John Lodge, Legendary Moody Blues Bass Player Played Local Show
by Alex Lloyd Gross
March 16,2022
Live music is back. Events are back and the country is just about where it was pre COVID shut down. What better way to experience the resurgence of live music than with a classic rock show? 40 Years ago people slept outside the Spectrum for a chance to get a ticket to see John Lodge’s band, The Moody Blues. Last night, March 15, 2022 many of those same people sauntered into the Sellersville Theater for a trip back in time with John Lodge.
The show was every bit as good as you would have hoped it to be. He of course played “Nights In White Satin”, with a tribute to late drummer Graeme Edge. You may know the bit of poetry that goes with this song, it’s called “Late Lament”. It starts out “Breathe Deep,the gallowing gloom”. The band played a recording of just his voice with a touching tribute to him before the song.
This was not just John Lodge on stage with a guitar. This was a full band, with a cello player.. The band is called the 10,000 Light Year Band. The show kicked off just after 8:00PM and lasted about 90 minutes. There were two sets. The first closed with “Legend of a Mind”, which was also on his B Yond solo album. It was a tribute to his friend Ray Thomas who recently passed away. Lodge has to balance playing the hits that casual fans want to hear, and deep tracks that fans of the Moody Blues will easily appreciate seeing them played live.
That was accomplished by trotting out most of the singles the band is known for, the songs that got played on radio and still get played today. Then he went deep into the archives for “One More Time To Live” and “Isn’t Life Strange”. The evening was just John Lodge. There was no opening act. However, there was a special guest. Jon Davison, of Yes. Lodge played with him on a tour of the United States in 2019. The two became friends and Davison has been on tour with him as a guest singer. He did a rousing rendition of “Ride My Seesaw”, as the encore.
Last nights show was sold out, .which is the way his tour is going, playing to packed houses across the country. While Lodge and his 10,000 Light Years Band are not playing to hockey arenas, the theaters and venues they so play in are more intimate, John is committed to touring and recording, showing no signs of slowing down. He is very much involved in charity when he is not recording or touring.