Moody Blues fans are streaming in to the historic Ocean City Music Pier on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ this Monday, July 14, 2024 for a live performance of the classic 1967 Moody Blues album, Days of Future Passed, by the band’s founding member John Lodge.
Inside the Music Pier auditorium, the crowd cheers as cellist Jason Charboneau, guitarist Duffy King, drummer Billy Ashbaugh, and keyboardist Alan Hewitt take the stage and Hewitt announces, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome from The Moody Blues, John Lodge!”
Music lovers stand as Lodge, 80, enters smiling and takes his place center stage where he and the band launch into a set of Moody Blues classics beginning with “Steppin’ in a Slide Zone.”
His voice clear and resonant, Lodge sings, “Standing in a slide zone/I could be steppin’ through a time zone,” as the audience claps along on this swinging rocker before responding with avid cheers and applause.
After thanking the crowd, Lodge reveals, “I got a present I didn’t want on Christmas Eve. I had a stroke. It’s been a long, hard mountain to climb but I did it and I’m here!”
The crowd applauds, and Lodge and the band sail into “Talking Out of Turn,” an electronica-like rock ballad where Duffy King shakes his strings on an electric guitar solo and Lodge sings in his falsetto voice while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.
Lodge tells a story about meeting Ray Thomas at age fifteen prior to performing a song he wrote about ’60s counterculture hero, Timothy Leary. On the folk-rocking “Legend of a Mind,” Lodge sings, “Timothy Leary’s dead/No no-no no, he’s outside looking in,” as Jason Charboneau bows his cello with long strokes and Duffy King and Billy Ashbough provide precision rhythm section accompaniment.
Lodge welcomes Jon Davison — the current front man of the band, Yes — to the stage to sing lead on “The Voice,” an easy rocker which features Lodge playing electric bass, a Duffy King electric guitar solo, and a driving drumbeat from Billy Ashbough.
Davison leaves the stage and Lodge takes over the lead vocal on the funky rocker, “Gemini Dream,” where concertgoers bop their heads in time to the music before responding with resounding cheers and applause.
“Thank you very much!” replies Lodge, “I hope you’re having a great time here in Ocean City!” After revealing that composer Lionel Bart, best known for writing the songs for the Broadway musical, Oliver, once gave him a piano as a gift, Lodge acknowledges that he wrote his next song on it.
Segueing into the ballad, “Isn’t Life Strange,” Alan Hewitt plays the orchestral keyboard intro before Lodge sings “Isn’t life strange/A turn of the page/Can read like before/Can we ask for more?” The arrangement builds in intensity to a triumphant conclusion which elicits a standing ovation from the crowd.
Lodge and Co. conclude Act I with the 1973 Moody Blues’ hit, “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” where audience members happily sing along on the song’s “Music is the traveler crossing our world/Meeting so many people bridging the seas/I’m just a singer in a rock and roll band” lyric before Lodge rocks out on bass.
Following a short intermission, Lodge and Co. return to perform the classic 1967 Moody Blues album, Days of Future Passed, in its entirety. Opening with a recording of “The Day Begins,” screens on the each side of the stage show the late Moody Blues drummer, Graeme Edge, reciting the poem, “Morning Glory.”
As the orchestral “Dawn (Prelude)” swells, Lodge and the band return to the stage and Lodge sings the ballad, “Dawn is a Feeling.” Crooning, “You’re here today/No future fears/This day will last/A thousand years/If you want it to,” Lodge’s legato vocal contrasts nicely with King’s tremolo electric guitar accompaniment.
Lodge conducts the band as it plays live to the pre-recorded instrumental, “The Morning (Prelude),” prior to segueing into the bouncy folk-rocker, “Another Morning,” where Lodge croons, “Balloons flying, children sighing, what a day to go kite flying,” to the audience’s great delight.
The crowd cheers as the instrumental “Lunch Break (Prelude)” morphs into the rocking “Peak Hour” where Lodge sings, “I see it all through my window it seems/Never failing like millions of bees,”and Charboneau bows his cello while King and Lodge play electric guitar and bass side-by-side.
Davison returns for The Moody Blues’ 1968 hit, “Tuesday Afternoon,” where music lovers sing, “Tuesday afternoon/I’m just beginning to see/Now I’m on my way,” along with Davison on this minor key folk rocker.
Following the ballad, “(Evening) Time to Get Away,” the mood changes as Lodge and Co. sail into the rhythmic modal piece, “The Sunset,” where Lodge croons, “When the sun goes down/And the clouds all frown/Night has begun for the sunset,” to hoots, hollers, and large applause.
Lodge and King sing “Twilight” in harmony before King wails on an electric guitar solo, Charboneau plays pizzicato cello, and Hewitt’s keyboard swirls as it renders cascading shimmering tones.
Graeme Edge reappears on screen for the poem, “Late Lament,” where he recites, “Cold-hearted orb that rules the night/Removes the colors from our sight/Red is grey and yellow-white/But we decide which is right/And which is an illusion.”
Music lovers cheer when they recognize the intro to The Moody Blues’ 1973 chart-topper, “Nights in White Satin.” Accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, Jon Davison sings, “Nights in white satin/Never reaching the end/Letters I’ve written/Never meaning to send.” Ashbough’s drums crash, Hewitt’s keyboards swirl, and vocal harmonies ring out as the arrangement builds and inspires another standing ovation from the crowd.
Lodge gives “two thumbs up” as the musicians bow center stage before returning to their places to perform an encore of “Ride My See-Saw.” Davison sings, “Ride, ride my see-saw/Take this place/On this trip/Just for me,” on this ’60s-style rocker before the crowd rises yet again for a final standing ovation.
“Thank you, Ocean City!” exclaims Lodge as he flashes a peace sign prior to holding his bass up over his head in triumph and exiting the stage.
As concertgoers exit the Music Pier auditorium, several comment on tonight’s performance by John Lodge. Reveals Harry from Ocean City, “I’ve been a Moody Blues fan for a long time, and their music is good stuff! It’s hard to believe that John Lodge is 80 years old. His music brought back so many great memories for me!” Harry’s sister, Coco, agrees, declaring, “I can’t even get over how great John Lodge sounded, and his musicians are unbelievable, too — each one separately is great, but when you put them together, they’re fantastic!”
Gerald from South Carolina asserts, “I thought it was a fabulous show! I’ve never seen The Moody Blues live — this is the closest I’m gonna get — and I thought it was great! John Lodge did a fantastic job and his band is great, too.” Don from Columbus, NJ, concurs, revealing, “I love Moody Blues albums in general and Days of Future Passed is one of the best. The Moody Blues really broke the mold in the ’60s when they combined rock with classical music and, at age 80, John Lodge is still playing and sounding great. I really enjoyed this excellent show!”
Lew from Cherry Hill recalls, “I’ve been looking forward to tonight’s concert for awhile — it’s ‘boomer music’ for a ‘boomer audience!’” John Lodge is still doing his thing and his band is terrific! For as small as the group is, the musicians did a great job covering all the orchestral parts so, for me, it was just like listening to the actual Days of Future Passed album and brought back a lot of memories.”
Lois from Haddon Heights insists, “I thought the show was excellent! I was waiting to hear my favorites, with Days of Future Passed being my favorite album and ‘Nights in White Satin’ my favorite song. The band played great, and God bless John Lodge for still being able to come out and sing and play his music!”
Lastly, Claire from Marmora acknowledges, “We come to a lot of concerts here at Ocean City Music Pier and this one was fantastic — John Lodge did an amazing job!” and her friend, Connie from Margate, agrees, insisting, “It was absolutely fantastic! After everything John Lodge went through, he can still perform the way he did and he was incredible!”
To learn more about John Lodge, please go to www.johnlodge.com. For information on upcoming performances at Ocean City Music Pier — including 10cc on July 29, The Beach Boys on August 5 and 6, Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone on August 12, The Machine Performs Pink Floyd on August 19, and Graham Nash on August 26 — please go to ocnj.us/SummerConcertSeries.
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