Something I Seriously Missed Out On

I just finished watching Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon in concert on VH1 Classic. I had the chance to see them twice, but I passed.

WTF was I thinking?

I've never been to a Pink Floyd show even tho I consider them one of the greatest bands in history. Listening to Dark Side of the Moon in my headphones while riding my motorcycle thru Death Valley at sunset is one of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had. The rising and falling 2 lane road seemed choreographed with the music and the remoteness of the desert amplified that sense.  But, the thought of being in the middle of a massive crowd crushing together to hear it just turned me off.

Now, I've been to many rock concerts and enjoyed almost each and every one of them. My very first was Sammy Hagar opening for Boston at Tarrant County Convention Center. That was a great show and Sammy blew Boston off the stage even tho nobody knew who he was back then and Boston was on top of the charts.

One in particular I DIDN'T enjoy was a Rush concert in Seattle at the City Center Arena circa 1980. It was stadium seating, meaning the floor was open. I thought being in the very front would be awesome and made sure I was next to the stage before the show started. That turned out to be a very bad idea.

As the show progressed and the crowd became more enthused, they began pushing toward the stage during "Tom Sawyer" a la The Who in Cincinnati. Suddenly, I was crushed against the people around me from all sides with nowhere to go. I'd never experienced claustrophobia before, but I definitely did right then. I couldn't move. I had trouble breathing. The music was so loud nobody could hear (or just plain ignored) me asking them to move out of the way. I started getting dizzy, tunnel vision and thought I was going to pass out.

I was forced to revert to "Plan B".

I literally had to fight my way out of the crowd. I started punching whoever was in my way to clear a path to the side of the stage and freedom so I could breathe. I'm not proud of that, but I was in survival mode. If you were at that show in Seattle, I sincerely apologize for knocking the shit out of you. But I blame the concert promoter. I had to do what I had to do at the time. Nothing personal...

I went to other shows after that at City Center Arena (Heart, Ted Nugent, Tom Petty, The Scorpions, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, J Geils Band), but I never went down on the floor again. It seriously freaked me out.

I've been to much larger concerts since then like Farm Aid 2 in Austin. But, I never experienced that overwhelming sense of crushing claustrophobia like I had that night in Seattle. Thank God I didn't go to any of the Texas Jams. I might have killed someone.