Sunday, San Diego day 2

After a relatively early night last night, five of us headed around the block from the hotel to get breakfast at Denny’s

My friend Frank from Phoenix and his his friend Dora arrived late last night and came over to the room to say hi after breakfast. I hadn't seen Frank since the Milan show in 2011 but we had kept in touch via e mail and he’ll be seeing the Phoenix and LA shows later on in the week. His friend Dora hadn't seen the show at all and hadn't even heard of Pink Floyd! so we had to be careful when talking about the show so as not to have her hearing an spoilers!

Dora and Frank

Gail, Joe and myself decided to head out to one of the many beaches in San Diego and ended up sitting on Mission Beach for a couple of hours. When you’re travelling around seeing shows its like you’re constantly on the go, always have somewhere to be at a certain time whether it be to meet someone, to get a train or an plane or to see a show. It was nice yesterday to just sit for a few hours without having to “be somewhere” I’m really looking forward to the 3 full days off we have between the Phoenix show and the LA show.

Its well known that the weather in San Diego takes a few hours to come good in the mornings in May and June, it takes about 3 hours for the sun to burn through the clouds but when it does its hot and clear and the beach starts to busy up, especially at the weekends. We parked the car at Mission Beach around noon and relaxed in the sun for an hour, was great to spend some alone time with Gail and Joe and just chill out.

I’ve ridden the rollercoaster on the boardwalk here a few times before and i know Gails a bit of a one for a good thrill ride however until we left the beach we hadn't seen it going round the tracks. The second i pointed out to Gail it was now running we turned to each other and decided we had to do it together.

My view from the beach!                      Woodie coaster on the boardwalk        Gail and i ready to ride the coaster

  

After a slice of pizza from the store across the street we jumped back in the car and headed to the hotel. James, Matt, Eric and Lisette were out at Ocean Beach and were about to head back too in 20 minutes time. We all reconvened about an hour later around the pool and the drinks started flowing.

My view for the afternoon                      Body shots ? No, just toe snacks!

 

A few weeks before the show id looked around online for a place to have a pre show meet up and something to eat. I’d eaten at a great BBQ place called Phil’s across the street from where we were staying(which was also across the street from the venue for tonight's show) i e mailed the restaurant but heard back that they didn't take reservations and it was first come first served. What i hadn't realised until my friend Chris messaged me was that not only was it a Sunday night, not only was there a gig on but it was Mothers Day! the line at Phil's the night before was HUGE all the time so the chances of us getting a table with all the above factors was pretty slim. As we had turned into the parking lot of the hotel the day before James had seen the Phil’s BBQ sign and it turns out that James was(and still is) very good friends with Phil!

The hotel had a real nice pool area with patio tables, pool area, Jacuzzi and a great little pub attached to the building. We decided to order take out from Phil’s and James went across to see his friend over there who kindly did us a HUGE spread of food to take out for 10 people and charged us very VERY little for it! James and i picked the food up at 5pm, we took over the patio area around the pool and everyone tucked in to some great BBQ.

It was great that everyone made it to the meet up.

Jackie, James,Lisette, Dave, Eric, Matt, Thomas, Joe, Gail, Julie, Dora, Frank.

Thomas, Gail, Joe and i all met on a Roger Waters message board that started in 1999. By the mid 90’s the board had ended but most of us had stayed in touch via e mail and always met up at shows around the world. Gail, Joe and i first met in 2002 in Dublin and this year was our ten year anniversary of meeting up.Id met Thomas a fewyears later but Gail and Joe even though knowing of Thomas through the message board had only just met today!

Myself, Thomas, Gail and Joe,

It was a great atmosphere around the pool, great food, great people and a great show due in a couple of hours. I couldn't help thinking that there were some great people missing though, after hanging out with Wendy and Chris and Robert and Phil and Greg in San Francisco i was missing those guys and really wishing they were here. Wont be long before i see Wendy and Chris again though in Chicago:) Most of all i was missing my other half Kami. We’ve talked on the phone and messaged but i really wish she had been able to make it and meet all of my friends at the shows I’m seeing. She is however going to be in Chicago and I’m soooo looking forward to that leg of the tour with her

We all sat and chatted till around 6:45 before heading over to the venue.

Julie and myself                                  Frank, dora and i                               Thomas and I

San Diego show….

Fantastic show last night, more details soon. Smallest venue of the tour so far!

Saturday, on our way to San Diego….

So after the show last night a few of us found a bar  down the street from the venue, i stayed for a coke and then headed back to the hotel, got back around midnight. James, Matt, Wendy, Eric and a few others carried on drinking and i vaguely remember Matt and James coming into the room around 3am!

James and i had a 12:45 flight today to San Diego today, Matt was due to leave at 2pm. I’d booked the Super Shuttle for 10:30 in the morning to take us to SFO. I was so thankful i had one drink and then headed back last night, I’d got a decent nights sleep and was up and ready for the day at 8am. The first words out of James mouth as he woke was “ what the hell happened last night” the second lot of words were “I’m never gonna drink again”

Today was the day everyone was leaving and going their own ways, Wendy and Chris were staying another night in San Fran, Jackie and Dave were starting their two day drive down to San Diego, George and Sabina were flying out to Vegas Eric was flying down to LA then driving to San Diego and Phil and the others were staying in San Fran for a few more days,

James and i got to the airport around 11 and bumped right into Georg and Sabina. We sat and chatted an hour before going our separate ways and getting on our flights. 1 hour later we were in San Diego and my friends Gail and Joe from Phoenix picked us up at the airport. They were staying at the same hotel as us, as was Eric and his wife and as was a few other friends.

We got to the hotel, dropped off our bags and then headed out for some food towards Ocean Beach. The traffic was pretty bad and after 30 minutes in the car to do a couple of mile drive we finally found a parking space around the Mission Beach area and headed to a restaurant i knew called World Famous.We had lunch while overlooking the ocean and then headed back to the hotel to meet up with Matt.

After chilling out in the hotel for a while we headed up to Old Town San Diego and had some great Mexican food with a couple of Margaritas and then headed back to the hotel to sleep.

James never drinking again,well till 5 hours later.

San Francisco show, 11th May

So for the last few days when I've been asking friends where their seats are for the show most have been referring to the position of where they are sat in relation to the “home plate” Until last night I'd never stepped foot in a baseball park, let alone knew anything about it! its not a game that's played in the UK and we certainly don't have any venues shaped the same. Thanks to Robert explaining to me last night a bit more about baseball i now know what people mean by the home plate!

 

I wasn't sure what to expect when i walked in, after been at the stadium shows down in Buenos Aires i was a little unsure just how big it would be and how it would be set up. To be honest when i walked in for the first time i was a little underwhelmed, especially by the size, however i think this was more due to having been in the massive stadium down in BA.

My initial view as i walked in the venue

    

The wall was long, not as long as down in South America but compared to the US Arena shows it was about twice the length. It did look odd seeing blue sky and open air behind the wall and even though it was 7pm the sun was still high in the sky and shining brightly over the whole of the wall! i did wonder how the light would be at the scheduled start time of 8:15!

I wondered around the venue looking at the stage and wall from all different position, i did notice that the lighting towers were far nearer the stage than they were in South America due to the depth of the venue and this caused so much obstruction from many areas of the venue! I counted at least 4 full sections of seats that were totally empty due to the venue not putting them on sale due to obstructed view!

Another thing i noticed while wondering around on the floor section was how cold it was and how breezy it was! so much so that a section of the wall on the top right had been caught by the wind and dislodged. I remember talking to a couple of the crew in South America and them saying this was one thing they were worried about as it was something they've not had to experience before!

Wind swept bricks before the show!

Wendy, Jackie and the rest of the gang were outside the venue still waiting for their will call tickets, Eric and Matt were inside wondering round and i bumped into Kipp and Marky and said hi,  i also saw James Guthrie wondering around looking at the wall from different areas of the venue.

I knew from the off that the way the rows and seats were numbered would cause problems later in the night when the place started to get full and sure enough it did. They had white lawn chairs set up on the floor, there were no row numbers on the floor, the only thing which showed you the row and seat was a small white stick on the back of each seat that had the section, row and seat number in the smallest font I’ve ever seen! none of the ushers had torches and when it can to show time it was a total mess!

Phil, Laila, Greg, Linda, Matt, Eric, Chris and i all hung out on the floor for a good half hour chatting and people watching before the show. I have never in my life seen an many strange and weird sites at a show! I’m not sure if it was just all the people that were left over from the 60’s hippie times in San Francisco but some of the sights were very odd indeed. I’ve never in my life smelt as much stuff being smoked at a show either!

Get this guy up against the wall!                            Matt and Eric pre show.

 

As it got nearer to show time the sun set and it got a little darker in the venue but not much, the ticket s said ShowTime would be 8:15 prompt however they didn't start 20 minute pre show music till 8:15, hence the show started around 8:35 I was 12th row on the aisle, a few seats on from Jackie and Dave and Wendy and Chris. Honestly, even 13th row is a touch too close when the wall is this big!

One thing i didn't do at the show was take any pictures, i had my camera in my pocket and was determined just to take in the “1st” show without taking any pictures. The band came on to a rapturous applause but unfortunately the crowd sat for 90% of the show. By the time the band came on the weather had got even colder, there were people in gloves and scarves in the audience and i know Dave K had those little hand warmers in his pocket to keep his fingers warm! Roger was donning a black “Trust Us” hoodie and several times put his hood up and looked over at the crowd gesturing as to how cold it was.

I did notice a lot of new images on the wall, especially during In The Flesh and Run Like Hell, all images that wont be able to be seen on the Arena walls due to the size. Even as far on as Young Lust there were people wandering around all over the place trying to find their row and seats! the security and ushers didn't seem to have a care in the world about it.

The sound was incredible just as it was in South America, the surround was clearly better than the Arena shows and they had approx 8 speaker stacks all around the rear of the venue. I’d forgotten just how much some of  the US audience go to gigs not to see the show but to drink themselves silly and smoke weed. I've never seen as many people at a show that looked as tripped out as they did.

As the pig came out for Run Like Hell it was blown all over the place and the guys did a great job holding onto the tethers and walking it around the venue, they would drop it right down over the audience enabling them to hold onto it and touch it but then released the lines and let it fly back up 40 feet in the air. They did this all around the venue, dropping it down and raising it up, it was the best pig display I've seen at any show so far. They walked it to the back of the venue where they kept it up high till the wall came tumbling down which is when they lowered it down onto the crowd at the back and encouraged them to rip it to bits! it took a while before the crowd realised they were actually allowed to touch it and even tear it but once they did then the thing got shredded.

Roger had spent a lot of the night cover all of the stage, running up and down like a mad man, he was loving it! either that r he was trying to keep warm! The graphics when Roger hits the wall during Comfy Numb have changed a little. Well, the graphics haven't changed but the way the wall breaks up and the way the rocks break up and fall down have changed and to be honest, I’m not sure i like it! the rocks just fall downwards, kind of hard to explain but i hope someone noticed just how much different it is and changes it back to how it was!

The performance itself was great but not the best, couple of mistakes here and there, couple of timing issues and even a bum note here and there but I’m pretty sure a lot of this must have been due to the cold weather, honestly, even i found it hard just to concentrate and enjoy the show it was that cold!

New merchandise                               Venue specific shirt with orange logo   New ladies T shirts

 

Pics below of the show taken by James:

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Thursday day two continued…..

So after meeting up with Jackie & Dave, Eric and Matt we had a quick drink in an Irish bar that was on the restaurant.Jackie had brought a small plastic pig with her that out friend Vivienne had graffitied to look like the huge one on the Dark Side tour, it looked fantastic and just like the original but was 3 inches long!

Jackie, Matt, Dave and piggy               Viv’s fantastic graffiti pig!

I headed out to be at the restaurant for 8pm to meet a few people as they arrived. I had a few friends attending whom id not seen in a few years and a couple that id been e mailing but never met at all.

The dinner was at a restaurant called Calzone in the North Beach area of San Fran,  predominantly an Italian area and full of bars and restaurants.It had great reviews online and id called them a few weeks prior to book a table for 6 people,over the past weeks more and more people had expressed an interest in coming and the reservation was now for 20 people.

Phil, Laila, John and his wife from LA, John from San Fran, Wendy, Chris, Jackie & Dave, Eric, Matt, James, Georg and Sabina from Austria, Patrick from Hawaii, Kyle from Dallas, Brian from San Fran, Eddie, there was a great group of people and the restaurant had allocated us the whole of the top floor so we had our own room/space in a fantastic atmosphere.

Jackie, Chris, Wendy and Dave            Georg, Patrick, Jon, John, Matt            Eric and Matt

 

Myself and Brian                                 Wendy, Eddie and  ?? :)                     Eddie, Jackie, Chris, Dave and Wendy

 

Dave K had messaged me earlier to say he was gonna come along to the meet up to meet a few people, we had such a good night the night before, he just cant get enough of us all now:) He messaged me around 9:30 to say he’d be there in 20 mins and arrived around 10pm. It was great to be able to “introduce” him to people, not that he needs any introducing at all but you know what i mean. He is such a great guy, just a normal person, so down to earth and happy to talk to anyone and have pictures or sign anything, I cant thank you enough for showing up Dave, you know i appreciate it but just wanted to thank you “publicly”

John, Patrick, Dave K and Phil              John, Dave K, and Phil                       Dave C, Dave K and Wendy

 

People started to drift off over the next hour or so and it was going on midnight before we all left the restaurant.I just wanted to thank everyone for making the dinner such a great time, it was great to see old and meet new friends, these meet ups really are what the travelling and seeing the shows are all about for me.

The ones left at the end, James, Eddie, Dave K, Jackie,myself and Chris

Full album with all the pictures:

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Thursday, day two in San Francisco….

After checking in our hotel last night i headed out for a quiet dinner with Dave K and a few friends, Id spoke to Dave a couple of weeks ago about getting together while we were here and Jackie, Wendy, their husbands Chris and Dave and my friends James, Matt and Eric all met up at a nice Italian restaurant in the North Beach area around 7pm. It wasn't a late night but the company was great and we all had a good laugh.

Dave and Wendy on the phone to Kami

I was feeling 100 times better than i had been when i woke up in the hotel in the morning, my flu symptoms were well on their way out and id finally got used to the jetlag and had a great nights sleep.

James and Matt were heading out to Alcatraz this morning, Wendy was going to see some work friends and Jackie and Dave were out shopping in Union Square. I called my friend Greg from Philadelphia and arranged to meet him at his hotel, he was waiting for Phil and Laila to arrive so i said id walk over and hang out with them. They were staying at the very far end of Lombard Street, a well known street for having part of it being the crookedist street in the world!

It was a good two mile walk and i arrived around 10am, i hadn't seen Greg and Linda since the shows in 2010 so we caught up and chatted a little and 20 minutes later Phil, Laila and Phil's friend Dave arrived in a taxi after just landing in San Francisco from Las Vegas where they had been vacationing the last few days.

More arrivals

   

The six of us headed out to walk down the curly part of Lombard Street but first of all we had to get there, it was a good 30 minute walk and like most streets in San Francisco they are mostly uphill, and when i say hill i mean HILL!

Walking uphill on Lombard Street             

As we got to the top we could see a few people gathered and taking pictures of the street going down the other side of the hill which as i said before is the crookedest street in the world and one way single file traffic going down.

At the top heading down                     From the bottom looking up.                Most photo’d street in the world ?

 

Matt had booked a table for lunch for us all at a pub on Fishermans Wharfe which was a further 20 minute walk away, James called to say him and Matt had just got off the ferry from Alcatraz and we all met at the pub around 1pm. Wendy and Chris made it over too and we had a great lunch with everyone.

View from the bar!!                              Matt, Phil, Dave, Chris and Wendy      Matt and James

 

We had all talked earlier about maybe walking across the Golden Gate bridge and this was still the plan till we saw the bike rental place and thought it would be great to cycle over! Matt, James and i got a single bike each while Wendy and Chris decided on a tandem. James was able to get us all $10 discount due to working for United Airlines, this brought the daily rate to $26 each which was fantastic. After getting sized up for bikes, the guys giving us a quick briefing over how to operate them, where the bells and whistles were and showing us a map as to where to go the five of us headed off down the street ringing out bells and singing bike related song!

As you know, things in the US are big, i mean BIG and bridges don't get much bigger than the Golden Gate one! so when i say we cycled for what seemed (and turned out to be) miles and that damn bridge never looked to be getting any closer you then realise just how big it is!

Matt was riding like a crazed man, zipping in and out double back to pass us and he was having a ball, James was peddling away steadily and as much as Wendy and Chris were doing well they were also having a few problems with the chain on their bike.

As much as i don't really look it i am indeed normally a pretty fit guy, however, after not running for a week, being laid up in bed for the best part of four days and not eating much while I’d been ill i was feeling a little worse for ware after a few miles of peddling! The idea was to cycle across the bridge to Sausalito and you can then get a ferry back to the Wharf and drop off the  bikes. What we didn't realise was if you do do it this way, its mostly uphill getting to the bridge! apparently the best way to do it is get the ferry out to Sausalito and then cycle back! Anyway, as i was peddling more and more i could feel the flu that i still had “sweating out” of me! by the time we got to the centre of the bridge i was totally beat and told the other i was gonna turn round and head on back. As we stood there in the middle of the bridge i was having hot and cold sweats and felt a touch dizzy.There was no way i was gonna mess myself up for the sake of a bike ride so i left the other four and  free wheeled most of the way back to the bike shop.

Picture of me that Matt took half way along, i really was struggling!

Panorama of the bridge and the bay area.

View back over the city                        Alcatraz in the distance                      Matt, James, Wendy and Chris

 

On returning back the girl was telling me from the bike shop to the middle of the bridge was exactly 6.5 miles, so that was a 13 mile round trip that I’d just done, not much but mostly uphill and with flu it seemed like 113 miles!

Id arranged a dinner in North Beach for tonight and there were about 20 friends due to attend, some whom i hadn't seen for nearly 10 years, i was looking forward to it and i headed back to my hotel to rest, shower and change and get ready to head back out in a few hours time. I got a text from Wendy to say they had biked to the end of the bridge and were turning around to come back, it was too much for even fit people to go all the way to Sausalito! We all joked along the ride how sore are butts were gonna be tomorrow! little did we know just how sore and how quickly they would become sore! The name of the bike rental place was aptly called blazing saddles! and i was slowly starting to feel the blaze in mine now!

As i headed out of the hotel, James and Matt were just arriving back, they were walking down the street like they still had the bikes between their legs! Matt said he was going back to the room to moisturize his butt and would catch up with us at the restaurant.

Post to be continued…….