Sydney Entertainment Centre
From: Michael Weinman
Having waited over 20 years for Roger to tour, you could say that I was
excited even awe struck when I got my tickets. I had already heard the In
the Flesh album and had the DVD, so I was really looking forward to the show.
I live in Melbourne and purchased tickets to both the Sydney concert and the
Melbourne one. I went to Sydney on the 5th and here is my assessment of the show.
I liked the fact that is was deliberately small scale compared to Floyd's
tour in '88. It gave the show an intimate feeling. Roger was in fine
form. I was most impressed that he could hit the high notes that transmit
so much emotion in his songs. That is his calling card for me and when he
hit the high notes at the end of "Every Stranger's Eyes" I nearly wept.
But now the bad news. We have a replacement guitarist Chester Kamen, who has
taken over from Doyle
Bramhall. Unfortunately I cannot say much good about him. His guitar work
was untidy and most of the time he was out of time with his solos. (the rest
of the band had to look to the drummer, Graham Broad to keep time.) He was
dropping notes left right and centre and generally stuffed things up. Not
very professional considering he is playing with Roger. He sings most of
the alternate parts and even his singing was questionable. His rendition of
Dogs was pitiful. A real disappointment after hearing the DVD.
Snowy White wasn't much better. I have been a fan of his for ages and have
seen what he can do with his gold Les Paul, but it seemed that he didn't
want to be there. He did very little solo work and left most of the
challenging stuff up to Kamen.
After the first set though, they seemed to settle down. (I think Roger must
have had words back Stage) When they came back it was like a different
group of people. Kamen did a faithful solo on "Time" and Snowy picked up
the game as well.
The second set was everything I wanted from the concert and if had only seen
that set, that would have been enough. The songs Roger did from "Amused to Death"
were breathtaking.
I was a little disappointed that they did not do "Each Small Candle" that
song does it for me. They replaced it with "The Flickering Flame." It
didn't have the punch needed to end a concert.
All in all I was wrapped with the gig. I put the disappointing first set
down to jet lag. I will see the Melbourne concert tomorrow and give you an
appraisal. Thanks for taking the time to read by babblings.
Hi Guys,
I've been a Floyd fan since about 1977, and they are a large part of my life
even today. Of course when the band split up in '83 it was devastating but
I knew which path I would follow. Any Floyd fan worth his salt knows that
Roger was going to be the one making the real music from then on. And how
true is it. The last Floyd albums were dull and predictable at the least.
Any attempt to reincarnate themselves was futile with the fact that Roger
had taken with him the band's soul. Anyway enough bitching.
Mick WEINMAN
The show is the same set as the rest of the tour and the album, but with flickering flame at the end. I was impressed with the surround sound system but was expecting a few more effects such as the giant pig. I guess our exchange rate may mean a reduced show even at the cost of the tickets.
The sound was note perfect apart from some of the guitar and keyboard solo's but on the whole Chester Kamen did a good job.
The highlight for me was the set of 4 songs from Amused to Death with the backing singer PP Arnold doing a great job on the 2nd verse of Perfect Sense. Roger clearly loves those songs and seemed to put more emotion into them than some of the Floyd tracks.
It is a shame that nothing is played from Radio KAOS. The Powers That Be is a great song. Hope you enjoy the show when they come to your town!
We arrived at the complex, there were many people from different walks of life, old greying hippies, middle class snobs and youth, plenty of young people which was great to see. Our seats were in section 5 which was to the centre/left of the stage, very nice position. I was in a relaxed mood after the Kilkennys, (as my girlfriend was...falling off her chair onto her arse when she realised it flips up when you stand!) The pink pig was projected onto the rear screen reading IN THE FLESH.. Then I hear an American accent, which sounded like that of Jim Ladd of of Radio KAOS saying, ' Ladies and Gentleman, the show will start in 5 minutes.'
Around 7.40pm Mr WATERS steps onto the stage with his band, walks to the top of 'The Wall' and then begins In the Flesh, and wasn't it LOUD...! I have read articles how back in the 70's Pink Floyd played a gig which killed a number of fish in a nearby lake, and I now understand how these little fishies felt!!! It was very loud but still as clear as a bell, you could hear every note and chord. When In the Flesh started I could hear a bit of feedback rumbling through some speakers which was soon rectified by the army of sound guys.
I was somewhat worried that Roger would be getting tired from touring and reviews from Japan suggested that he wasn't performing with 'angst' but this was put aside when Roger started singing, His 57 year old voice has stood the test of time and sounds as great as ever. The setlist continued the same line up as previous shows, and I cannot explain how pleased I was when Shine On You Crazy Diamond was played in its entirety, not the cut and paste versions which Pink Floyd (and Roger Waters on previous tours) have played. I have heard Snowy White getting bagged about playing mechanically through other websites but on this particular night he was punching out solos that sounded great. Some people just need to understand not all guitar players need to jump around the stage like Kirk Hammett from Metallica to get a good sound.
Dogs was the highlight of the Floyd material played on that night, such a fantastic piece of work, and was given full justice. Perfectly sung by Mr KAMEN (better than Jon CARIN in my opinion) and Snowy/Kamen guitars were right on the money. It was also great to hear pieces from The Final Cut and to hear the set close with Set the Controls (which included a mesmerising sax solo from Norbert STACHEL). The first set seemed to be over in 10 minutes...
20 minutes later we were back in our seats, after paying exorbitant amounts of money for twisties and water!!! to hear a few pieces of The Dark Side. The highlight from the 1973 album being played live was Graham Broad playing the opening drums to 'Time' ... simply sensational. Roger, Harry, Chester, Snowy and Andy all turned and watched as Graham belted the drums.... sounded a million times better than that on the In the Flesh CD... in fact the entire concert sounded better than the CD ( or maybe that was my emotion running away with me!)
With Dark Side out of the way, Roger started with Every Strangers Eyes... and some fine guitar from Andy Fairweather Low (very nice). Next was Perfect Sense. I wonder how Roger got Stanley Kubrick to allow the use of the snippets from 2001 A Space Oddessey.... especially since his death! The sound in the Entertainment Centre was exceptional... the quadraphonic system had you looking over the whole stadium for noises... dogs barking, kids screaming, missiles flying overhead and the swirling keyboard effect.... what a show. But Perfect Sense was beautiful.... PP Arnold, singing her heart out with more feeling and emotion than heard on the studio Amused to Death album or the In the Flesh Live CD......what a voice.
And then came my favourite Waters solo song... It's a miracle, I can't begin to describe this song, how true it rings and what it means to me... we have managed to civilize ourselves...... aren't we clever. Amused to Death followed... with the drums, choir and guitar in between them. Darkside picked up again with Braindamage, Eclipse then Comfortably Numb... The band received a standing ovation and came back to perform Flickering Flame. PP Arnold received her own ovation which was deserved as was the whole band.
I wish I could have provided a more unbiased reveiw, but this was a special event.
My girlfriend attended and was taken aback at how strong the music was, and enjoyed
the concert even after hearing me play Waters/Floyd music endlessley!! The
crowd was well behaved, quiet when it mattered and errupted in applause at the
completion of the songs. I would have hated going to a concert in America, trying
to hear the music with idiots yelling and talking it away. Roger you have outdone
yourself... I wish I could have met up with you, bought you a Kilkenney and
had a good old yarn. Thank you very much.
Regards
Josh DIXON, Sydney Australia
Mother was played beautifully with the flute keyboard sound being played correctly as on the record. Snowy White played a good guitar part on this one. Pigs on the Wing, although it's a short song, I thought was the best song played that night. The sound from Roger's vocals was haunting as well as his acoustic playing, just good sound engineering and playing.
Dogs was the killer song that was so good EVERYBODY Shone through on that Song. Chester Kamen is a real find and he hasgot a great future in music. Alot of people will take note of him.Shine on You Crazy Diamond was played in its entirety 1-9 and it was played so good Roger and the band should get a Grammy Award for preforming it so perfect. Chester did a great job with part 6 after the wind noise being drowned out. This was top stuff! Snowy played the first few parts as per the record just perfect with those 4 notes that always strike a chord when you hear them before the drums come in. Rogers Vocals is just getting better.
Wish You Were Here was played beautifully by Snowy at the intro to it. The Syth Chords at the end which sound like a heavy clarinet, sounded exactly like on the record. A 20 Minute break followed, and I was impressed especially with Shine On. My favourite Floyd Song besides Echoes.
Songs from Dark Side appeared and the one that the Australians always seem to like was Time. As soon as Graham Broad did the excellent solo which was different to the Floyd doing the same song in 88, and was in fact dynamically better and fitted musically with the texture of the piece.
Every Strangers Eyes is perhaps the most moving ballad Roger has ever done, and with Andy Fairweather Low doing a nice backing on this one. Andy seemed to direct certain things behind the scenes and really played a good rhythm part on Money which was good. But the Amused To Death Songs was such a knock out.
Perfect Sense with the lady singing the solo line and the other ladies singing 'The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range' "Just love those laser guided bombs "all in perfect unison. Its a Miracle was stunning with beautiful backdrop visual with the monkey getting a Guernsey and Snowy White playing that guitar part at the end of that song really dynamically. Then, Amused to Death, the most incredible song I have heard in the last ten years. The sound and structure was wonderful. That is the most played song on my copy of the In The Flesh Cd .
Comfortably Numb is another Crowd Favourite with Roger urging the crowd to sing to greater heights, and the guitar duet at the back of the stage was a highlight. Brain Damage / Eclipse was powerful, and that connected with everybody that was there.
After 3 hours and 3 standing Ovations. I did not want this to end. Just
Wonderful Music. Roger and his whole band should be congratulated for putting
the most professional show musically / sound /pa and production of the past 20
years thatI have seen. If my legs hadn't been causing me so much agony that
week I could have possibly gone to the second night, but I would probably have
been selfish, and thanked God that I had such a perfect seat, that the bus going into the
city was on time, and that I got my t-shirt at the perfect time before they sold out. I had
a perfect evening. Thank You Roger Waters and all your wonderful Band.
Please come back to Australia soon, we would all love to see you again.
Kind Regards
simon macdonald
This was different in many ways. For the first time, courtesy of the Net, and this Web site I knew pretty much all that was to be played... and I was wondering whether this would somehow spoil the night. The focus was deliberately on the music, not just the frills (light show) that can complement or distract. Well, it was everything I'd read about, heard about and more. (Did I say it was loud?).
You all know the set order, but it doesn't convey how well it all flows together... and how well an entire album - Wish You Were Here (sans Have a Cigar) stands up so many years down the road. Moving Set The Controls up in the set, and starting the 2nd half with Breathe is definately a winner.
Highlights for me were; In the Flesh, Shine On... Parts 6 - 9, and Perfect Sense, with a blistering Comfortably Numb not far behind. Flickering Flame was a great encore as well.
Roger et al on guitar were great, and can those girls sing!!! Roger makes the 3 hour set go by so quickly.... and you're left with a great buzz after the show that gets you home and then some. Glad I got tickets for tonight as well as you don't come across concerts like this too often.
Did I say it was loud. Fuck it was LOUD!!!!
"In the flesh" was perfect and menacing as ever, and I loved the walking Hammers which were projected while they played, that looked so cool! The explosion at the start of Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert sounded so real that some people were looking around nervously! (laught out loud)
I loved the Final Cut stuff, and they played it perfect. Dogs was my fav! The surround sound system really took off with those dogs ranting and barking. The guitar solos were spot on! And I loved the way they just sat down and played cards during the fantastic syth solo. That was such a distinctive concept.
I think the version of "Shine on " was prob the best I've heard live, better than Floyd have done, a really nice touch with the photos of Syd. A touching tribute :}
The Dark Side tracks were fantastic! Graham on drums at the start of "Time" sticks in my mind. As a lover of drums, I think he's up there with the best.
Rogers solo work really went down well. Oh! and P.P Arnolds got one of the most gorgeouse voices I've heard. So strong!! As have all the girls.
It was just a fantastic night and all of my
friends got what they expected.
Well worth the money, and we would all go again no probs. I just wish that
Roger could have signed my copy of Final Cut and my friends Dark Side,
but hey :}
PP seemed to be having the most fun - had a ball all night. Huge smiles - pity about her dress though. Not sure that she meant to show that much of her chest off. I still can't believe how young she looks.
Harry was great and sang almost every word of every song - pity they didn't give him a mic but maybe his singing is not as good as his playing? ;-) For his guitar part in Comfortably Numb he put his hair up!! Took rather too long doing that and nearly missed his cue.
Without Doyle this is a very different show - personally I preferred Doyle cause Chester just seems to be less interpretative of the solos than Doyle and has a more workmanlike approach - less flamboyant and more copying of Dave's style - just my view. Andy also seems to be playing a larger part of the show on this leg than he did before - certainly in the spotlight more.
Rog spent less time on guitars
other than his bass than in 2000. Crowd was great - quiet and polite. Makes a
change from the bloody noisy Yanks. They sat all the way through and apart from a
few pointless "Roger"'s and whistles, were nice and quiet. There were three
standing ovations for Rog at the end and PP got one of her own - deservedly.
john elliott (jce)
