I arrived early and got a great parking spot in front of the theater, right next to my friend Jean-Claude’s PF inspired truck. My friend Laurie arrived from Campbell and we headed for a drink at Luka’s. Guy was there with the bloggers, but much like the blog, I observed from a distance, but was hesitant to jump in.

I read the blog daily in anticipation of the big event, and posted a few times, but wasn’t really familiar with the blog concept and it wasn’t until later that I really got the community thing (glad I know now what I was too shy to know then).

The main event was truly unbelievable. We were up in the balcony, but the sound and views were excellent. I’d seen PF at the Oakland Coliseum twice before, but this concert was a religious experience and I was worshipping with the rest!

I pray for that experience again.

And then, of course, Echoes … what can I say that hasn’t been said more eloquently already? It was beyond this world, on another plane. The entire band was totally in the moment, in the groove, and took everyone in the audience along for the ride! The encore of Wish You Were Here brought tears to my eyes and Comfortably Numb left me stunned.

I can’t tell you how happy I was knowing that I was going to get to do this again on April 19 and share it with my son!

After the show I caught a ride with two of the young guys who dropped me at my hotel where I fell into a blissful sleep while reliving the evening:)

Next morning, after posting a quick report to the Blog from the hotel’s computer, I was off to the airport and on to Los Angeles to meet up with my son who was flying down from Seattle.

To be continued…

Anticipation was building and before I knew it the doors were opened! I got to the entrance, had my ticket scanned, was asked to open my bag and promptly had my cashews confiscated:) So much for that post-gig snack …

I found my seat on the main floor, left-side aisle, near the back, and then met the three young men who had bought my extra tickets (face value, of course).

After a bit of shared anticipation the house lights dimmed followed by Breathe/Time/Breathe (reprise) … it was like I’d suddenly been transported to another universe! After this surprise beginning we were then welcomed On(to) An Island with all those lovely, enticing sounds followed by Castellorizon … heavenly!

Sitting near the back of the theatre wasn’t bad at all — I had a great view of the stage and the sound was fantastic. When the band played Take A Breath I felt that drumbeat and bass go straight through me!

After playing the whole of On An Island and a short intermission came “some of the old favorites” David had promised, starting with SOYCD and including two songs that I’d been hoping for, Fat Old Sun and Coming Back To Life! David repeated the first verse twice which made me smile — this was LIVE, NOW…

It was December 2005 and my internet connection had been down for the better part of a week due to bad weather. My friend and I were going to drive to the nearest city (a 200-mile round-trip) to do a little holiday shopping that particular day, but changed our minds due to blizzard conditions.

Sometime that afternoon I decided to check on the internet situation, found it back up, headed here straight away and to my surprise found that the pre-sale began THAT morning at 10 a.m. Panic set in as I went to the Tickemaster site, thinking I was surely going to find ‘sold out’. Lo and behold, I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Paramount AND the Kodak, clueless as to which one I could pull off. Details, details;^)

Fast forward to April 16–my first solo adventure in more than 25 years began with the 200-mile drive to Seattle and, after a few hours sleep, my flight to Oakland departed.

I arrived in Oakland, took a cab to my hotel and then ventured out to find the Paramount Theatre which was about six blocks away. After getting my bearings I went back to the hotel and promptly fell asleep! I awoke about two hours before the concert was to begin, quickly got myself ready and headed out with a fluttering in my belly that I attributed to excitement, then remembered that I hadn’t eaten all day. I stopped at Rite-Aid, grabbed a bag of cashews for dinner and continued on…