SHARING THE SHOWS
So after a three and a half month “vacation,” I went back to work. The week before classes start is a week of meetings. Show up at this time, sit, listen to the same people say the same things they’ve said year after year, yada yada…Today was productive, though. My fellow faculty and I met the freshman English and Foreign Language majors, and they’re an engaged bunch. They asked good questions about opportunities offered by the department, and we offered them solid advice about how they can have the best possible college experience. I also MAY be teaching a course on blogging in the spring semester, which was inspired by my experience with this blog. Thank you, concerts! Anywho, after a short post-work power nap, Maggie picked me up at 5, and we rocked to her Pink Floyd mix through the traffic-laden roads that comprise Newport News and Hampton during the rush hour. We ended up at Doumar’s, where I enjoyed a greasy cheeseburger and fries; I would have tried a hot fudge sundae if not for my carb-counting. We discussed our favorite Floyd songs. Hers are “Mother” and “Pigs (Three Different Ones)”. Mine are “Sheep” and “Learning to Fly.” Maggie relayed a pic of her flipping off the White House, as well as her wish to make a meme with that picture overlaid with the text “Hey You, White House, Ha Ha, Charade You Are.” As we drove to Chrysler Hall, I flipped off the Chik-Fil-a on St. Paul’s for their support of anti-LGBTQIA organizations. Maggie also taught me that the Animals albumwas based on George Orwell’s classic, Animal Farm. I’ll have to reread the book and examine the lyrics. Getting in was easy; our seats were located up top in an isolated area similar to where Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets would sit as they offered scathing critiques of the rest of the cast (I, ummm, definitely did not laugh for 10 minutes in a row at the previous link…ummmmmm, yeahhhhhhh). The show was scheduled for 7:30, and the band was right on time (I love when that happens). They opened with The Wall’s“In the Flesh” and “The Thin Ice” before launching into “Another Brick in the Wall,” which was accompanied by an inflatable finger-wagging schoolmarm. I thought they were doing a Wall tribute when “Welcome to the Machine,” off Wish You Were Here, graced the arena. Before the transition to that album’s eponymous song, we were treated to some Australian pop culture imagery (Crocodile Dundee’s “This is a knife” lineo and snippets of Men at Work’s “Down Under” and AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”). Then it was onto Dark Side of the Moon tunes, consisting of “Great Gig in the Sky,” “Money,” and a set-closing “Eclipse,” replete with images of conservative pundits laid out under “The Lunatic is in my Head.” During setbreak, we met up with Shannon and Snady on the smoking patio, where we got song pics. Set 2 opened with my third favorite Floyd song, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” followed by my #1, “Learning to Fly,” during which Maggie showed the influence I’ve had on her by yelling “Drums and Space!” “The Final Cut” was next, collowed by Maggie’s fav, “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” during which we were treated to political commentary, such as “Pig Brother is Watching You,” “Only the Pig Party Will Make Sheep Great Again,” and “Don’t Vote Pig.” Well, I can’t say I’m easily influenced by words on a screen, but whatever you say, Mr. and Ms. Australian Pink Floyd Show. “Time,” a song I dig, was next, but I wondered why “1988” came onto the screen when the song came out in 1973. “One of These Days”, off Meddle, had an amazing light display, and “Run Like Hell” gave the crowd permission to dance, of which Maggie and I took full advantage. We met Shannon and Sandy outside the venue and walked and talked with them for a bit before we spent about 20 minutes trying to locate Maggie’s car before I remembered to pindrop the location (‘preciate ya, Fred). The ride was misty and traffic-laden (dang HRBT construction), but also filled with good conversation. The introvert in me was happy to get home early (11:30) and to go bed at midnight. It’ll be a month before my next show and subsequent posting here; school’s back in session, so my days will be getting busier, thanks to the habit of writing this blog, I have a book contract, so my energies will be going toward teaching and writing. I’m also working to save up some cash to start promoting my book once it’s ready to roll, and I’m hoping to build capital to build a coaching/consulting business based on the ideas in my book. Stay tuned.
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April 2024
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