Gwardia Stadium
From:
At 5 p.m. the gates opened and the first of the fans entered the stadium.
The structure made a bad impression on me: small, ugly. It surely was not an
ideal place for a concert of so great a man as Roger Waters. The Stadium was
filling very slowly because of the gnawing weather. Places in front of the
stage were quickly taken first. But actually the stadium stage
was very visible and the view was good from every place and angle in the stadium
(it was the only advantage resulting from the small size of
stadium).
Music was flowing from huge loudspeakers, placed on both sides of the
rectangular stage, and was making the time pass more pleasantly.
About 7.30 p.m., as if on order, rain stopped falling down and the air
became warmer. Maybe because of the continually increasing number of fans coming into the
stadium. Dark clouds were moving quickly above the stage. When a black
curtain covering the stage set was raised, there appeared pink pig on the huge white screen
and the atmosphere began to grow with excitement.
8 p.m. Fans are calling Roger to the stage. Incessantly Peter Gabriel's
music was played over the loudspeakers and work of the technical stage team progressed
unwrapping instruments from black foil. This gave fans tthe impression that the gig would begin
soon with only a little more delay. Ten past eight there reverberated words spoken by Piotr
Kaczkowski over the stadium public address system. (Piotr Kaczkowski - is a Polish radio announcer.
He works for Polish Radio Program Three and broadcasts his program of rock music. His program is
especially popular with people who listen to Roger Waters and Pink Floyd.) He greeted the audience in Polish and English
saying (in Polish): "...Because it's still very bright out, I'll say Good Morning". He announced that
the gig would last about three hours, and due to the length of the show there would
be an short intermission in the middle. Then he said (in English): "the show
will begin in five minutes".
And he was right. At 8.15 p.m. the first sounds of "In The Flesh" flowed from
loudspeakers. After a minute the band appeared on the stage and few
seconds later Roger Waters walked out wearing black shirt and trousers. Musicians stood sat
with their instruments and Roger Waters stood up over the band, on stage riser
placed at the back of the stage. Eins, zwei, drei counted Roger and in
shortly thereafter began to sing: "So ya thought ya, might like to go to the
show...".
The gig had begun, so far so good. The initial scenes projected upon the back screen
looked like fragments from the film The Wall. A little faint light of searchlight was directed to the
figure of the master. Roger's voice seemed to be still the same as strong as ever like in
1979, on the studio The Wall album. After the end of "In The Flesh", Roger got
down from the few meters high wall and stood in front of his microphone. The
sound of the diving plane and crash reverberated over the stadium and then the
invisible helicopter, which flew over the stadium began "Another Brick
In The Wall", preceded by short "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives". The effect
of flying plane was very realistic thanks to the quadraphonic system loudspeakers located on
both sides, in front and in the back of the stadium. As "Another Brick In The
Wall began the whole stadium sang along; "We don't need no education...". The Audience showed
it's great enthusiasm singing along with Roger through the whole song.
After the excellent guitar solo, Roger picked up his acoustic guitar to
begin "Mother". This softer song brought the excitemtment down a bit, although some people
were still singing along. And here it may be worth mentioning about the photos and movies which
were projected on the big screen that made up the back wall of the stage. There were symbols
associated with "The Wall" appearing on the screen as well as marching
hammers, the teacher abusing children, and of course - the Mother caricature from the song
"Mother".
The next song was Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert connected with
Southampton Dock. It went very well but didn't delight many fans especially. Maybe because
it was still too bright and projected photos were too dim or the fans may not have been as
familiar with the songs. After the songs from "The Final Cut" Roger and his band presented
half of the album "Animals".
There was a short movie shown the on the screen, about the
Battersea Power Plant with the inflatable pig suspended on the wires. After
"Pigs On The Wing" there followed the next song which was expected by many
fans: "Dogs". And now the great quadraphonic sound system was superbly
audible. Dogs' barking was coming from in front and then in the back. The song
was played quite curiously but with the dynamism the studio album
lacked. During this song, Roger along with a few of the other members of the band, sat
down around a table placed on the stage. Upon the back drop screen there appeared a
drawing of a dirty and neglected city-scape. And that was the last song they played
from the "Animals" album.
"Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" filled the next few
minutes of the concert. Roger Waters' version of one of the oldest songs in the set
sounded quite good live. The next album in the journey through the Pink
Floyd's discography was "Wish You Were Here". Through the loudspeakers
flowed the perfectly clean and powerful but at the same time gentle sound of
keyboards beginning "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". The audience responded
immediately - clapping and a sea of rising up hands flooded the stadium. When the
first sounds of the guitar resounded, I came to the conclusion that nobody can
substitute for David Gilmour. Snowy White, who had been playing his guitar
parts, was doing it very well, but the distinction between both musicians was clearly
audible. Here the song also showed off Rogers' son - Harry Waters. He did his job without
mistakes or shortcomings, but I suppose that Jon Carrin could have done it
better.
Time was passing very slowly but in the end there came the moment when the whole
stadium sang: "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond!" From that moment the gig was much better than
before. It began to darken and photos and movies were more and more
visible.
The next song was "Welcome To The Machine". The video clip from this song
was projected on the screen. It was a great rendition. The song from 1975 had a new tone,
with large emphasis put on the message directed at Syd Barrett. During songs
from "Wish You Were Here" little-known photos of the old Pink Floyd appeared with
Syd. A very meaningful component during SOYCD was the projection of Barrett's face,
smudged or pixilated and gradually increasing in magnification. Similar photos accompanied
the next song witch was "Wish You Were Here". The fans applaud it especially enthusiastically.
Everybody was singing along with Roger: "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
year after year". Waters had changed this song significantly. Many verses
were sung a little differently than original, and the ending was completely
changed. The last few chords of WYWH segued into the blowing wind of the second part of
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond part 6". It was by far one of the best played songs of
the evening. At the end of the song huge, shiny star began to rise up from the behind the
wall on the stage. Spot lights shone down as it rotated and it reflected thousands
of silver silvers of light running around the stadium. After SOYCD Pt. 9, the audience rewarded
the band with a long thundering
applause both for this song and whole the first part of the concert which was now at an end.
After introducing the younger version of "Wish You Were Here", Roger
announced that they were going to take the 20 minute break. Fans were still
clapping because they didn't want this great show to stop. Though it in fact
would begin again in a few minutes. It was now already completely dark. Maybe that's
why the second part of the gig went so much better than the first one. I have
to mention that I was standing quite far away from the stage during the
first part. There were many older people beside me.
I decided to get closer
to the stage. Finally I was standing about 5 meters from the barriers which
were fencing off the stage from fans. Standing here I was able to see everything
that was happening on the stage very good. The average of age of fans in this
area was much younger :-) and the atmosphere was completely different. The younger fans
were reacting more enthusiasticly to Roger's every word and gesture than older people.
The break passed very quickly. The sounds of birds and a running river played during the
intermission soon finished. It was completely dark. Suddenly the spotlights lit the stage
again. And the stadium has filled with the sounds of beating heart - straight from "Dark Side
Of The Moon". The audience greeted the band warmly again. "Breathe" drove the fans mad with
excitement The song was played very dynamically.
There was the real concert mood on the stadium. All the photos and film projections
looked great as they were quite visible now because of the darkness. There was the prism on the
screen - exactly the same as on the DSOTM cover. The audience rewarded Roger
with a huge applause for great rendition of "Breathe". Emotions raised even further when the
sound of clock's ticking reverberated around the stadium. No one had any doubts,
it was the beginning of - "Time".
The introduction to this exquisite song was the great drum solo by Graham Board who
bewitched fans with his wonderful performance on the drums, with shouts and screams
of excitement and joy as he finished. There was a graphic of "The
Dark Side Of The Moon" record album twirling on a phonograph projected on the screen.
Then, after "Breathe (Reprise)" the stadium was filled with the sounds of the opening of
cash registers and coin's clinking. Then Roger started to
play his bass for "Money". He was walking on the stage and smiling to the fans in the
first rows, thanking them for the great atmosphere. Money wasn't
Waters' song and here Andy Fairweather Low did the guitar and vocal
tasks. Applauses again flooded the stadium.
Then everybody heard:
"Hello, would you like a cup of coffee? " - words witch begin "Every
Stranger's Eyes" from the Roger's solo album "The Pros And Cons Of
Hitch-Hiking". It was clear that Roger is going to play songs from his solo
albums. I have to admit that I was a little surprised when I saw that many
people knew the lyrics. Everybody was singing along with Roger which made for a
great mood during "Every Stranger's Eyes". The climate was also created by
wonderful and subtle small scale light show, which made a really big impression.
After only one "representative" from "Pros And Cons Of Hitch-Hiking",
Roger began his presentation of "Amused To Death" which had been anticipated by many fans.
The first song was "Perfect Sense Part I". At the end of this piece,
together with words "And they gave him command of a nuclear submarine.",
there appeared large, green submarine on the screen. Roger felt strongly about the song,
and sang very emotionally folding his hands at the audience.
Here also, the exceptional three vocalists: Katie Kissoon, PP Arnold and Carol
Kenyan were able to shine on all songs from ATD. Their clean voices were reverberating also in the
next song: "The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range". In my opinion it was played
much better than on the studio album. It was more dynamic and had more power
and energy. Soon after "The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range" fans heard first
sounds of "It's A Miracle".
It's hard to describe what was happening both on the stage and in the whole of the
stadium. It was the climax of the gig. The clapping and shouting had calmed
down. People were listening to the magic tones of "It's A Miracle" very calmly,
with concentration and astonishment. "A doctor in Manhattan saved a dying
man for free..." - after this verse there echoed the momentous words throughout the
stadium: "It's A Miracle". It was one of the most beautiful moments of the
gig. The mesmerized audience thanked Roger for this song and then he began the title song
from "Amused To Death". All the lights turned off. It was completely dark.
When the words spoken by a terrified women on a TV sounded, and suddenly there appeared a man
with a flashlight on the stage. He was making very chaotic movements with the
beam of light like he wanted to escape from the place by some accident.
I'm lost
for words to describe this moment. Wonderful, miraculous. The tension
was bigger than during "It's A Miracle". I just can not find the words to
describe this. You should have been there and seen and heard to feel the
mood on the stadium. Very meaningful also were names of people who died in
The First World War shown on the screen. There appeared also face of Alf
Razzel whose voice we can hear at the end of "Amused To Death".
The first tones of "Brain Damage" woke the fans as if from exquisite dream.
followed by "Eclipse", which is ended DSOTM. In the very beginning of
this song, there appeared big sun projected behind the urban city-scape scene.
Then as the song progressed the shadow of the moon began to get closer and closer
to the sun. Finally, with
words: "...sun is eclipsed by the moon", there was a total lunar eclipse. The lights had
dimmed and the effect of the eclipse was very realistic. That
moment was great but on the other hand sad. We had all known that the gig was going
to the end. Roger put away his guitar. But the fans didn't want to allow Roger to leave
the stage after what they had seen and heard. Waters made a few nice gestures and said: "Thank you.
You've been a great audience". Then he started to introduce his band and the crowd rewarded every
musician with applause.
Waters picked up the guitar again. And "Comfortably Numb" began. A roar and screams of
happiness were drowning out first chords of song. Now the
audience sang as strong and loud as they could. It seemed that fans had been waiting
just for this moment: "Hello, is there anybody in there ?". When the refrain
came, white spotlights were suddenly directed at the audience. 20,000 fans were
singing along with Roger Waters. People were really enjoying themselves.
Clapping hands
covered the view of the stage for me but the music was what was important. The guitar
solo was probably the most important part of Comfortably Numb. And once again David Gilmour
was very much missed. Roger's guitarists did their job very well but nothing can substitute for
Gilmour's talent. After the masterly "Comfortably Numb" the whole band left the stage.
The applause would not end. The fans just went mad wanting the
musicians to return. After only a few minutes, the white doors in the wall at the back of the stage
opened. And the band came back.
Many fans dreamed of hearing "Hey You". Maybe that's why the whole stadium was
shouting "Hey You, Hey You, Hey You...". We could not convince Roger however. The
encore was - as we all expected - "Flickering Flame". Roger introduced that
piece saying: "This is the new song. It's a song about love and about
freedom. It's called Flickering Flame". I only saw a few persons (like me :-)) who
knew the new song's lyrics. People were listening very attentively to the new
composition. It seemed it was over very quickly. It was deafening prizewinning applause. Roger
thanked us saying: "It's been cold, but you have been very warm. Thank you
so much". The band came out on the stage in a row and held hands and made a bow. It was clear that
concert was over and Roger would not appear on the stage again. Though the applauses
were still lingering until the spotlights lit the floor and seats. After so many sensations, fans
were leaving the small Gwardia Stadium in the hope that sometime in the not too distant future,
Roger would once again play a show in Poland.
Delivered-To: regpinky@inreach.com
From: "Michal Mularczyk"
Many groups of people had already been waiting in the rain and cold for
the opening of Gwardia Stadium's gates. The
odds were that gig of the "genius of Pink Floyd" would take place in the
streaming rain and in very cold temperatures. But weather didn't discourage
either the fans, nor the large numbers people and booths selling Pink Floyd
and Roger Waters merchandise. However, high prices discouraged the purchase
of many Waters concert memorabilia. :-) A mug with pig from In The Flesh cost - 50 zl
(Zloties) or a T-shirt cost - from 90 to 200 zl.
