beandog

Okay, It's time to update. The last thing I want is for another six months to pass before I leave anything worthwhile up here.
Thankfully, I've had an active week with some exciting things going on to share with you all. Specifically, I'm talking about last Friday, when I had the opportunity to meet my fellow SG user and long time acquaintance, TowrOfStrength .
To give you the full story I need to take you back to July last year. This when I got the news that TowrOfStrength would be taking some time out to travel from New York over to London, England.
His reason for the trip was pretty special. One of his favourite bands, The Mission, would be performing their final shows as a run of four concerts at the Shepard's Bush Empire. After these shows the band would take an indefinite hiatus. This would possibly be the last chance to ever see them play live.
It was fairly soon after these concerts were announced that I received an email asking me if I would be in town on those dates. The suggestion was made that TowrOfStrength and myself met up for a night of music, beer, food etc. How could I say no.
Fast forward seven months and here I am looking back at the event in the past tense. It's funny how time flies.
Happily, I can tell you that the whole experience was a lot of fun and that we all had a good time. Here are the highlights.
On the Friday, I ducked out of work early and took a train straight into town. This is usually a short ride, but in what seems like a curious twist of fate designed to prolong my anticipation, the train stopped at EVERY station on the way. Add to this the fact that my final stop was closed for maintenance. I had to get off early and catch a crowded bus for the final stretch to the hotel. When I eventually arrived I was running late and feeling harassed and weary. However, my mood soon improved.
I approached the hotel and TowrOfStrength was waiting outside for me. He was instantly recognisable as the same guy whose picture smiles at me from my computer screen. I must say that it is a strange feeling to meet someone for the first time yet feel as though you've know them for years.
We wasted no time in catching up with one another and before long we hit the town to find some food.
Fish and chips was the order of the day. Every since he had arrived in England, my new friend had been eager to sample some of London's finest. We found a suitable place and continued to talk as we filled up.
By this time I had found myself well and truly caught up in the enthusiasm surrounding this run of concerts. As show time approached we moved to a nearby pub and had a few beers to get us in the mood. Before long, it was time to go into the venue.
My overriding memory as I walked through the crowd was of the tremendous sense of occasion among the people. Towr had already explained to me that many of these folk had travelled far and wide to be here. He'd already hooked up with fans that were booked in for all four shows or had come in from overseas. This was a big deal to a lot of people.
When the music began the crowd went suitably nuts.
I wasn't sure what to expect and have to admit to being surprised when the crowd kicked off as hard as they did. Standing near the front I couldn't help but smile as a pit began to emerge that would easily rival anything I've ever seen at a metal gig. Men stood at full height on one another's shoulders screaming the words of the songs back at the band. Human pyramids began to rise from the crowd while below, a swarm of bodies swirled around in perpetual movement. It was crazy but it was fun. Actually, it was almost too crazy. At one point I found myself pulling a random drunk away as he squared up to TowrOfStrength. Thankfully, we managed to avoid any violence and were able to enjoy the rest of the show without any trouble.
For me, the highlight of the performance was easily hearing the song Tower Of Strength while standing with my new friend. A guy who loves that song so much that he uses it as his tag on this site. It was absolutely priceless.
We wound down with some more beers, then headed back to the hotel where I hit the sack and Towr' headed off to the bar to enthuse to the other fans about the show.

The following day was a real pleasure for me. I'd invited Towr' to come back to my house and meet the family. For a while, other commitments had thrown some doubt over whether or not he'd be able to make it. However, a quick change of schedule later, and we were back on. We took the train out of London and went all the way out to my neighbourhood where I served up some tea and introduced the wife and kids.
It was only a brief visit but one that sealed a great new friendship. After only an hour or so, Towr' made the journey back into London for the LAST EVER Mission show. His short trip to England was almost over.
Meanwhile I had lunch with the in-laws to consider, and then the thought of going back to work on Monday morning, leaving my weekend of SG related fun well and truly behind me.

Good times.
Stay safe.