Westbury, Long Island, New York. A venue that either meets and exceeds expectations, or fails spectacularly, often in the same night. Three nights in early Spring, 2014, 50 years and a few days to the day of the very first M&B 5 concert. Justin Hayward and John Lodge were still in other bands at the time, only Graeme Edge has been here since the start, but it is a milestone, worthy of the thundering ovations this comment from Graeme has elicited, each night.
The venue is conveniently located off the parkway, but one must endure traffic and congestion to get there, a the last 45 miles taking over 1.5 hours to complete. There is also only one entrance/ exit from the parking lot, which separates the brave from the shaking and weeping on exit.I am one of the brave ones, I think they are warned by the Massachusetts registration, it often works like a shield, keeping people away, and I can do a mean Massachusetts left out of the lot.
Back to the venue. Concerts in the round are great when the Band is facing you, the worst seat is only 50-60 feet from the stage, the best seats are at eye level, and in reach, if your arms are several feet long, and you wish ejection and shunning with the attempt. Not every performer can remain focused with the shifting scene, and kudos given to those that do engage with the ever changing scene. The stage is also quite small, limiting the performers area, and all are closer to each other than usual, sound board out in the open, in the pit, as is the guitar racks. One get to see the view from behind the drummers, and see how hard they really work. If you go to a concert to stare at one particular performer for 2 hours, this venue is a big let down: if you are going to hear music, and have fun, it's great.
I enjoyed pre-concert chats with all the lovely people I have met along the way, and on the way to the ladies room, I see a mural on the wall, with very familiar people on the stage, and in the audience. Given the location of my self, I can tell that this is a mural based on a concert I attended in April of 2012, since all the other shows I have attended, I had been in one of the front rows.
Really cool, isn't it?
Back to the concert, to my seat, in one of the front rows, and I will be front row center several times during the night, at eye level with the performers, not looking up at kneecaps and nose hairs, but full on. You can see wood grain on the guitars, dents on the drum heads, and all the little buttons on the keyboards. A lot of equipment along with all that talent to produce a concert, thanks to everyone involved, musicians, roadies, venue staff, and the most important part, in my opinion, the audience.
The Band must walk down a steep ramp to the stage, like at the bottom of a bowl, and there is also a domed ceiling, so it is like being in a flying saucer, which would explain some of the odd folks that showed up. The rotating begins seconds after the first notes are played, and so begins the night of ongoing anticipations. "What song will be playing when they are in front of me?" "what song will I miss?" ( One hears everything, but sometimes sees a lot more of backsides than desired)It is a bit disarming at first, being unable to focus on any one thing, as it is either coming towards you, or going away, taking about two songs per rotation, then they rotate back they other way, so that everyone gets most of every other song, face to face, and partial side view. I recall sometimes at these concerts I saw much too much of backsides, but I have gotten lucky this go round, pun intended, with more face than not.
Some band members engage the audience more than others, personality? Ability to focus while spinning? Whatever the reason, it is a unique way to see a performance, and should be seen at least once, to see if you like it. I wouldn't want every concert to be in the round, though, I must confess, these nights are blurring into one big memory. The sound is amazing, considering the shape of the room, the speakers suspended over the audience, and I never heard any reverb, or vibration. Even got to hear extra twiddly bits, as the odd musician spun past, lovely flute bits, gritty saxophone, and tapping drums. Interestingly, digital cymbals, there is a 'thwap' sound as they are hit, and then the cymbal sound is heard from the speakers, unlike the immediate rolling clash from the acoustic ones.
Stand out songs? the rockers. People are getting into the songs, groovin' and movin' in the aisles, in their seats, in the air. With the band not always facing you, who can complain if your up dancing blocking the view of a backside? Someone, most likely, somewhere, but we did have fun. Even the Band was getting into it, some doing moves that may have required icing down, or medicating later. At least taking some of the starch out of their strut, but what performances, more than I expected, much better than back in March. People standing during "Tuesday Afternoon" May 8th, similar to what was going on during the UK Tour of 2013, eliciting the same chuckle from the composer. During 'RMSS', also May 8, the original drummer got up, turned around and was waving his drumsticks in unison with the bass player and audience, leaving that bit of drumming to the young fellow.
The ballads, while lovely and well done, are better suited in the lovely old theaters, with their majestic interiors matching the soaring arrangements, at least in my opinion. But a bad show is better than no show, and these were not bad shows. There were the odd miscues, squeaked vocals and drum taps, but no one noticed, or if they did, didn't care, I like the small changes every night, makes it interesting, not that it isn't ever boring. As I finish this, I am, as well as many others, preparing for night number three.
