Oberhausen Arena
From: Arnout E. Ratelband
The venue in Oberhausen is very nice! The facilities are excellent, there
are a lot
of nice pubs and restaurants just outside the hall. Compared to Rotterdam
it is way better!!!
Me and my usual gang of concert go-ers decided on the spot
that Oberhausen is going to be a serious venue for concerts in the future. Easy
drive, huge amounts of (free!!!!) parking space and above all great sounding hall,
but I'll get to that in a moment. Just want to pass on the tip to everyone in the Netherlands.
Unfortunately it wasn't a full house. About half of the second ring was
empty. The concert was all seated. Not something we're used to in Holland apart
from gigs by elderly artists like Dylan, Waits, Paul Simon etc.
The security was
tight as well, as soon as you moved an inch from your spot they would ask you to
go back to your seat. They managed to
keep this up until Comfortabely Numb, after which they could't hold the crowd any
longer.
The concert was perfect. When you think of it, it's quite strange how an
identical concert can be so much better and more enjoyable, but for me it clearly was.
The sound was excellent. Compared to the Rotterdam gig you could clearly
hear the backing vocalists, the lead vocals by Roger and Chester and Andy's
Hammond Organ. I know sound isn't everything, but for me personally, it makes a concert so
much more enjoyable. The difference in
sound quality is best illustrated by the fact that this time all the sound
effects (cash register, dogs, clock etc)
could be clearly heard and we heard effects that we didn't hear in
Rotterdam (the seagulls during Southampton Dock
to name one).
There is not much use in naming the set list as everybody will know it by now.
This time around, there was no technical
difficulties and no mistakes made at all. Just the timing with the sequenced start of
Breathe didn't go entirely right.
The highlight for me personaly was the fact that Roger clearly enjoyed himself.
He even managed to take the
time for a few autographs before starting Confortably Numb. Not something
you would expect given
his image and reputation.
There were no downsides to the concert, maybe apart from the
fact that in my opinion
a great player like Andy Fairweather Low should get some more exposure and
not just during Every Strangers Eyes
and a short solo in Money.
After the Rotterdam gig it was time to head off to Oberhausen
to wallow in nostagia for a second night.
That's all folks!
Cheers, A
At first a few statistics of both shows!
The band included:
Roger Waters Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Andy Fairweather-Low Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals
Snowy White Guitar
Chester Kamen Guitar, Vocals
Graham Broad Drums
Harry Waters Keyboards
Andy Wallace Keyboards
Katie Kissoon Backing Vocals
P.P. Arnold Backing Vocals
Carol Kenyan Backing Vocals
Norbert Stachel Saxophone, Flute
The Set-List (nothing new!):
In The Flesh
The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
Another Brick In The Wall (part 2)
Mother
Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
Southampton Dock
Pigs On The Wing (part 1)
Dogs
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 1 - 5)
Welcome To The Machine
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 6 - 9)
20 min. intermisssion
Speak To Me
Breathe
Time
Breathe Reprise
Money
5:06 AM - Every Stranger's Eyes
Perfect Sense (part 1)
Perfect Sense (part 2)
The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range
It's A Miracle
Amused To Death
Brain Damage
Eclipse
Comfortably Numb
Encore:
Flickering Flame
This show also saw a very relaxed Roger, who obviously enjoyed the performance. He even signed several items for fan near the stage before before the encore in Oberhausen. His voice sounded clear and fresh and he even managed the difficult high parts in 5:06 AM. When Chester Kamen handled the lead vocals (his voice sometimes reminds me of Richard Wright), Roger sang along for his own or did lip-sync for the audience. All in all, the sound was very powerful with a lot of special effects throughout the shows. Pure energy though!
All members of the band did a wonderful job, but Snowy White seemed on both days somewhat indifferent and mentally far away. But he's obviously not a very extravagant guy!
Throughout the intermission in the middle of the show, you can hear a fimilar sound collage with birds, planes, barking and other snippets from mother nature. But it's not the same as the one before the Floyd shows.
Low points of the show were the same as last show, the weak and uninspired Parts 1 and 2 of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Waters' son Harry couldn't reach the atmosphere of the original song, and Snowy didn't catch the feeling of Gilmour's guitar playing. It sounded a bit simple and the magic of these parts of the song were gone.
I also didn't like,that Brain Damage followed Amused To Death. The melancholic end of Amused To Death with the moving words of Alf Razzell and the memorial of Bill Hubbard just didn't fit with the funny 'the lunatic is on the grass' a few seconds later. The encore The Flickering Flame (a fantastic song!) left the audience waiting unsuccessfully for a real powerful end to the show.
The highlights of this show were again in my view the performances of Pigs On The Wing, Dogs, Welcome To The Machine (with the original backdrop film) and above all Perfect Sense Part 2. This song was the killer with P.P. Arnold at her best! The whole audience sang along with Roger conducting his huge choir.
The sound qualtity in the Koenig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen was not same as in Cologne. This show started at 08:02 pm and ended at 10:59 pm (intermission 09:21 pm - 09:42 pm). This time, there were even 156 min. all in all!
I really enjoyed this show also! This was a lifetime experience! With my seat in the 3rd row (center stage), I sat in a short distance to Roger and was able to see all his little gestures.
Since I was missed my chance to meet Roger in Cologne and get his autograph I hoped to have better luck this time. In Oberhausen, I tried to see him at the back of the arena. The band came through at 5:50 pm in 2 white Mercedes busses from Cologne (only a 1 hour drive!), with Roger sitting in the front seat next to the driver. I waved to him with my CD-Cover and Roger looked at me, but they didn't stop! They were obviously a bit late and went right into the arena for the soundcheck.
Although once again this part of my journey failed, I have to say once more that these 2 shows were well worth the money I spent for these high priced tickets. I will always remember Roger's open attitude to the audience.
Hopefully, when he tours again in the future, he will play more solo stuff. I would like to hear more of it. He could just kick off Another Brick In The Wall and the Dark Side songs, mainly Money. I think, we've heard these songs often enough in the last 20 or 30 years!
On the other hand, at age of 58, it's more than doubtful that Waters will ever tour again. His new album should be out in 2003, but, as we all know, this could also mean 2004 or 2005 ...
The only hope I have for another tour, is the obvious joy, he
felt throughout the shows. So let's hope for more magic moments
with him ...
