Roger Waters World Tour 2008
Tour Reviews

The first review about the Granada concert stated that it was "Incredible!" The reality was that the place was a football stadium and it was a terrible site to hold a concert. The organization selling tickets lied us. The experience was certainly not what we paid for. The sound was terrible, the place was terrible, and I think that it was the worse Roger Waters concert ever. It wasn't his fault, because I think they lied him too. Roger tried to make the concert a good one, but it was light years away from last years's Barcelona show. Most of the people were red necks from the village who likely didn't know who Roger Waters was, let alone Pink Floyd. And you can see what they did to the PIG http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=cjQ_PLq0A8w it was terrible.

From: João Pinto
Hello, It's always great to write these reviews, because it means that I saw a Roger Waters gig.

This time Roger didn't came do Portugal, so I drove 700 Km from Lisbon to Granada to see him at the venue there and, sincerely, it worth every centimetre of the trip.

First a few notes before I get into the main review:

The show took place in a small stadium in a little town near Granada. I think that the general organization revealed some problems: the seating stands near the stage were reserved for the press and VIP guests, and the other seats were very far away on the opposite side of the stadium oposite the stage. Also the general conditions of the stadium were very poor, because it is a small football stadium in a small town.

The audience were good, but, in my modest opinion, not so good as I expected from a latin crowd. I suppose that occurred because the audience was composed of a general mix of Pink Floyd and Roger Waters fans, and the local residents that attended a special night at the venue of their city.

The prices of the food and drinks were insane!! I've never paid those kind of prices at any event in Portugal (not even in Rock in Rio!!)

During the day the rain keep falling very hard. And during the concert as well, for about 1 hour, it continuously rained.

But, let's cut the crap and let's talk about the gig

The readers of this site already know the general description of the show, so I just write some notes about the concert:

The show was far better than the one that I saw at Rock in Rio (2006), and Roger was in a great shape, physically and vocally, very happy and always interacting with the audience.

The lights and special effects were great but, to me, the large screen on the stage and the selection of images and videos that were reproduced, with a fantastic 3D effect, were the central attraction of the show.

In the Flesh opened the show and, near the end of the song, the sound went out, so the explosions and fire-works didn't have the effect that they certainly would have achieved with sound.

Because of the rain, the laser that makes the logo of TDSOTM didn't work. Nobody's fault (just the rain!!).

Special moments: "Set The Controls", Perfect Sense (always!!), the "The final cut" songs (with a tear in my eyes), "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," "Have a Cigar" and, to close the first half, "Sheep" with the flying pig passing over my head with the crowd in hysteria!!

The Dark Side of The Moon performance was fantastic in every aspect, and I will always remember the opening sequence with the spacecraft passing the moon and giving a 3-D effect that it might come right out of the screen at our heads!!

The encore was perfect, and the synchronized explosions in Bring The Boys Back Home were fabulous, while Comfortably Numb was the epic and fantastic end of the show.

The band was great (as always). And, by the way, is it a coincidence that Chester Kamen appeared to have an Andy Fairweather Low playing style??

I already read in some sites (and in this one also) that the sound were bad. From the place I was standing (10 meters away from the stage and in the middle of the football field), the sound was great, this I can assure you!!

So, a great performance of my favourite musician!! Thank you Roger!!

Well, it happened that, thanks to the opportunity generously provided for us by Jose Abelln of the fanzine, forum and official Pink Floyd Spanish fan club, and despite our modest musical category among the rest of the Spanish cover bands, we found ourselves at the end of a crazy week of putting off other activities or appointments and being part of the whole event which was the only Roger Waters gig in Spain.

Once we were totally conscious of the responsibility and challenge it all meant, we headed off to Atarfe (Granada) in the evening, as we were, if not the typical support band, a kind of warm-up band which would also perform for two hours after Roger's act.

The long and tiring trip from different place in Spain we're from (Valencia, Tarragona), really left us exhausted, and some members of the group didn't arrive until around 8 oclock; when we were supposed to be already performing.

The stage was spacious and well set, and the audio system far better than anything we had used before. If only I had been covered, or had a marquee! The technicians were nice people, and then it was time for the sound check but we were at once interrupted and told to keep quiet as god himself was beginning his own sound check.

Later on, it was clear we weren't going to play before Roger's performance (the 20,000 fans were already filing into the football field). So, we also went down onto the field accompanied with our mentor Jose Abelln, who had wonderfully offered us the chance to somehow play a part of the whole event.

He left us as he had tickets for the balconies with some of his family members, and soon started the greatest show on earth, with due punctuality.

The band members were appearing on the stage, a lot of us already knew about the small changes in the line-up: Andy F-Low and Katie Kissoon replaced by Chester Kamen (good memories from 2002) and the new girl Sylvia Mason-Jones.

The atmosphere became electrifying as Roger waved to the crowd seconds before IN THE FLESH, and at once ecstasy exploded! The song sounded courageously immense, and the cheers were deafening, followed by the inevitable smirks in the audience when there was a total power failure of the P.A. system (only the band's monitoring speakers were working). Roger smiled and made gestures of an unplugged plug which needed to be re-plugged.

MOTHER, already with the sound recovered... was quiet, and relaxed with beautiful the vocals.

With SET THE CONTROLS, a shift to another time (40 years back, no less) was inevitable... it was pure musical beauty, psychedelic music in it's purest form, the guitar solo apocalyptic (Snowy White played almost with rage) and so was ethereal and interstellar sounds of the soprano sax solo.

With SHINE ON... it was easy to appreciate how much the images on the screen enhanced the music. We, the true fans, know that the homage to Syd Barrett is heart-felt and sincere.

Although Welcome to the Machine is the song that really rocks, one of the most hallucinating songs by the Floyd, HAVE A CIGAR isn't quite a filler either: you know, the song Roger always regretted not having sung himself. It sounded strong and fierce, with no concessions. It was definitely one of the best songs of the concert.

The light effects and the back projections kept adding a unique touch to the overall theater of the show.

WISH WERE YOU HERE will go down in history as the cherished hymn of Pink Floyd, even though it was always meant to be for Syd Barrett.

The acoustic SOUTHAMPTON DOCK worked wonderfully in providing a bit of a relaxed prequel for THE FLETCHER MEMORIAL HOME which went down as what it actually is: a beautiful ballad sung by Roger with feeling and commitment. I am sure there are parts of The Final Cut which compare to classical music. Take the overwhelming musical force of The Gunner's Dream and The Final Cut for example.

By now I was noticing the different instrumental changes: when Kamen switched from bass to guitar or Jon Carin used his... later on I kind of lost track: who plays the bass in Leaving Beirut? Sometimes during Dark Side, it sounded as if there were two bass guitars playing.

PERFECT SENSE must be more a big hit in other countries, where the lyrics are better understood and the audience explodes with the song... yet, here in Atarfe, Andalucia it was received with a big roar, too. PP Arnold, as usual does it wonderfully.

I still can't tell the ladies' faces apart: C. Kenyon and Katie Kissoon: this time from where I stood I could also see the new girl: Silvia Mason-Jones. Another member of the band, although I couldn't spot him well from where I stood, was Robinson Crusoe, I mean, Harry Waters... who I had the double pleasure of having met before back in 2002. Once in Lisbon (where I got an autograph), and then again in Barcelona (where I got a hand shake). I guess I figured... that if I couldn't meet the father... at least I was able to meet the son.

LEAVING BEIRUT is a great tune whose enjoyment is not hampered by its length. The public followed the story and the music, because to Roger's merits, he used comic format graphics on the big screen to explain it. The political message is direct and I'm sure most of the people share it.

I don't recall exactly when it started to rain... we had feared that it might, and it happened. Most people didn't carry macintoshes or umbrellas, including me. Our drummer's wife's umbrella prevented me from ending up absolutely soaked.

Then SHEEP, we mustn't forget that on previous tours the chosen song from Animals had been Dogs, but then it happened that with this song the whole audience went cathartic: brutal, it was such an impressive deliveryÉ the fans were dumbfounded, the ominous keyboards and the guitars mesmerized. Every fan has their own favorite from the album, I think this song, played live, simply does it.

Then it happened: the pig was going to take to the air, but it didn't take off! It must have been because of the rain? And the audience began to play a game with it shoving it upwards over each others heads. The picture was impressive: the raging song sounding, the rain and this nice piggy that was approaching... Within minutes, the fans proved that the human being has to destroy or devour everything in its reach, and has to collect everything, anything! Be it a piece of the Berlin wall or a piece of plastic from Roger's famous pig. After the consistent ripping and shredding, in no time there was no trace left of it. At the end of the song Roger had asked over the PA: "let it go, let it go!" but it wasn't to be.

Some time during the break our drummer Txuspi came back from getting his mac and gave us really bad news: the technicians were disassembling our stage because of the rain.

The band reappeared and Roger gave us his appreciation as a great audience... I was thinking to myself: it must be hard to say that knowing that we had just turned his pig into shreds. On the pig had been slogans like: "All religions divide us" which I particularly liked.

DARK SIDE flowed as the masterpiece it is. TIME was great to hear, although the fuss about the drum intro by Graham Broad maybe was a bit too much, we have already tasted it for some time, but to newcomers and young fans it was a treat, for sure.

GREAT GIG IN THE SKY was big, very big, like always, with C. Kenyon's voice in the three parts. What a fantastic tune you wrote, Rick Wright!

MONEY was smashing again, with fierce guitar solos.

US & THEM, was great, with the usual fine videos.

The rain had stopped by then, and luckily it wasn't very cold. BRAIN DAMAGE & ECLIPSE put an end to the XXth century masterpiece. Though, for some like me, THE WALL belongs to that label too. Newcomers to the greatest rock band ever: also check out THE FINAL CUT, AMUSED TO DEATH, MEDDLE and PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN, and you'll see for yourselves, not forgetting the whole WISH YOU WERE HERE.

The gig was seemingly over, Roger introduced de band and somebody new to the whole thing would have thought: "that's it". NO. Roger is generous and again he played the five songs for the encore. I can't point out many groups or acts who put up a show lasting 2 hours 45'!

ANOTHER BRICK II was sung along by everyone, and I mean EVERYONE. Another hymn which will last forever. VERA is a luxury to hear live in 2008. Even the music from the 40's, played before the show, was very welcomed by me. I also enjoyed the music played AFTER the show. Maybe it was by Vera Lynn herself or some other singer from the period?

BRING THE BOYS BACK HOME sounded tremendous, already the light effects and explosions were "in crescendo," and the whole stage was all lit up.

And at last, for many like me: THE BEST SONG FROM THE XXth CENTURY: COMFORTABLY NUMB. No comments needed here. How lucky for mankind that Gilmour and Waters, despite some differing points of view managed to pull off this superb song among songs. The series of alternating guitar solos, perhaps a bit short, and lacking the unique "something" that Gilmour provides, otherwise the immense song remains a legacy for the human race, and maybe some extraterrestrial beings too.

Then.... it was over. Folks with tousled hair and mostly very wet, all of us were filing outside the field. I didn't want to consider the stupid comment of review posters, or elsewhere, that this might be "Roger Waters' last tour" or opportunity to see him. I laugh out loud when I think back to when I got hooked on Pink Floyd, back in 1983, when the band was practically separated, and I was convinced I would never get to see any of them live. Bar the late beloved Syd Barrett, it has been the 4 Pink Floyd gigs in Spain, Roger Waters in Barcelona and Lisbon 2002, himself again in Barcelona 2007 and now this show (of which our cover band would have been part if the rain had permitted). Apart from some juicy anecdotes, brief but intense meetings, and some autographs.

And good old Roger, who still can bless us with more. His keeping fit despite a face which cannot hide the passing of time is hopeful, and after a long lapse without performing (1987 1999) it seems he still feels the thrill of touring and maybe we can see him live again with his classic hits or songs from a new album. Who knows?

Outside the field disappointment materialized before us: Even if there hadn't been more rain for the rest of the night, it would have been very dangerous to play on the soaked stage, which was now nearly completely dismantled. We began to try to cope with the fact that we weren't going to play a two-hour after show for an audience bigger and more demanding than we would have ever done.

I guess that with the inspiration from Roger's gig we would have offered at least some interest with our cover material to the people who maybe "wanted more". Well, another time, perhaps. No, it won't happen again, but... we have the consolation of having spent some nice hours with the great Jose Abelln (heartfelt thanx, mate), and of meeting other fans. We had the pleasure of experiencing an indescribable atmosphere around a musician who is for us god-like, and of enjoying some nice sightseeing and landscapes and staying in beautiful rural lodgings. There is a lot to be grateful for, not least of spending some priceless hours with wives, girlfriends, and friends such as my friend the sound technician and my cousin the local councillor Gerardo from our hometown Sinarcas (Valencia). We were lucky to meet many other fine people as well. But, to us, above everything else, was to kind of go down in history as the tribute band whose sound check was shut down by the one and only Roger Waters when he was about to start his.

Now it's time to have a deserved rest from the awesome 500 km trip, and to remain "comfortably numb" and treasure the aftertaste of having been part of something big."

From REG member:
Benito J. Prez
("Beni" keyboardist, occasional bassist, and occasional bold backing singer with Los Uveros, The Sinarcas Rock Band)