1. I had a rousingly good time at Anne and Russell's today. I dropped by at 3:00 to watch the Villanova-Kansas game. Kansas rocketed out to a very fast start and established an early and wide lead they would never surrender despite Villanova's determination to close the gap. It's hard to say if Anne, Russell, and I would have talked less had it been a closer game! I do know, however, that being able to yak almost non-stop with Anne and Russell and splitting two superb IPAs with Anne, made my day.
Oh, by the way, despite Villanova's loss, because Duke also lost, I finished third in the bracket pool I entered and will win some money. That's a first for me!
2. I left Anne and Russell's and joined the Troxstar near where Debbie and I used to live at a bistro called Scribles --it's in the spot that used to be Cornucopia, the Monroe Street Cafe, and Whirled Pies. I like the cozy, not at all fancy, neighborhood vibe of Scribles a lot. I joined the Troxstar at a table near the front window, ordered a solid, tasty Handtruck Pale Ale from Barley Brown's Brewing in Baker City, OR and then enjoyed a thick, meaty, Toasted Italian sandwich on a splendid hoagie roll. The Troxstar and I got is some very serious yakkin'.
While we ate, drank, and yakked, North Carolina and Duke were playing in the day's second NCAA Tournament semi-final. I received text messages telling me the game was among the tournament's best ever -- I mean in the history of the tournament! -- but, alas, I made the decision I'm very happy with to dine and drink beer at Scribles and to walk from Scribles to the McDonald Theater to relish a show performed by the Floydian Slips. I didn't mind at all missing this epic tilt.
3. The Troxstar and I arrived in plenty of time at the McDonald to purchase our tickets, stand in line to enter the venue, and find a good seat in the balcony.
The Floydian Slips opened the show with selections from The Wall and Wish You Were Here before moving into playing the entirety of Animals. The band took a break and after intermission they played "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and "Wish You Were Here" before playing the entirety of The Dark Side of the Moon. It might have felt like the band could not reach a more stratospheric heights than the way they closed out Dark Side with "Brain Damage"/"Eclipse", but after leaving the stage, the Slips returned and burned down the house with an electrifying encore, a fiery "Comfortably Numb", sending the audience out of the McDonald happy, many uttering words like, "Oh! My God! What a great show!" and "Could you believe that last set?"
I felt the same way. I'm very grateful that our trip to Eugene coincided with this Floydian Slips show, a performance that marked the band's 25 years playing together.
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