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From: Sue Segal
The story that this concert told had a really emotional effect on me. It
made me realise that Roger Waters really cares about the injustices that have
become so prevalent in our lives. When the pink pig was released over the
auditorium with its messages for us to read, the one that really drew me in
was'free David Hicks now'. There was also a deliciously cynical message about
George Bush written on the pig's rear end! I can't remember exactly the other messages
written on the pig, except for the David Hicks one, but they were all pertinent
to today's political climate.
I was mesmerised by this production. Can't find enough adjectives to extol its
virtues!The money I spent on the tickets and the program was well worth it. I
sent a text message to my brother in the U.K. during the interval to let him know
what he was missing! I'm sure Syd Barrett would greatly approve of this
production of Roger's.
The band accompanying Roger Waters is simply terrific. To see Andy
Fairweather-Low still performing like a twenty-something was a real treat! Roger
Waters looked so fit and handsome that even my husband remarked on his appearance
- my old man is 62 and almost as handsome!!
I am so glad I invested in a copy of
the program. The interview with Roger Waters is well worth a read and I've got
it to add to my Floyd collection.
By the way, the review of the concert in the August 26 Sydney Morning Herald,
written by a respected contemporary music historian by the name of Bruce Elder,
was disappointingly jaded. Anyway, my opinion of the concert is the only one
that matters to me, and I was knocked out by it! The sound mix was excellent.
By the way, on the inner back sleeve of the program it says that Roger
has joined with the Millenium Promise to help eradicate extreme poverty in Africa
and that one can learn more about Roger's commitment on his www.roger-waters.com
web site. However, I haven't been able to locate this info, so am obviously not
doing something right - could anyone advise me, please? I was born and raised in
Uganda during the colonial period, leaving in 1969 when Idi Amin was making his
jaundiced mark on that beautiful country, so I am keen to see what Roger's
commitment is to the African cause.
I wish the band all the verybest for the rest of their Australasian tour.
Last night my husband and I went to Roger's concert in Sydney, Australia, at the
Acer Arena. What a night! What an amazing production. It was superb. I would
have to say that it's the best rock concert I have been to, and I have been to a
few!
8 PM Thursday evening (Australia Day Eve.) My friend and me found our seats (8 rows from the stage) and right on time the sounds of 'In the Flesh' vibrated throughout the Arena .
It was as good if not better than his previous 2002 concert at Sydney Entertainment Centre. The Arena was packed full with an audience of all ages.
'LONG LIVE ROGER'
Rogers passion forworld peace, harmony between races and tolerance forour individual and cultural differences is inspiring - deeply inspiring. The human RACE does indeed have to stop this incessant RACE toward destruction.
I wish Roger all the
best,FROM ONE HUMAN TO ANOTHER....Peace.
We arrived at Acer Arena, had a couple of drinks, picked up our free t-shirts. Free!! Well maybe, but after 350 bucks for a ticket, we were expecting Roger to personally greet us!Shirts were 50 bucks and there were some great designs. We also got a program, 40 bucks, and then wandered and took in the sights around for a while.
Part one of the show opened with In the Flesh, now a trademark opening for Roger. IMHO the best track for a show opening anywhere, anytime. It was Electric. We were seated under a very large speaker stack and my ears were still ringing 24 hours later. The sound was room filling, yes a very large room! Mother was fantastic, it always works better with a female voice singing the mother part. Set the Controls was well, fantastic as well! The instrumental section was as psychedelic as I have heard.
Shine on was too short, leaving parts 2 and 3 out, but still a great track. Have a Cigar was a stand out track.The rendition was very grungey with very metallic lead guitar and it was great to here Roger finally do this track live in Australia. Wish You Were Here was again well done.Roger really seemed to be enjoying himself, making reference to this being his first gig on this part of the tour.
Southampton Dock and Fletcher were great.I really like The Final Cut, many Floyd fans don't.Fletcher is a wonderful track and Roger sang it with passion and its messages are as timely and poignant now as they were in 1983 when it was released.
Perfect Sense 1 and 2, the only real tracks from Roger's solo career in the show were great. The sound was really ramped up and this song moved into a frenzy like anthem with fantastic stage effects, fire bombs and rumbling sub woofers. Check out my video of the explosion...and my photos of the astronaut inflatable.
Leaving Beirut, a solo song never released on an album, but available on CD was far better than the CD recording.Roger has done a lot of work on this track and it is a real delight now. Andy does a great job on the guitar as well.
Sheep, by far the stand out track, 12 minutes of sheer delight.An assault on the senses. The fabled pig makes an appearance during the prayer/instrumental section. What a track to end the set, from the opening to the close this set was just fantastic and a delight to witness.
To see Dark Side recreated almost identically to the original studio recording was something else.From the start of the heart beat to the end this was 45 minutes of exceptional musicianship.
Time was superb, Graeme does a great job on the drums and it is still my favourite track from the album.
Carol did a superb job of Great Gig and each and every track blended just like the album.Money was fantastic, and great to hear as it was recorded, with no extended jam in the middle! On The Run was just astounding, with a couple of bizarre staticy (deliberate) section.The explosion and rumble at the end, was earth shattering.The depth of the low notes rumbled the chairs we were in and the ground. We could feel it in our chests like an earthquake, it was both ear and bone shattering.
Sadly time just flew during this set.Dark Side is not a long album, but 45 minutes seemed to fly by. Roger also seemed to focus on the music rather than effects in this part of the show, which was pleasing.
Brain Damage and Eclipse rounded out a great set and all 11,000 people gave Roger a rousing standing ovation.
Part three, comprising songs only from The Wall was really enjoyable. Roger tied songs together perfectly, Happiest Days lead into Another Brick as did Vera and then Bring The Boys Back Home and Comfortably Numb.I'd filled my CF card by this stage, so only got a few shots.
The solo on CN was great, Roger made a faux pas earlier when introducing the band, introducing Dave Kilminster almost as Dave Gilmour....Gilminster...
IMHO all in all a stand out show.Better than his 2002 because of the faithful
reproduction of some Floyd classics and the drive and passion Roger had on this
his first show of 2007.
The production was first class and hard to fault. The synchronization of the whole experience was amazing and floorless. Not only were all the effects well coordinated and top notch, but the sensations of feeling heat, hearing perfect surround sound effects and mixing the video background with real on-stage effects was extremely well done.
As if that wasn't enough, I think possibly the best thing were the performances themselves. Roger gave it his best and sounded incredibly good. He was obviously putting in a huge amount of effort to present such a professional result something many long-term acts do not do! Not once did he appear to cruise or relax his performance and the outcome was beautiful. All his band and backing singers performed with the same amount of attention to detail and passion. The whole theatrical experience was nothing short of amazing. I and many others who I spoke to after the concert were blown away.
Thank you Roger for a wonderful evening and an experience I will never forget.
It is a shame he is not playing in Sydney again this tour, as I would love to see
the show again!!
Some great renditions included HAVE A CIGAR, WISH YOU WERE HERE, SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND, SHEEP,
THE FLETCHER MEMORIAL HOME and so on. The inflatable pig and the astronaut were great too. Thanks to
Roger and band for a great night. Come againwith either yourself or with the Floyd. One can dream.
It was really frustating to be apart of such an amazing concert, while the majority of people just sat there and bearly swayed! Your music played a direct tone to my heart! I can not explain how much I loved the moment. I have the Roger Waters DVD, and Roger you really rock, you moved just like you have for so long, you are absolutly amazing!! There is no other music that moves me so much.
Mother would have to be one of my favorite songs, I'm so pasionate about that song. I want to play an acoustic version at my own mothers funeral, once she goes, god bless her.
Thank you... Thank you!
I really liked your new song!
FUCK THE WAR - FUCK BUSH - FUCK THE WAR
DONT BE SO RUDE DONT MAKE LIFE FUCKED
LIVE LIFE FREE - DONT TRY TO FREE LIFE WITH WAR
Thankyou again
Nick Schroor
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