Review by Ralph Greco, Jr.
John Lodge and Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues are spending part of 2018 performing solo concerts in the midst of the band’s tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of Days Of Future Past.
For John Lodge’s show in New York City, the four-piece 10,000 Light Years Band took the stage to a prerecorded “Light Years Overture” before the man himself took the stage front and center. A pumping “Steppin’ In A Slide Zone,” Lodge’s song from the Moody Blues 1978 album Octave started us off for the 90-minute show.
Clearly, Lodge was having the time of his life fronting his band of keys, drums, guitar, and cello, playing to a smaller crowd, roaming from one side of the stage to the other. He ran through songs from Days Of Future Past — “(Evening) Time to Get Away,” “Peak Hour,” and “The Sunset” — but it was a grouping of songs not often heard, which really thrilled the crowd.
The selection of songs, solo and Moody Blues, was vast and enterprising. There was “Legend Of a Mind,” which Lodge dedicated to the song’s writer Ray Thomas, who passed on January 4, 2018. Hearing “Candle of Life” from 1991’s Keys Of The Kingdom and “Saved by the Music,” from John Lodge and Justin Hayward’s 1975 Blue Jays album were other highlights.
“Isn’t Life Strange” took on a totally different relevance now that many of us have now made it through our strange lives a little further. Newer songs like “Get Me Out of Here” and “10,000 Light Years Ago” from Lodge’s 2015 release 10,000 Light Years Ago seem to go over well. The regular set ended with “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band).”
Lodge returned for an encore of “Ride My See-Saw,” and everyone in the City Winery were on their feet. This is certainly a show worth catching. Lodge is in good voice and his band is ridiculously tight. And really — when do you get the chance to see a member of the Moody Blues solo? It’s a rare and special treat indeed.
