Friday was a special day. Roger Waters was performing The Wall at
AT&T Park. The Wall was released over 30 years ago and is
considered a rock and roll masterpiece. I have listened to many of the
songs hundreds of times yet never understood the meaning of the album. I
searched the web and found a site that breaks down each song.
If you enjoy Pink Floyd, you should check it out. The album is about
Roger's life: the loss of his father in WW2, teachers bullying him, rock
and roll super stardom, a cheating spouse and much more. All these
aspects lead him to build a wall around himself and then he finally
breaks the wall down.
I had invited my best bud Frank to join me for the show. Since the show
was at the ball park, I decided the only way to do this was to sail to
the show and use the boat as our celebration platform. I had planned a
leisurely sail to the park with a departure around 1pm but fate would
have none of it. I was at an appointment when my wife called to say
their was a rattle snake in the house. She discovered it when Kona
started barking at it in the kitchen. Animal control was called and
they came and took it away. The problem was, had Kona been bit? A call
to the vet told us that he would need to be under supervision for the
next 12 hours. My wife had an appointment that could not be missed so I
was pressed into action to watch him while she went to the
appointment. That delayed me by 3 hours, but you do what you gotta do!
Kona was fine and I made it to the boat by 4pm. I had planned to meet
Frank about 5:45 so off I went. The wind was blowing 25 as I exited the
channel. Our little 13 horse Yanmar barely got me out to the end of
the channel and then a bit of jib went out and I was off to the races. I
had to tack a few times to line myself up to get under the Bay Bridge.
Once under, the wind and waves calmed down and I had a nice sail to the
park. I tied off the boat to look up and see Frank walking down the
pier. Perfect timing. We motor over to McCovey Cove and set the hook.
I had hoped to get a slip at South Beach but this is a popular thing to
do and there were no slips available. I broke out some nice French
Champagne and we chatted as the boat swung in the wind. The stadium is
off to starboard. After a nice hour or so, I pull out the double kayak
and off we go to the show. We arrive, find our seats and admire the
WALL! It is gigantic! We are facing the out field and the wall
stretches from outfield foul pole to outfield foul poll. This is also
the length of the stage. Amazing. It's 2/3's built with the middle of
it not yet finished. The show begins and the sold out stadium erupts
with thunderous applause and fireworks from the stage. The wild part is
that the wall is the largest video screen ever made. It comes alive
with images, movies, the band, everything. I really cannot do justice
in describing this part because it is so awesome. As the concert goes
along, so does the building of the wall. During the second half the
wall explodes into many pieces and is gone. This is done thru video
images and the wall is still there and the amazing images continue.
This was the best concert of my life. And I am a true concert fan
having attended over 500 shows over the years. State of the art
masterpiece!!! If this show comes to your town, don't miss it.
Frank heads home and I head to the boat. By this time, there are a
dozen boats in the cove. They are hanging out getting the echoes of the
music from afar. I get back on board, put some music on and settle in
for a night on the hook. In the morning, I am up early and the wind is
still in the 20's. Don't you love these wind patterns of the bay area?
I head out with jib again and in a short while we are sailing towards
the fog shrouded Angel Island. My boat partners are heading out today
for a sail, so I don't have all day to get back. We are on a nice beam
reach and I pullout the Coleman for some tea and blue berry pancakes in
the cockpit. I am mostly in the lee of Angel so the wind is light and
the food is great. Just as I hit the wind line to head back, I take
everything below and sail home. Back in the sun, I have a perfect reach
to the harbor. What an amazing experience. Even though sailing there
is alot of work and time, it is always worth it. Wish you were here! ;
~}
This is from the Sandy Relief Show, no Wall this time.
Lastly, the band name Pink Floyd, Where did it come from? Well, they had a bunch of names prior to PF. Mega Death, Tea Set, and more. They were over at Syd's flat trying to come up with a name. Frustrated, Syd says, "I am going to grab two albums from my collection and we are going to come up with a name". The first was an obscure blues guy named Floyd Council. The second was Pink Anderson, a blues guy from the 30's. Now they could have called themselves the Council Anderson Band but history would not let them. Pretty cool trivia, me thinks.
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