Moody Blues wrap up Pinewood concerts on beautiful evening

August 26, 2014

Journalstar.com

Justin Hayward stood at center stage, dressed entirely in white, holding his guitar, and then he began strumming the familiar chords. In seconds, the crowd of 3,700 began to cheer, then sway and sing along.

The song, of course, was “Nights in White Satin,” the peak of The Moody Blues’ two-set, 100-minute show on a beautiful Monday night at Pinewood Bowl.

Hayward, who was in strong voice, delivered it well, as did the band, composed of original Moodies John Lodge on bass and Graeme Edge on drums, along with a pair of keyboards, a backing singer/flautist and an extra drummer.

It was preceded by “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” which, along with “Higher and Higher,” featured Edge coming out from behind the drums to perform. These were the rockingest songs of the night.

The second set opened with “Your Wildest Dream,” which built from flute and acoustic guitar to swelling keyboard and drums, and dropped again — the “classical” element of the Moodies. Then, a couple songs later, came “Tuesday Afternoon,” one of the band’s defining songs that carry a late ’60s vibe.

The Moodies embraced that vibe with a few onstage comments about ’60s music festivals, hippies, etc., but more so with images projected on the video board behind them of old show posters, vintage performances, album covers, etc.

The first set, as Hayward had indicated in an interview, was primarily made up of the Moodies’ more recent material, like “Say It With Love,” a 1991 song that was given a gorgeous reading. It was followed by “Peak Hour,” a lesser-known psychedelic gem from the band’s 1967 breakthrough album “Days of Future Passed.”

Monday night’s show, in all likelihood, was the year’s final Pinewood Bowl concert. It was another good show in a solid summer’s worth of events in the amphitheater that has become one of the top outdoor concert venues around.