2006 Europe
Tour Reviews

It started at exact 8.00 pm. The audience was enthusiastic and Roger was even more enthusiastic. He started talking even before the first song.

Compared to the concert at Arrow Classic Rock, the band has gone a level higher. There was not one mistake and the sound was really great. Roger was in a very good mood and kept walking to the sides of the stage making a connection with the audience.

I saw the concert of the remaining Pink Floyd in 1994. That show was great, with all its lighting effects and the huge stage, but I can say that the show that Roger is doing now is musically so perfect and straight from the heart, even if there was not a light show at all, David would be in the shadow of Roger. Roger's claim to be the creative genius of the Pink Floyd is an understatement.

If you can get tickets to this concert, don't hesitate and go see and enjoy it.

Kind regards,
Hans van Nieuwkerk
Aalsmeer

Music
Just around 8 PM the band fired up the engine and kicked-off with 'In the Flesh,' a violent and dramatic opening of the show, both music and performance considered. Roger's voice sounded powerful throughout most of the songs and it's clear he's enjoying it. While Mr. Waters plays acoustic guitar or bass, depending on the song, the other members of the band take care of the rest. These musicians consisted of Andy Fairweather Low (Guitar, Bass), Snowy White (Guitar), Graham Broad (Drums) and the great Jon Carin (Keys, Vocals, Lap steel), all who have been in the band during previous tours. But, besides these very experienced and talented musicians, there were also some talented newcomers like Roger's son Harry (Hammond), Ian Ritchie (Sax) and the widely discussed Dave Kilminster (Guitar, Vocals).

As for the latter: this guy can sure play some mean guitar, definitely a sound very true to the original with some improvising along the way, but always true to the original feel of the song. Besides playing guitar, he also sung bits and pieces showing he's a great addition to the band providing them with more versatile vocals.

Vocals, keys, lapsteel and whatever else is exotic, Jon Carin does it all, and, as in previous tours, he's good at it all as well. The intonation, timing, sound and emotion captured in his voice fits the songs perfectly.

When talking about vocals you can't escape the three lovely ladies, Katie Kissoon, PP Arnold and Carol Kenyon, who had their spot at the right of the stage. Singing in close harmony most of the time, but also giving brilliant solo performances which were all three followed by a standing ovation. The applause even started during the vocal breaks in 'Mother,' 'Perfect Sense' and 'The Great Gig in the Sky' and lasted till the band set in for a new song.

As for Roger himself, as always he was full of emotion, while singing, he managed to get the crowd going even though two times he had to struggle to reach the vocal lines. It wasn't perfect, but it didn't really bother anyone either. In the end, the maestro's musical performance was just very good.

Contrary to the outdoor concert at the Arrow Rock Festival, this show was held in a sports arena which has a bad reputation for the poor sound quality. This meant Roger's sound engineers had to work hard in getting the music across well. Unfortunately they didn't fully succeed. The vocals were bad at some locations, and were a lot better in other parts of the arena. All things considered the sound was less than optimal, but good enough to enjoy the music and the special effects coming from 3 speaker clusters hanging halfway down the venue as well as in the back. Inconsistency in the sound levels and mix might have lead to different opinions about the show, but after visiting over 5 spots throughout the venue, my overall impression was; close to perfect for the music, but a little less for sound.

Performance
Much has been written about the lightshows of Pink Floyd's concerts, and of course the lights at the Roger Waters show were equally great. At the beginning, the giant beamers projected many images and videos upon a huge rectangular screen. Images of the 'The Wall hammers,' and psychedelic liquid and oil slides and old Pink Floyd pics during 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.' During 'Have a Cigar' the booze and cigars mixed with images of fame and fortune dominated the screen. The fading hands changing the dial of the old radio, flanked by toy soldiers during 'Wish You Were Here' was a nice touch of detail. 'Southampton Dock' showed an aircraft carrier at sea, and faded to a lot of toy soldiers on the floor. Probably belonging to those inhabiting the 'Fletcher Memorial Home' where they wander around looking at portraits of dictators like Hussein, Mao, Stalin and of course Bush. There was the competition in a huge stadium between a submarine and an oil rig, and also a computer animated video which was shown during 'Perfect Sense.' The full story of 'Leaving Beirut' was presented in black and white comic book '4i' graphics.

After the break, it was time for the graphics and video's to be projected on customary Floydian round screen. These began with an image of the moon and a satellite, but during the show, animations of ticking clocks, piles of coins and rotating brains were exchanged with psychedelic colorful animations. The visual representation of 'The Dark Side of the Moon' was spot on, and certainly gave the show that special feel. The light columns that had been at the back of the stage displaying all sorts of colors, and the patterns seemed to be capable of more, showing parts of the lyrics during 'Bring the Boys Back Home.'

While most of the band plays in the background most of the time, they do each get their moment in the spotlights; Dave Kilminster for example during 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond,' Graham Broad during his drum solo in 'Time' and of course sax player Ian Ritchie during 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun' and many others. In the mean time, the audience hardly got a look at Harry Waters and Andy Fairweather Low, which was kind of sad for them.

But of course the main attraction was Roger himself, while singing he was center stage, but the rest of the time he was walking up and down the stage. His interaction with the audience was great, and people in the audience most certainly felt addressed when Roger was standing at one of the sides of the stage singing or shouting along with the music to the people in the arena or those in the seats. People who would most probably never have expected to see Mr. Waters this close. The enthusiasm of Roger Waters in contact with his audience looked genuine and gave this concert an intimate feeling considering the size of the venue.

Summarizing, it's safe to conclude the lights were great, but lighting up more of the band at times wouldn't have hurt. The performance itself was very good, and the many great videos and a very enthusiastic band and frontman made the music magazine's promise for concert of the year a reality, so far at least. Comparing this concert with the one at Arrow Rock Festival is almost impossible because at the festival much of it took place in semi-daylight and half of the projections, lights and effects could not be well seen. Also, it had a much larger crowd (35,000 as opposed to 10,000). So it's safe to say the Arrow Rock concert may have been more overwhelming, but this one was most certainly more intimate and intense.

My Rating:
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 8
Light: 9
Total: 10