It is common in everyone's life to set goals, aspirations, which, regardless of the chances of realizing them, accompany us for better or worse throughout our journey. However, some of these desires are utopias, and as such, they don't see any glimmer of realization.
Attending a live Pink Floyd concert, for me, born in 1984, right after Waters' departure, is one of these utopias, and unfortunately, I believe that it will remain so. Sure, knowing that in one month, the four split up into tours in Italy (Roger and Nick in Lucca and David and Richard in Florence and Venice) makes one wonder why on earth they didn't want to unite, but at least there was the possibility that 50% of that utopia could come true, and I tried to seize it.
Given my low financial availability, I was forced to choose just one of the "pairs," and unwillingly found myself facing one of the most intricate enigmas in the history of rock music: Gilmour or Waters? The musician or the composer? The classic or the innovative? And rivers of ink could be spilled on this dispute without reaching a definitive conclusion. So, currying favor with the subjectivity of choices, I opted for good old David, which, although between travel and ticket cost me almost three times as much, was necessary. I set off alone from southern Italy, and after a wonderful train adventure, I arrived in that square bathed by the lagoon, a better backdrop I think doesn't exist...
Venice, Piazza San Marco, August 12, 2006, 9:00 PM... It's been raining for 5 minutes on the motionless heads of those who, a week before, perhaps thought that the dream would vanish, precisely because of the rain; it's impossible, therefore, not to have a slight fear here as well. It rains, and among those trying to put on a raincoat and those like me who ignored the water, you hear the shouts of those, perhaps seated a bit further back, whose view is obstructed: "Close the umbrellas!!!" But from seat No. 32 of row A9, the view was excellent, and forgive me. It was the moment I had been waiting for all my life, it was my moment, still in history but twenty meters from the legend. And here the lights go out, and you hear the heartbeat, not mine, which was very fast, but a more composed one, well-paced, strong, and penetrating: damn, it was the beginning of The Dark Side Of The Moon!!!
And then He appears, a beam of light surrounding him, the guitar companion, and a historic phrase: "Breathe, breathe in the air, don't be afraid to care..." Well, from here my person went into tilt-tilt-tilt. Like the games you played as a child that surface little by little with passing years, so it happened to me from here to the end of the concert. Maybe in 5 or 10 years, who knows, I'll remember that solo, that detail, those moments, because you didn't just attend the concert, you were inside it heart and soul, and the music and lights wrapped around you almost dragging you into that unknown dimension, into that Gilmour system that so characterized the sound of Pink Floyd. Then I remember the chimes of Time, the performance of the last work "On an island," the excellent support musicians, the intermission, and then...
And then and then and then the most significant pieces of Pink Floyd, the tributes to Syd, the wonderful lights and a particular phrase, said by Gilmour in Italian: "And now we want to do Shine on you crazy diamond".. My goodness, said like that all at once, I could have a heart attack! Fortunately, I only shed tears of emotion, and from then on, I was even more dazed. I only recovered during the final solo of Comfortably Numb, where we all stood up and went under the stage to admire the myth in awe, and I even managed to take photos from 2 meters away!!! Then the lights gradually went out, and he disappeared into the smoke, while my self returned to my body... A week has passed, and I'm still incredulous...
Every now and then, I try to get my thoughts in order. Thank you, David Gilmour, thank you for your music and for the emotions that you transmit to me every day, thank you for realizing my greatest dream, thank you from the heart.
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