In The Flesh 2002
Tour Reviews

--- 2002 . April . 2nd . 8:00 p.m.
--- Chamshil Olympic main stadium Seoul, South Korea
Last night... will be a night for me to remember, probably for the rest of my pathetic life. My dream - to see a live show of either Mr. Waters or the 'Other Party' was fulfilled, and I can die a happy man now. We don't get much Rock shows and this was one of the most unlikely ones that anyone in Korea would only dream of. Since being dragged in and NEVER been released from the world of Waters/FLOYD 'bout 20 some years ago, thanx to the illegal cheap bootlegged LPs, my life changed forever. And now I prouldy can say that I witnessed the 'Triumph', the day that'll go down in history for with ALL the FLOYDians in Korea. Who would have thought, that after the whole album being banned for 20 years we could hear the great pieces from 'The Wall'... live, in Seoul? And ... by 'The Man' himself??? I couldn't believe it myself. But after last night, it ALL changed. With BIG anticipation, I found myself at the Chamshil Olympic Stadium, 'Waiting for Mr. Waters'...

Mr. Waters' show was well previewed in 'In The Flesh' DVD and CD. So all I had to do is 'Follow the Waters'. As Roger came out and counted 'Einz, Zwei...' and then first chords of 'In the Flesh' came bangin' thru the P.A. I felt the chills on my back and had to get up on my feet, with my arms in the 'Hammer' shape. And there he was... with dignity and pride. The Meister... with his army of grand musicians and his trademark Black Fender Bass. His gleaming eyes were like laserbeams and enslaved my soul, and his lifelines were the bottomless pit that I fell into, and I think there will be NO escape. His voice was the voice in my conscience. I was trapped by the music, but now I'm trapped by his presence... IN THE FLESH... literally.

Mr. Waters was observing the Korean crowd. I myself tried my best to make a good impression. Playing in a country that is STILL emersed in a feud of political differences between north and south might have received his special attention. We've actually been observing a military truce since 1953. Yes, that's right, we're like East and West Germany before 'The Wall' came down, except that we have barbed wires crossing the Korean peninsula from coast to coast which devides the land from North and South. So you all know by now what we want if our fences are broken down. But I would not dare say it here. Well, despite that we're NOT dead and we did our best to show that.

"I made a sign of appriciation of my own to show Mr. Waters just how much I am happy and honored to be here and to see him play. I cut a piece of white cloth about a shape and size of a flag. I drew lines just like the cover of 'The Wall'. And in the same Scarfe style of handwriting on the cover I wrote: 'Thank You Roger'. And from the 2nd half of the show I got up and waved it every time I thought the time was right. I'm sure at least some of the band members saw it. I hope that Mr. Waters saw it as well and felt 'A moment of clarity' that he is welcome here in Korea as well. No doubt. I saw many concerts by many artists but this was the FIRST time I ever did something like this. I say that Mr. Waters would probably be the ONLY one that ever got this out of me. And no one else ever will again."

The set list was a totally new one to me, and I became lost at some point. But how can U complain? It was ALL Roger Waters. The new respective guitarist and keyboardist had some BIG shoes to fill, but I think they did a splendid job. But I won't hide the fact that I missed the great players that appeared on the DVD. I hope they come and play in Korea on another occasion ( even with different band's). I believe that the sound was provided by the best P.A. company I know of in Korea. The VERY FIRST Quadrophonic Stereo experience here was just simply 'Stunning'. The chopper and the Dogs sounded SO REAL. I didn't know what to expect, but now I can say I've been there... literally 'surrounded by sounds'. The lights were fairly OK, but since it is hard not to compare with Pink Floyd's 'Pulse' live stageshow, well... Let's not get into that...

Mr. Fairweather Low... Now he had his 'One moment in time' but a VERY strong one. The crowd were up on there feet doing whatever kind of dancing they felt from his mad strokes. Hats off to Mr. Fairweather Low!!! And Mr. White... I never expected to see him with a Fender Stratocaster(!!!) instead of his trademark Gibson Les Paul, but he took the leads by the throat and choked them... VERY gently I mean. It was my honor to see one of the most emotional guitar players of all time. His lead battle with Mr. Kamen (Another great axeman I might add) at the end of the immortal 'Comfortably Numb' was unforgettable. Although some people might not agree with me, I think his work should not to be compared or 'judged' to that of the other guitarists who came before, and played and sang his parts in the past cuz judging from what I heard, I'd say that he's a respectful, well seasoned musician himself. He added his own color to the great pieces and I'm just glad to discover another talented musician to look for in exploring music.

The 3 'Sisters of mercy' delivered just that to the music. My standing ovation and air kisses go out to them, ALL 3 three of'em!!! And my big bows and standing ovations goes out to all the rest of the GREAT musicians as well. I hope all of them enjoyed the FIRST EVER show in Korea as much as I did, and hope that it was certainly NOT the LAST time I'll see them.

And what can I say about Mr. Waters???... Words cannot describe what I felt and witnessed. He is one artist that'll NEVER go out of date and fade away if you ask me. His music, his lyrics, his message, and his ART was the reason that I'm a musician myself right now. I humbly say that. I'll be under his influence ETERNALLY... From this day on I'll have a different state of mind and attitude when I touch my instrument or get up on stage.

The crew, the staff, the roadies... they all did a great job. A Killer show. I just hope that they enjoyed the hot Korean food. And hope they come back again with a smile. In short... AN UNFORGETTABLE KILLER SHOW... It was simply a MINDBLOWING experience (Without even a pyro!!!), as well as an EMOTIONAL one... To me, it was simply PERFECT... To everyone who works with Mr. Waters: THANK YOU. I honestly can say that after last night that... I... WILL NEVER... BE THE SAME... I... HAVE BECOME... COMFORTABLY NUMB... Long Live ROGER WATERS!!!!!!

But the most important thing that happened during the show was this: 'There was true empathy between Roger and the Korean fans. The emotional sharing of each others feelings could be felt in an almost physical form.'

The time when I arrived at Jamsil Olympic main stadium where IN THE FLESH 2002 was to be performed was 6:10 PM. My friend albedo who was to join me had not yet arrived. Similar to other performances, venders and peddlers were everywhere as posters of this performance thickly covered the street. Having a cigar... I sat watching the crowd pass me by, having found a place to sit near the subway exit. The crowd who came to see the show were made up various age groups- From young lovers... to neatly dressed middle aged gentleman could also be found. There were cute middle school girls, still wearing their school uniforms and holding hands. Watching them, I wondered that the old Floydian sound could continue to inspire those so young and became deeply aware that even today the music of Pink Floyd and Roger Waters is still alive and well!

Sometime later, my friend who had been searchinf for me, came running up gasping out of breath. We the searched for some place that might be selling souvenirs but we could not find any. I had heard that all the tour souvenirs had been totally sold out at the previous shows of the tour. So I was a bit disappointed. But Cheer Up! Man! "It's not a serious problem! In a few moments, I will be seeing Roger waters!"

Entrance to Brain damage!
Because it was late in the evening, the audience was densely seated in the dark. Our seat was in area 2 which is a little left of the stage and separated by only 3 meters! We uttered yells of delight because our seats was so unexpectantly nice. Looking around were speaker towers almost ten meters tall was surrounded venue for the 360 degree Qurdrophonic sound system. And in front of stage, a Huge sized screen was built and two smaller screens attached in the main speaker towers. In the lower sections of smaller screens was picture of In The Flesh album and Pink Pig. It was so strange that one of Eric Clapton's songs was played continually before performance. In center of the audience seating there were many famous artists in the korea. Also many foreigners were there too. Humorously some white people ran around with a flag on which was written something like "David Gilmour is a wanker"! It was an extremely funny sight to me.

When the time struck seven, some of the band members came out on stage to check their equipment. In truth, I only recognized the face of Snowy White and not knowing the other's in the band. So when snowy appeared I felt for the first time that we were approaching the main event. Because of the cold wind, Snowy wore a wind breaker. At this time Snowy connected his guitar jack to an amp resulting in a continuous loud harsh noise over the speakers. Whether or not this was unpredictable is anybody's guess. He tried to correct the problem many times to stop this amp noise but could not. Many of the stage crew grappled with this and that of the equipment and after much frenzied activity the noise from the amp stopped.

After moment, there was an announcment apologizing for the late beginning of this performance. That though this performance was scheduled to begin earlier, because of a traffic jam, Roger Waters would be late, and that the show would be delayed for twenty minutes. This produced some snickering from the audience in my area, meaning that this type of thing is expected! The Korean audience were not the least bit disappointed. They take these situations in stride. But in my opinion, the true reason for late opening was the electrical noise problem which occurred previously.

After the twenty minutes had passed, I noticed, there was still no sign of that the performance would be beginning soon and the 'happy waiting' turned to an 'uneasy boredom'. But just at this moment, a spot light lit up the stage as the first part of, 'In the flesh pt 2.' was simultaneously played. At this, I could not see where Roger would appear because the spot lights were on only a small upper back section of stage and the rest was entirely in the dark. When instrumental intro was over and Just before the vocals would begin, somebody holding a guitar went up some stairs to the upper back part of stage. "That's Roger!!!" I almost shouted reflectively. As the audience recognized his entrance on stage, an enormous roar was produced! And at that moment, the screaming voice of Roger sang 'So ya- thought ya- might like to- go to the show' reached my ears. I sprang up from my seat with crossed arms (in the shape of an X), and erupted with a shout of joy to actually see Roger Waters 'in the flesh' a real and lovely dictator on the stage.

However, I felt something odd atmosphere, because of the many people within the 5 meter area around me, only I screamed a lunatic acclamation from my seat. As I looked around, sudden shyness make me collapse back into to my seat, though I still remained a state of awe. Following this first song, 'The Happiest Days Of Our Lives' was performed. I had to listen with patience, and the swollen passion of my heart, so as to make no outbursts to keep from feeling almost embarrassed amongst the unenthused audience around me.

When Roger shouted to the center of audience area,'You! Yes YOU! Stand Still Laddie!' followed by familiar guitar riff, it was 'Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2'! (This song is the most familar and famous piece of Pink Floyd music to Koreans.) I stood up immediately with clenching my fist and raising my arm and I sang together with Roger through the entire song with all my passion. I was very deeply moved being able to hear this song in the flesh with his real voice. In Korea, a lot of Pink Floyd songs have been inhibited and discouraged by our autocractic government. (In truth, this is the only song by Pink Floyd or Roger Waters which I know all the lyrics to completely!) The Dictator made the audience wild with enthusiasm. After ending of this song with explosive playing of the two guitarists!

At this point two guards came near me and insisted that I sit down! The next song was 'Mother'. And Roger's voice was so gentle and full, but his wet words, so sneering that I had sit down anyway to take in the song. When Roger sang 'Mother, should I trust the government?' I shouted 'No' so loudly that Kamen glanced in my direction and those in the audience close by looked askance towards me with silent scorn. I again felt embaraassed for my outburst at the reaction of audience around me. But in my opinion this type of audience reaction should be not only tolerated but expected at a live rockconcert....Hum....

Then for the next song, the gloomy lyrics of 'Brezhnev took Afghanistan, Begin took Beirut - Galtieri took the union jack....' gushed out to introduce 'Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert' from the 'Final cut' album. My voice was almost too hoarse to sing along with the song. Roger continued with 'Southampton Dock' which was played in a quiet atmosphere. Some members of the audience including me, took out their lighters and waved them slowly left to right in response to this song. Someone else shook luminous sticks. What a beautiful scene it was! It was very peaceful and serene, but with the hottest passion present in our hearts.

When the song had ended, there was picture on the main screen of the red-brown colored Battersea Power Plant and pink Pig floating above in the sky. So began the hidden treasure of the first song set, as the songs from 'Animals' struck out with the accoustic guitar and synthesizer sounds of 'Pigs On The Wing, Part 1'.

At the moment I muttered to myself 'Uh.It would be great if there were a Pink Pig floating above in this sky. What a pity!, though two choppers passed by the stadium at low altitude with a thundering sonic noise! Was it a coincidence or planned? Heaven knows the answer! If it was real coincidence, it would be one of the most dramatic coincidences in my life. But the noise and it's passing were no inhibition to the enjoyment of this concert. Dogs began as we were struck with admiration by projections on the screen of several hunting dogs with horrible eyes which made you feel like you wanted to 'run like hell' to somewhere else and the sounds of barking 'Dogs' was heard continually from all around us.

The voice of Chester Kamen was a more aggressive and sharp, and I felt preference to this original version. I thought the twin guitar solo's performed by Chester and Snowy were especially very attractive. Although Chester Karen's playing led the main flow of this song, more impressive still was the temperate playing of Snowy White. Until this time, the ability of Snowy White was not fully understood by me, but his musicianship was so natural and pure yet added nothing superfluous. After the initial guitar solo's ended, suddenly the band members put down their instruments and sat at a table in the center of stage. Only a 'Dreamy synthesizer' played layering the crowd, or sometimes a bass drum sounded. All the while the band members sat down around this table with some beers and a cigarette, and they began playing a card game. 'What's going on?' I wondered! 'Why are they doing this?' Then my friend said that 'Possibly it may be planned part of the performance. Or perhaps a demonstration caused by dissatisfaction for an indifferent audience.' I can not remember how long the card game played exactly but in my mind it seemed like over like 10 minutes. (I recently heard it was 7 minutes) I felt a great anxiety and wondered if they really felt a petulance for Korean fans. But when card game was over, I recognized that my anxiety was baseless. Again they gave us powerful and impressive performance.

After about 20 minutes the performance of Dogs was over, and Roger held up acoustic guitar and played a familiar old melody. Entirely different to my expectations, 'Set The Controls for the heart of sun' was performed. I had known from other song set lists I had seen from previous shows, that this song would be played, but it was supposed to be played during the last part of the concert. So, I recognized that this show was not to have the same song order played here.

With spot light at center stage, Roger, with a frown like a magician, put a slight spell on us as he sang in a low hushed voice. My joy was boundless! It was incredible to hear this sound and music played live, from the Pink Floyd of the past. I would like to declare that for me 'This was really Psychedelic!'. I could not help shouting! And I wondered if it just my illusion that Roger's and my eyes met! Like oil marbling, grotesque images were overlapped with pictures of Pink Floyd members during the early 70's. It gave us the illusion as if the complete Pink Floyd had came to this place although it was only Roger.

Before I was able to recover my mind completely from hypnosis that Roger made, the first tones of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' gave me a heart breakable thrill! How much pain, sorrow and shyness had been felt listening to this song! This song had been the best prescription for my sadness for a long time. A thousand emotions passed in my mind, unconsciously I lit a cigarette and the smoke was blown out and curled up like the ascending smoke from wand of the 'wizard' who was on that stage.

The moment of silence which came at the end of 'Shine on.' was completely shattered by an increasingly loud bass sound that blew violently through the whole stadium. At the same time I got idea that 'Welcome To The Machine' would be played and shouted 'Welcome!'. Then a cute foreign girl in front of me also shouted 'Yes!' while raising her two clenched fists. An animated mechanical machine thing and other weird images were all projected on the screen. Roger sang this song with the best voice of this concert (It was so similar to his voice on the original recording). Again during this song, I recognized the power of all the equipment they brought here with them.

For the next song, 'Wish You Were Here' was played. It is the most popular Pink Floyd song for Korean fans, but on this day Roger sang this song like a common song it was regretable. But it also was not be a problem! It is idiot who hopes perfect replay of orignal album. (But Dream Theater is exception ;)

Again, the remaining part of 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' was performed. Different from the performance of the previous parts, this had such a gentle feel with an enduring quality that was 'direct attack to my harsh heart' as tears fell quietly. As the song reached a climax, a shinning circle shaped with thousands of tiny diamond mirrors arose from the center of the stage. Wow! What a fantastic performance this was! The moment this song ended, with the sparling and shining of the mirrored points of light upon the audience and stage, an enormous roar came from the crowd.

And the first section of this concert was at an end. Roger announced that there would be a 20 minute break and after that second section of the show. Unfortunately, however, it was at this time that a lot of audience around where I was seated left the stadium. I heard that the reason might be that many people got tickets to this concert by subscription to various events here. To those people, the music of Roger Waters and Pink Floyd may have been very difficult to understand or enjoy. Many seats around me were vacant, but only for a short time, as those 'Empty Spaces' were filled with other members of the audience who had seats further back. And at this time several foreign people were represented in my section making many Korean fans wonder because they knew all of Pink Floyd's song lyrics completely.

Comfortably numb in his voice,the first part of the second section began with songs from 'Dark side of the Moon' which is the greatest of their works. As much as twenty four years' this album had been on the billboard charts, a long run to represent it's grandeur in rock history. Covering an intimate sound within the stadium, 'Breathe (In The Air)' was played. Many among the audience became excited gradually. And soon after, the audience broke their silence and researvedness, and ran out to the front of the stage when 'Time' played with the noise sounds of a hundred of alarm clocks. Heedless of the clashes between the excited audience and the anxious safety guards, to , Graham Broad showed dynamic drum solo. the restless drumming of melodic tomtoms continued. And as the drum beat diminished and the lyrics of 'Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day' began, there was not only enthusiasm amongst the crowd up front, but also lunatic panemonium erupting througout the entire stadium. As you can expect, 'Time' is also very familiar in Korea. Though many of Pink Floyd's songs were inhibited or restricted during many unfortunate eras of Korean politics, ironically, only the song 'Time' had been used in many 'Anti-communism programs' on TV for a long time. Even for me, that song had been familiar from before I had even known about Pink floyd! So the song 'Time' was the one thing that lit the fuse of that hidden dynamite that exploded under the previously passive enormous audience. Gangster-like safety guards were forcing the audience to sit down, but even though they were seated, their hearts were still full of joy.

Suddenly Roger shouted to the audience on left side of the stage when 'Time' had ended. (I still believe that 'it was me' who roger said to) 'You!' I sat almost frozen in time! wow!! After this, everyone in the audience around me could see this 'Lunatic person'!! As I gave my full shout of joy to Roger and the band on stage. Elsewhere, a certain sound of the dropping of thousands of coins could be heard, 'Money' had begun! I could not understand very well why western audiences dance to this song, but finally hearing it live, I can truly understand. I could feel the groove of this song with all of my Flesh and all of my soul. My body rocked almost automatically and this time there were no one gave me scornful looks.

When the final notes of Money were fading, a low... but soft and gentle voice of a waitress flowed. 'Hello~ you wanna cup of coffee ?' It was intro of '5:06 AM - Every Stranger's Eyes' in 'Pros and Cons of a Hitchhiking'. Audience were applauding but they were not as excited as before. The power of Roger- who made whole audience mad- had made us meek as a child, who listens to old-fashioned fairy stories from it's Grandparent. It was the sweetest words and lyrics! We could not help but sympathizing and relating to lyrics like;'...from where I stand upon this hill.' We had to cry with him in the same way. The unity that was made by the enthusiasm and stimulation just before was now a silent and solemn atmosphere which had been produced between the mucicians on stage and communicated by the music to the audience. (This atmosphere rose to a climax when 'It's a miracle' played and was continued until all of Roger's solo songs had ended.)

For next song, 'Perfect Sense part 1,2' and 'The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range' There is no need to detail but the discovery of the expressions of the powerful voices of the three women, were especially eye-opening for me. As at this point they appeared at the fore front of the songs. It was so wonderful! Like a heavenly sound, the voice of those women made a deep impression in me. 'Wow... If I could hear 'The Great Gig in the Sky' with these voices now.......'

At the end of 'The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range', Roger imitated a submarine captain who gave the orders to fire on the crude oil prospecting rig. And just after the explosion was shown on main screen a heavy sound of explosion was heard.

The next song "It's a miracle' was silent and solemn, but the song had a mighty force, enough to hold the attention of the audience fully encroached. In playing the song, Roger prayed with his palms together. I did not know what was he praying but that it might be a prayer of 'Antiwar and peace for the earth'. This sight gave me unbearable inspiration. Warm tiny teardrops were forming in my eyes at the end of this song.

All the lighting went out, only the scenery of blue space was projected on the main screen. over which projected a certain gorilla watching on TV. Simultaneously 'Amused To Death' was played magnificently. The crowd silent, but with the hottest of passions.

Now, The concert coming to it's climax. For the almost ten years of the -dark side of Korean history- 'Brain damage' was played. This song that had been prohibited by the government for a longtime. It was memorial moment of Korean fans. Because this song now was being played during a 'LIVE' performance here!! The audience were exhillerated into a melting pot of enthusiasm! And I sang together with Roger 'The lunatic is in my head.', It was my confession, as I was just a pure 'Lunatic' for his music. And around me were a lot of mass produced 'lunatic's like me. As Brain Damaged dissolved into 'Eclipse,' on the projected scenery the Moon was eclipsed on main screen, and the fantastic atmosphere reached its peak!

After 'Eclipse' ended, Roger introduced every member of the band. And then the moment of the most anticipated song of this concert 'Comfortably Numb' was played, the greatest energetic reaction grew bigger even than before, and continued from then on. The energy was feuled by the activity of the musicians on stage and especially the injection of energy made by Roger Waters. He gave us a fanatic night!

Getting to this moment, I had become almost insane, such that I did not fully realize what I saw and what I heard. I barely remember the sight of the audience as they ran about like a mass of worms, and the fantastic guitar playing by the two guitarists as they stepped up atop the small wall to the rear of the stage. Snowy white, who showed gentle and temperate playing before this moment, showed his true genius. His ability as a 'World wide famous rock guitarist' was not groundless rumor. He emphasized this by this heavenly performance.

Before the final song that was planned for the set list, Roger said loudly, 'You're a Great Audience!!', and it made the entire audience seethe with wild excitement! They all joined in unity and shouted together 'Encore!'! It was so nice to see. The shouts for 'Encore' continued, and a short while later Roger and other members returned to the stage again. Roger told us that they would perform one more song, and then played the encore. But it was not a 'Each small candle' but 'Flickering Flame' which was different from set list and my expectations.

Did he wanted to reduce the audience to a fever pitch by this song? May be God knows the truth, but I think it was. Everyone in the audience locked their their left arm to the right arm of the next, and rocked and felt together with the sensation of Roger's new song. The length of 'Flickering Flame' was about 6 minutes, but it seemed about 60 seconds to me.

'If we shout 'encore' continually, would he perform at least one more song?' I thought. But all the lighting on stage diminished slowly and one of the stage crew told us sincerely "The Concert is at an end!"

Most people left the stadium. But my friend and I could not leave right away. We waited in vain to see Roger's face once more. A short time later, some of members came out on the stage and the remaining audience shouted hurrah again. But someone disconnected a jack on an amplifier and the other members cleared the stage. 'Well.... the concert was really over!' At this moment I felt 'all is over' deeply in mind.

It was such a long anticipated concert! And finally, Roger Waters had come and gone, but he gave no disappointments! Every wonderful sound, all the lighting and images, and the earnest playing of all the band members were more than satisfactory, and much more than my expectations. In spite of outdoor concert, the sound was superior to that of any concert that ever took place in Korea. However, the most worthwhile thing about the show, was the emotional chemistry produced between Roger and the band and the audience. Though there was not a few ice-cold hearted people in the expensive area-R grade seats, the communication of passion was clear. Roger Waters will likely be more recognized now that the enormous amount of fans of Roger (and Pink Floyd) have been exposed in this country. I am convinced of this!

In summary, the concert was extraordinary! It was miracle for me and the most precious experience in my life. Like tidal waves, emotion overflowed in me. Well, at this point, one more wish of mine must come out. And that is that my nation Korea would be United again and then perhaps I could see "The Wall' concert be performed at the DMZ or Panmunjum, the last 'WALL' in this world... What a great experience Korean fans could have! If I could see that come to pass, there will be No regret within me... And in addition, If not only Roger Waters, but also the other former members of Pink Floyd -David, Rick, Nick- could join together in that concert, it truly be greatest show on earth! The 'happiest day of my life' will be the day this dream comes true!