10 September 2009

I know what I like...

..and I like what I know.



In 2004 I worked for a week in New York and when I finished up the gruelling, sixteen hour, grinding first Monday that is given to the transatlantic Investment banker, and I settled in to my room-service cheeseburger and New York Times in front of David Letterman, and I discovered that Phil was playing Madison Square Garden that Friday, I was made up

But on the Tuesday my young American co-workers, even the few that like me, looked at me blankly. 'Phil who? you mean the Tarzan guy?  waddyamean this Friday?'

So on the Wednesday I walked down to the ticket booth in Union Square and bought one ticket. 'No, really, one ticket'  That's right: one billy-no-mates ticket to Madison Square Gardens.

It actually would have been OK if they hadn't sat me in a whole row of nohope, singleton losers. On my left a small chinese-american hunched over a laptop, on my right a large Ukranian with a forged ticket waited for the wrestling. He had been done.

I bought a beer and a corn-dog from a roving beer and corn-dog salesman. It was the first corn-dog I had ever had. It was the last corn-dog I have ever had.

Phil played and I enjoyed every moment.

I saw Phil play Earls Court in the 90s, I saw Genesis play Twickenham in 2007; I listened to him sing almost every day from 1978 to 1985 but never went to see him.

On February 14, 1994 Mrs Botogol and I enjoyed a candlelit dinner and a Phil Collins tribute band in the Village Walk hotel, Johannesburg.It was ace.

 I won't hear him drum again.

Take me home.

3 comments:

M4GD said...

“I know what I like and I like what I know” this is not unusual. It’s the natural thing for humans and us mortals to do!

I’m sorry about Phil. He is an amazing person. I love his songs and their moving lyrics but had no idea re the Genesis involvement until a British friend mentioned it to me last July. Few weeks after this conversation, I saw a BBC interview with Phil. It was my first time to hear him talk not sing. I enjoyed every bit of the interview. He was down to earth, unassuming, and sincere just like the guy next door. You wanted to know him. He talked about how he wrote songs, his three children and family, their life in Switzerland, singing for them while doing the school run. If I recall correctly, he mentioned that he never learned to read music formally. He also mentioned a long standing problem with one of his ears and how he worked around this problem for years. I was astounded at his perseverance and positive attitude handling it all. Someone else would have seen the obstacles and stopped but he went on from success to success. So, if he managed all these years to work around the ear and other issues, I bet you he’ll find a way around the drumming. He is naturally gifted and born with it!

PS Good for you for attending the Madison concert and now writing about it.
Corn dogs are way overstated. Now you know!

Botogol said...

he also, famously, left his first wife by fax (Not necessarily a saint then) bet he dodn't mention that in the interview :-)

But genesis were very much part of my teenage years, and he was part of that.

M4GD said...

Oh REALLY left her via a fax! Talk about crushing! Wow...This reminds me of an episode from Sex and The City I do not remember which season though where Sara Jessica Parker’s live-in boyfriend broke up with her on a Post-It Note stuck on her lap top! Not cool and not a gentleman’s behavior. I’d say weak in character and I can’t tolerate weak! One must try to do the right thing as much as possible. The world is so small and sometimes paths cross for an encore interaction in the weirdest way. M4GDism philosophy promotes healthy break ups if forced to go through one. However, and I’m not defending Phil here, real life taught me not to jump to conclusions and make hasty judgments. A lot happens behind closed doors that only the two parties involved know about and may justify a socially unacceptable behavior. At the end it’s their business and no body else’s. Besides there are many men and women out there that are simply not born for confrontation, especially on the personal front!!!