, choosing any kind of setlist must be a nightmare.
Isn’t Life Strange and I’m Just A Singer
(In A Rock And Roll Band), both from 1972’s Seventh Sojourn, end the second set on a celebratory note. But there’s more to come, when Yes singer Jon Davison appears with the band for a rousing encore of Ride My SeeSaw, which gets the entire audience up and clapping along. It’s a suitably fitting end for Lodge: it’s great to see him taking his solo band out on the road so much, and in venues offering a more intimate feeling than the stadia frequented by The Moody Blues. A really enjoyable night all round.
“PLAYING THREE SONGS FROM THE SYMPHONIC DELIGHT OF DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED ALLOWS LODGE TO REMINISCE FONDLY OF FORMER MOODIES COLLEAGUES MIKE PINDER AND THE LATE RAY THOMAS.”