Philly 2nd day & 1st show…….

So Phil and Leila flew into NY a couple of days ago, Greg picked them up at Newark and drive them down to his place in Philly. I hadn't seen Phil for about 12 months and the same for Liala too. Kami and i drove out to a great little diner in Bensalem called Nifty Fiftys. Its a fantastic place that does great fresh cooked food along with hundreds of different sodas and “milk” shakes, i use the term milk but really they're more like ice cream shakes, I ordered a strawberry and Banana split one and ordered it extra thick, i was able to turn the whole stainless steel cup upside down without a thing falling out!! you really have to eat it with a spoon!

Was great to see Phil and Laila again and Greg's wife Linda and daughter Brittany. Unfortunately Greg was working but we;d see him later on at the show.

We got back to the hotel around 3pm and just chilled out till ShowTime. We headed down to the venue in a cab around 6pm and by the time we got there the weather had changed for the worse and the rain was coming down pretty hard. An online friend of mina Marc had been in the parking lot from noon tailgating and had invited me over to meet up with him for the first time. It wasn't just raining but was freezing cold and we didn't stay long to be honest as Kami was freezing and whilst the blanket Marc gave her helped warm her up i was pretty cold too and ready to head inside the venue and get warm

Marc and I                                                                     Kami and her blanket

 

I remember from the Dark Side tour that the shows in Philly always attract a great crowd and tonight was no different. out seats were 14th row on the aisle in the front section of the floor, Phil and laila were behind us in row 16, Greg was a touch further back off to the side but still on the floor and our friends Jim and Chrissy were front row right, right in front of Jon and Harry.

Kami, Chrissy, Jim and I

 

My friend Ellie had asked me to make sure i find one of her and Dave K’s fried Paisley, we met up with Dave K and he pointed out Paisley to me after chatting to her for a while. After Dave had left i headed over to say hi and had a chat for 2 or 3 minutes before the start of the show. Was great to meet you Paisley and sorry we didn't get more time to chat.

Myself and Paisley

As Kami and i were sat waiting for the show we could see Jim on the front row and he was right where Roger takes off his armband after Waiting For The Worms. Kami suggested we let Jim know so we went down to see him and explained where to be and at what time and to be on his guard to try grab the armband when Roger throws it into the crowd.

As soon as the show started i could tell the crowd were gonna be great! they were all standing the second Roger hit the stage and remained stood after In The Flesh and throughout the whole first half.

Roger was really talkative to the crowd tonight, especially before Mother, asking if the Electric Factory venue was still open and  letting people know he had heard about The Spectrum closing down. He commented on how he always knew that Philly was always a music town and how the crowd always gave them a great welcome.

Few shots from tonight's random images off the screen:

   

Roger has changed the images during Comfy Nub, well not changed them but has added some images to what used to be the pain white screen, i think they look fantastic and the images change as the show goes along. Its like bricks that all move around and blend into ach other as the show goes along! He’s also changed a few images in Mother and Another Brick which I'll mention in the review for the second show  in a day or so.

   

I would say the show was probably in the top three of the tour so far for definite. After the show we headed down to congratulate Jim on getting the armband, him and Chrissy really enjoyed the show and were so excited to have seen it from the front row and to have caught the armband!

I heard a shout of “ Simon, we love the blog” as Kami and i walked past the front section, i turned to see the following three people waving and tell me to keep up the blog! If you three add a comment on this post ill make sure i add your names to the picture below:)

OK so following up on the above paragraph I've just had an e mail from Coleen (on the right) to say it was her and her mom and dad Elly and Rich! She also said the following which I've copied and pasted below the picture which really touched me:

 

“Hi, Simon. That's myself and my parents who shouted at you - sorry for the startle! My name is Coleen and my parents are Rich and Elly. Thanks for putting us here on your fantastic blog.

The first Philly show was special for us because we gave the tickets to my dad for his 60th birthday. I had taken him to see Pink Floyd at The Vet in '94 shortly after he had a heart attack, and it was super emotional to be at this concert so many years later when he wasn't supposed to have made it back then. We also surprised him during intermission. We had sent in to Roger's Fallen Loved Ones a picture of his best friend who died in Vietnam. Because my mom and I had gone to the Pittsburgh show, we knew when and where the image appeared. When we pointed it out to my dad he was shocked and we all cried and laughed together. What a great moment with him knowing that his friend lives on every night of the tour. And also a nice way to give back to him what he gave me when I was just a baby - the gift of Pink Floyd.”

Phil, Jim, Greg and everyone else all met in the foyer of the venue after the show, it was just like the meet up we had had for the Dark Side tour!! was great to see everyone together hanging out again. Unfortunately Greg had work in the morning, Phil was shattered from their flights, Jim and Chrissy had to drive an hour home so we all kinda dispersed and went our own way. Scott was ever so kind to give Kami and i a ride back to our hotel and an early night was had by all.

Group shot after Philly 1st show                                  Someone's limo outside with the hammers sign on the door!

  

 

More pics from Philly day 1

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