SHARING THE SHOWS
So it’s been thirteen days since my last concert (to which a number of my Facebook friends expressed serious concern). Every year (well, for the past two years anyway), I’ve gone down to Tampa, Florida to be a Reader for the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition exam (one of the perks of my profession). Concerts are nowhere near as exciting as reading an essay, scoring it, and repeating it (stolen from a T-shirt they produced that reads “Read, Score, Repeat”), but I went to that show anyway simply because I don’t go to enough. And yes, I’m being facetious, so don’t get literal (a lot of “literal” intellectual types at this reading).
My friend Colin, who I knew from El Paso but moved here for a lucrative job opportunity, picked me up from a hotel, and after a nice palm tree-lined drive to Clearwater, we found what looked like a sushi place across the street from the venue. Upon pulling in closer, we realized it was a Pilates place, and as Colin stated, “you can’t eat pilates.” But we saw a hookah bar that read “Food” in it, so that sounded promising. We split a plate of pita chips with hummus, and entreed it with a chicken shwarma. Upon dealing with some traffic, we made our way in. I had to buy a CD, which came with a free DVD, because, well, my impulsivity. Both Colin and Evelyn, the nice law student in the other seat next to me, commented “I don’t think I even own a CD Player anymore.” My car, a 2007 Camry, has one, and I like to collect them, so call me a Luddite, I don’t care! As for the band, they killed it. The only other Pink Floyd tribute I’ve seen is The Machine. They’re awesome, but Brit Floyd played a greater variety of tunes, beyond the standard Wall, Dark Side, and Wish You Were Here. They played songs I had never heard before (I really need to step up my game in the area of Floyd), as well as songs I had never heard from The Machine (“Arnold Layne” and “One of These Days” for example). They’re a lot more theatrical, with a crazy light show and images behind the badn, which explains why they’re playing at a venue like Ruth Eckerd Hall and not at, ohh, say, the Norva. There was also a trance-inducing light show on the ceiling, and as I stared, I reflected back to my hazy college years (the less said about those, the better). I kept hearing a British accent in my head that said, “watch the lasers!” Additionally, I gaped at the disco ball that rotated during “Comfortably Numb.” All of this happened without any mind- or mood-altering chemicals. Yep. The political commentary throughout the show was pretty neat too. The crowd yelled an emphatic no when the singer asked, “Mother, should I run for President?” Donald Trump and George H.W. Bush managed to appear when they sang about the lunatic on the grass. My impatience started growing a bit during the encore when they kept teasing a song I couldn’t quite make out, and I kept thinking, play the damn song! I have to get up early tomorrow! But once “Run Like Hell” started, I grooved like hell; totally worth the wait. It was even better than “Pigs,” the first-set closer from Animals, my favorite album (a choice my friend Maggie questions, refer to May 18, 2018). This morning, scoring those essays was a little rough (but I’m still accurate; just letting any fellow AP people know that as they read). However, my thinking is, I may regret it in the morning, but if I don’t go, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life (same reason I chose to attend the Iron Maiden show before the first day of the reading last year). While in Tampa, I may have to follow Floyd’s advice to “Have a Cigar” after dinner.
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May 2024
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