SHARING THE SHOWS
AnTo say I needed some live music in my life is a gross understatement. My dossier for tenure at my university was due today, November 1, so I was spending evenings in the office copying, printing, and messing with Excel spreadsheets. I don’t normally dress up for Halloween, but upon hearing about the Pink Floyd-themed costume contest at this evening’s show, I decided to wear a button-down shirt, tie, pullover cardigan sweater, and my Ivy League hat to get into the role of the teacher mentioned in “Another Brick in the Wall – Part Two” (“Wrong! Do it again!”). Maggie mentioned that I look like AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young in his schoolboy uniform. I’ll take that as a high compliment.
We drove down a virtually traffic-free I-64 to MacArthur Center. We had about an hour and a half to kill before Halloween with the Machine (I credit Maggie for that use of assonance) so we got coffee and cookies at the Barnes & Noble Café before going into the venue. Some costumes include a court jester, a jailbird, and a young lady dressed in the Dark Side of the Moon’s triangle (I can only imagine the countless hours it took for her to measure her body to fit the triangle). As the band took the stage, I decided to be the one jackass that yelled, “Play some Skynyrd!” to nobody’s entertainment but my own. Side note: if you yelled that a Skynyrd show or a tribute act, you’d get your request obliged because the band would be playing Skynyrd. Eh? The band did the entire Wall album, which I loved when I was first introduced to Floyd, but has become my least favorite over the years of hearing “Another Brick in the Wall – Part Two,” “Hey You,” and “Comfortably Numb” played countless times on classic rock stations, not to mention being exposed to more musically diverse selections, such as Animals, Meddle, and Piper at the Gates of Dawn. I do love the danceworthy “Young Lust” and “Run Like Hell,” along with Freudian ballad “Mother,” though. That being said, I got into it, and when those first notes of “In the Flesh” hit, I was in heaven. Maggie commented at the nearly empty venue, to which I claimed to be surprised. Maggie said, “People got kids and stuff.” I responded, “Their loss,” to both of our entertainments. Another entertaining moment was when the singer announced a special guest from the Fox, Hampton Roads's classic rock station, would be playing guitar. I yelled, "Special Guest!" to mine and Maggie's entertainment. Shannon showed up a few songs in, and after “Goodbye Cruel World,” the band took a break, and we headed out to the smoking patio. Hanging out against the wall had me feeling like I was in an episode of Freaks and Geeks, THE show about high school. During this time, Shannon informed us that the members of Pink Floyd met when studying to be architects, a tidbit of which I was not aware. I looked it up when writing and found it was true! Some other cool costumes included a cat, a couple of witches, and a dude in a gas station uniform. After the second set, I yelled, “Now play Animals!” and encouraged Maggie to aid me in that mission. the band scanned the crowd to call people up for the Costume Contest. I tried to make it up toward the front, but alas, my costume was not outlandish enough nor was I in the band’s range of vision. Politics, habnabit! The young lady in the Dark Side triangle won, and she deserved it. They then launched into an encore (which I mistakenly thought was a third set). I was pleased to hear “Lucifer Sam” from Piper, which had me dancing. “Breathe” and “Time” came next, and “Wish You Were Here” closed the show. Upon our entry to the parking lot, I took off my tie and cardigan very slowly as if I were a stripper while Maggie danced. Shannon was parked across from me, and as he drove out, he yelled, “You’re a couple of dancing fools.” “I’m stripping,” I responded. The rainy drive home set to The Division Bell and reminiscing about the show capped the night off nicely, as did my hitting of the pillow. Fortunately, I was able to sleep in until 7 this morning to be in my office by 9 (“I get up around 7, get out of bed around 9”). In all my years of going to shows, this was the first time I had ever made one on Halloween. Good times indeed.
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