The International Forum
From: Alasdair Pitt
The set followed the same song order as the DVD - i.e., a first-half consisting
of longer, older Floyd material and the second half moving on to solo material
concluding with the "Each Small Candle" in the encore.
The band has a noticeably different sound with Chester Kamen and Harry Waters in
place of Doyle Bramhall and Jon Carin. Chester has a less bluesy approach than
Doyle and interpreted the solos he did in his own style without seeking to
replicate the Gilmour originals.
Other differences included some different guitar sounds on "Wish You Were Here" and
Andy Fairweather-Low's parts on The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking Part 1. Snowy
White played a Strat throughout the show.
The show rocked! Roger "rules" (as someone in the audience shouted). All
potential fans in Europe should not hesitate - go out and get your tickets today
before they all sell out. The show is a must-see! You will not be disappointed!
As has been noted in previous reviews, Roger appeared genuinely surprised by the
deserved reception he was given by the audience.
Playing a set identical to that on the live DVD, Roger played a great concert here
today. The second of three shows at the Kokusai Forum in Tokyo (5,000 capacity)
was a sell-out: incredible when you think that, with the exception of the live
package, Roger has had no new product for the last ten years. The show was a
full three hours - highly unusual for foreign artists in Japan who customarily
abbreviate their sets to one-and-a-half hours.
Mack The Knife
The sound was good, I was in the 7th row, middle. The vision was very clear, and the sound was well balanced at this seat position. Roger made a mistake on "Amused to Death", he sang the phrase "What is the shelf life instead of "heart life". Katie gave a sharp glance at Roger then!!
On Saturday and Sunday night shows, "Set the Controls..." was played after "Dogs", which used to be followed by "Shine on... part 1". More accurately, UDO music promotion company offered the list to my friend Hattori as follows;
First Half
And Roger made another mistake on "Set the Controls...", he started the song but was it was not right. And then he restarted it again after singing only a few words "little by litt.." or so. We can check it when the tape is available. I witnessed Roger coughed once or twice while he played.
During "Dogs" after they played poker, Chester went back to his original position from the poker table, he kicked Snowy's guitar down on the floor. It did not give it a serious harm though.
And there was a rumour that Roger's acoustic guitar was not plugged for a certain song, I could not identify any problem like this though.
We were able meet Roger again at the hotel he was staying in. His manager ordered us to ask for one autograph each, no surrounding, no touching... When my turn came, I asked Roger if he minded me taking photo with him. He said no and I could have one taken with him, and shook hands with him. I couldn't sleep until 2-3 o'clock that night!
At least I know 4 different person were success in recording all 5 shows. A
friend of mine said both side of his seat were recording the concerts in
Osaka, it was very quiet at the venue and he finally understood that they
were so quiet because of recording!! So you can expect lots of boot CDs in
the market within a month here in Japan, though I do not like buying any of
them.
And at last I was able to listen to Each Small Candle as the encore. Norbert played Sax on this song too, and I got to use my lighter. It was absolutely Beautiful! So far, I thought this was the best show of Japanese tour. I'll never forget this day. I was in the 3rd row!! Yes, very near the stage and to Roger.
When my wife and I waved to Roger, he smiled to us! It was a great moment!! Roger forgot lyrics of Set The Controls and Amused To Death, but he recovered and it was not really a problem.
All in all, it was a fantastic show!
After the show my wife and I and other friends went to the hotel which Roger and the
band members were staying and waited for them. We were able to meet PP Arnold, Linda and
Snowy. But we had to leave to take the last train for home. Later I heard that
Roger had came back to the hotel after we had left ( after only 20 minutes, what a pity!!).
Tomorrow will be our last chance to meet Roger.
