'So tired, of all this travelling.' So goes a line in PG's song 'Sky Blue.' Couldn't be more appropriate. After driving about 5 hours round trip to the first show in NJ, we do it all over again the next night for the Philadelphia show. Once again, we arrive quite early. Take some pics, tour the outside of the stadium, spy the tour buses and trucks.
This seems like the most appropriate time to review that which carries the cargo to and from these venues: my car. 1996 olds achieva (or as some call it the under-achieva). It's a beaut, with only 113,000 or so miles. A few dings and bumps and scratches throughout. Perhaps the most infamous aspect of this highway cruiser is the ubiquitous 'low coolant' light that constantly adorns the dashboard. A couple months back this light made its first appearance followed shortly by a large puddle underneath the front of my car. Clearly a leak. Since that time I've been filling my radiator with a 50/50 mixture of coolant and water and storing bottles of same throughout the car. What first began with weekly refills soon lessened to daily refills. What's more, when the coolant is low it impacts the car's internal heating system. Meaning that the 30 degree outside temp is the same as the car's cabin temp - crank the dial all the way to the red but the interior won't heat up til you add more juice. Aside from this inconvenience, my car performed like a true champ.
I saw PG twice in Philly almost ten years ago and once about 13 years ago. It was this first show, with my sister, that really solidified my appreciation for the man and his music. During that show he performed a tune called 'Lay Your Hands On Me' and, at its culmination, fell back into the crowd. Oh sure big deal; every rocker does this. That may be true in the 1990s but PG first started this little trend in about 1982 on the 'Security' tour.
So Philly is a special place for me. It's where much of this all began. And I've also thought the Philly fans truly appreciated his music. Tonight was no exception. The show was noticeably better than the first, though the setlist was the same. The band was tighter, smoother and altogether sharper. The crowd, perhaps elevated by their history with PG, was very enthusiastic. Seats for this show were first level off the floor, providing me with a different perspective than the prior evening. From this vantage point, I was able to see the overall lighting effects. I was also able to gain a deeper appreciation for where PG was trying to go with the show. Something a little more cosmic, a little more undefined. Each song, though presented individually, adds to a broader story that PG is trying to relay. Much of this has to do with birth and death and, well, growing up - hence the tour's name. Some of the story deals with the mystical such as the role of the moon in our physical and emotional world. How there is 'more than this,' beyond that which we can see and touch and hear. Philly allowed me to go deeper than NJ. Much like his records, it was on the second go around that I began to hear that which was previously only a whisper. It was also during this night that I began to realize that this was its own show. As such, it deserved to be regarded individually. Tempted though I may be to compare, I resisted and viewed the show on its own merits. And you know, this was a very good show. Entertaining, meaningful, thoughtful, energetic. I truly enjoyed myself.
As an aside...
Doesn't it always seem that when your bladder is screaming the loudest you are unable to find an appropriate receptacle? Or perhaps that receptacle is unusually grotesque? Such was the case upon the show's conclusion. My faithful traveler and I left the arena. I, in my childish hopes, ventured out to the tour bus area, hoping to catch a glimpse of The Man. Soon enough, both our bladders cried out for release. No problem, I thought. When we entered the venue there was an entire row of Port-o-Johns. Well, shoving all logic to the floor, each of these was locked. Except one. And can't you just picture what hundreds - perhaps even thousands - of fans would do to one Port-o-John? Well, when you have to go....
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