An INSTANT before they appeared, e-mail came in, it was Richard, in London, telling me they were hitting the stage. Can an antiquated major label system, still selling music on discs, trying to RESTRICT the passage of information, COMPETE in a world where people can communicate, exchange ideas, INSTANTLY? The goal is to ENABLE this exchange, not to inhibit it. Only the content industries could try to prevent the future.
And probably some inane licensing agreement caused us to be unable to see the complete Pink Floyd performance on MTV. Still...
This was the first performance ALL DAY that made me wish I was THERE! I wanted to get on a jet, a human transporter, that would have me in the audience INSTANTLY! And I wouldn't need to be in front, just to be THERE! You can watch music on television, but you just can't FEEL IT, you just can't get the VIBE! Which is why, despite the gouging, the concert business will never die, it's the only place where you can get that HIT!
It was the fact that Roger Waters was old. Had gray hair. Lines in his face. He wasn't a victim exposed on awfulplasticsurgery.com, rather he'd admitted defeat in the game of life. You can fuck with your appearance, but you can never win the game, you're gonna DIE! SOMETIME! So, rather than fight it, you've got to try and enjoy the ride. And Roger was enjoying today's ride. He was singing along, even though it was Dave's part, even though he was far from the mic, because that's what people possessed by the music do. And Roger was possessed not only today, but his whole life.
And Dave, looking slimmer than he has in eons, was wearing his jeans too. His hair close-cropped. Everything was in service to the music.
Hearing "Money" reminded me of driving endlessly in the seventies, hearing this song emanate from the car stereo.
But when Dave started playing the intro to "Wish You Were Here", I sighed, out loud, at a high volume.
Somehow MTV stopped being in SERVICE to the music, and became an outlet unto itself. But me, I'm still enthralled by the tunes, that sound, that's what I live for, that's what makes me feel alive.
And when Roger talked about getting back together... It had none of the faux tone of the backstage Grammy winners, thanking the record company President, the hairstylist, God. It was just pure emotion.
And when they went into "Comfortably Numb", I was. My surroundings faded. It was just me and the music.
And that's the experience.
This was not Led Zeppelin at Live Aid.
This was not the U2 iPod.
This was not show.
This was not business.
This was music.
This was life.
In a world where Deep Throat is revealed and you say NEXT, I'd still line up for a ticket to see Pink Floyd on tour ANYWHERE! Just to revel in my head as the music swirled around me.
And wasn't that the Battersea power plant in the background, the one from the cover of "Animals"?
(Meanwhile, if only Paul McCartney hadn't had plastic surgery, didn't think every occasion required cheekiness, wasn't still playing his role from "Hard Day's Night". Oh, the Beatles music eclipses everything else played today, but even though he helped write it, it's now OURS! Stop mugging, stop having it be about YOU, don't you have ENOUGH fame and money? This show should have ended with Pink Floyd. The fact that it didn't isn't exactly a tragedy, but it shows that some things never change, stars and their handlers act like bullies, promoters cave, it's a street fight behind the facade. Or high school. Can't it truly be about the music ONCE?)
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