On Monday, I took a trip to Los Angeles for the AC/DC concert. On my way, I stopped at Huntington Beach and caught some waves. This is my story.
I left San Diego at 12:30pm and it took me just one hour to get to Newport Beach! I went I-5 North to 73 North and didn’t hit any traffic. After a quick stop in Newport, I drove to the Huntington Beach pier and examined the waves. They looked pretty good and it was reportedly one of the biggest breaks with the best form in Southern California that day.
Huntington Beach was interesting because there was such a long stretch of sand in between the parking lot and the water. I didn’t mind it too much, but I always feel my belongings are a little safer when I can see my car from the water (which I couldn’t).
I started out on the north side of the pier and caught a couple waves. Upon trying to take a wave through the pier, I found myself directly under it. It turned out the neither side of the pier had waves that could take you through it (that day, at least). However, while under the pier, I decided to try the south side of the pier and had a great session. It was a little crowded in this area and the surfers seemed pretty skilled and pretty smug, but I deferred to them when they had the right of way and I ended up chatting with a couple of them.
In the past, I had done 360 degree spins on waves, but I did them on the whitewash and after the wave was mostly over. This time, I did a 360 spin mid-wave and was able to continue on it! In fact, I did this twice and it was cool. : )
The waves were exceeding 5 feet with fair-good form. There were some good rights and lefts out there. After catching waves for over an hour, I got out, cleaned up, and ate dinner at Ruby’s on the pier.
On this day, everything worked like clockwork. After dinner, I drove to Ingelwood to see AC/DC at The Forum. I had no ticket and planned all along to buy one from someone outside the stadium. This was risky, but I had seen Pearl Jam here two years ago and I bought a good seat for cheap from someone named The Ticket Magician. He even had a business card with his alias and phone number. I figured I’d run into him again (which I didn’t) or I’d find someone else who was looking to dump a single ticket. After waiting and walking around a bit, I eventually found a couple who decided to leave after the first few songs and they gave me their ticket! The seat was excellent, so I enjoyed most of the 90 minute performance and was happy as a clam about my good fortune.
AC/DC put on a great show! Angus Young is certainly one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Talking to my Dad about it today, I mentioned how it was like going to see Pele play soccer. Angus played their classic songs very well and like the album versions, but on occasion, he went off and improvised on some sweet guitar solos. Just as a good rock n roll concert should be.
For a long time, AC/DC has scared parents and ultra conservatives with a couple of their songs. I even used to stay away from their music. However, I see it quite differently now. Not only was this concert a form of encouragement to me and a form of “work study”, I felt their “scary references” were actually a form of acting. I concluded that their playing the villain was no different than the characters of Darth Vader in Star Wars, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, or Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lechner. No, they don’t really have a bell (maybe a gong, though) and they certainly weren’t taking anyone to Hell. Coming from their mouth, it is all a joke designed to scare off the scare-able ones . . . and if you look at it that way, you get to enjoy their music without taking their questionable lyrics too seriously.
The concert didn’t feel or seem dark in the slightest. I’ve been to some shows and in some places that have simply felt creepy, dark, and eerie. This wasn’t one of them. I was relieved too because the last thing I needed on a road trip by myself to Los Angeles was to be creeped out!
