The Moody Blues' John Lodge says reaction to 50th anniversary “Day of Future Passed” show “has been fantastic”

m_moodyblues630_whitebackground_030117

Credit: Mark OwensTonight in Minneapolis, The Moody Blues continue their North American tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of their symphonic-rock masterpiece, Days of Future Passed. The “Days of Future Passed — 50th Anniversary” trek, which kicked off in early June, features the veteran British band playing the entire 1967 album, as well as various favorite songs from throughout the group’s long career.

Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge tells ABC Radio that the audiences’ reception to the show so far “has been fantastic.”  He also notes that the band felt it was important to mark Days of Future Passed‘s golden anniversary in a special way.

“It is a major milestone,” he says. “If you go back to 1967, we were young musicians with a few songs in our books and a few melodies in our heart…and went into the studio for a week and recorded this album…And it obviously changed our lives forever.”

The concept record was among the first featuring a rock band accompanied by an orchestra, and included the enduring Moody Blues tunes “Nights in White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon.” For most of the 50th anniversary concerts, the band plays alongside taped orchestral parts recorded especially for the tour, while a few shows will feature a live orchestra.

The concerts also feature a multimedia presentation including a prerecorded video of actor Jeremy Irons reading the album-closing poem “Late Lament,” that originally was recited by founding keyboardist Mike Pinder.

Several songs from Days of Future Passed are being played live for the first time ever on this trek, including “Evening Time to Get Away,” “The Sunset” and “Dawn Is a Feeling.” “It was interesting to go back and rei-nvestigate how we did those,” Lodge tells ABC Radio. (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)

Here are all of the remaining North American dates on the trek:

6/27 — Minneapolis, MN, Orpheum Theatre
6/28 — Milwaukee, WI, Milwaukee Summerfest
6/30 — Highland Park, IL, Ravinia Park
7/1 — Kettering, OH, Fraze Pavilion for the Performing Arts
7/2 — Northfield, OH, Hard Rock Live
7/6 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Sony Centre for Performing Arts
7/7 — Toronto, ON, Canada, Sony Centre for Performing Arts
7/9 — Wallingford, CT, Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre
7/10 — Boston, MA, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
7/12 — Wantagh, NY, Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
7/13 — Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center
7/15 — Philadelphia, PA, Mann Center for the Performing Arts
7/16 — Saratoga Springs, NY, Saratoga Performing Arts Center
7/18 — Bethlehem, PA, Sands Bethlehem Events Center
7/19 — Baltimore, MD, Pier 6 Pavilion
7/20 — Vienna, VA, Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts
7/22 — Nashville, TN, Ryman Auditorium
7/23 — Atlanta, GA, Chastain Park Amphitheatre

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.