by Rankin
Prelude:
I have been following the tour via the reviews and have been much anticipating Roger's return. Because of the length of time in between albums and appearances, I honestly was beginning to think he wasn't going to tour again. The last time I caught Roger was at the Berlin show, which was a fantastic, once in a lifetime event. But with the nearly Woodstock-sized crowd and spectacular staging, it didn't lend itself to an intimate experience. Not to sound like I didn't like it though, it was GREAT, and even being an avid concert fan, there is very little to compare it to.
It,s hard to write this without mentioning how much of a Water's fan I am. One of my most vivid experiences with an album was on the day Animals was released. I spent maybe 2 hours in the local head shop where they played the album over and over, helping to fuel a lifelong Floyd obsession. It occurred to me that I grew up with heaviest Water's era of the band, growing with it. Animals, or The Wall or The Final Cut are my favorites as they are playing. I missed The Wall tour by maybe six months, meaning that I realized that much later that I could've gone to New York and gotten tickets but at age 17 I hadn't quite discovered what you could if you tried. When Roger toured with The Pros and Cons album I traveled to Cleveland to catch it (a 5 hour drive) and found out for myself just how much he was Floyd. Something that I never seen touched upon is his contribution of drama to rock and roll. Singing Nobody Home in the hotel room backdrop is chilling. No one else can pull it off. Try finding some drama in the Gilmour-led Floyd. Behind the smoke and the lights is nothing but mirrors. All in all, they were pretty lifeless in comparison to what I had seen with Roger's shows. Looking back, they were more of a huge production than a show. I will admit I really enjoyed hearing Echoes when he played it in Cleveland on the Momentary Lapse tour. That was a surprise. To provide an interesting counterpoint, I caught Gilmour on his solo tour and loved it. He performed for 3000 or 4000 people (hmmm, just like Roger without the Floyd name behind it on the Kaos tour) with a excellent band (including Mick Ralphs from Bad Co./Mott the Hoople who was having a blast) with minimal lights, all of his music except 3 Floyd tunes. It was amazingly unpretentious.
I hear people complaining about the lack of production in this tour. Where were you for The Pros and Cons tour? What about the Radio Kaos Tour? (At the Floyd shows while this tour was on, I'm sure) He had the round screen, the video, and a brilliantly staged, multimedia show. Roger is a showman and a genius that is not to be missed on tour. The Radio Kaos tour was an elaborate affair in which you had to pay attention to get the gist of what Roger was trying to say. I happened to catch a killer show in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend. There were parts of the show where you could tell Roger was astounded with the crowd's reaction. A couple months later in a Rolling Stone article he stated that the crowds in Indy and San Diego actually got the message he was trying convey with the tour. Coming from Roger, I took that as a hell of a complement.
I'll take stripped down Water's show focusing on the music any day just to see him play. My best memories are songs like If, Mother, or Set the Controls, GYFHOMD and South Hampton Dock where it's just him and a guitar.
Ticket Quest
This brings us to the latest round of shows. I was having a hell of a time being in the right place at the right time for tickets. I went to buy them 3 times and it didn't work out. I found out about the tour a couple days after the Cleveland show sold out. Then when I got word of the Columbus show I just missed getting tickets. When they moved the Cleveland show I didn't have enough notice to have the time off work. I almost paid $150 for the Columbus show from a broker but luckily held off a few days. Then they moved that show so I was going to buy tickets the following Monday. On Sunday this site posted the Deer Creek show which was an hour closer and since I had such fond memories of him in Indianapolis there last time. I got 13th row on the floor, stage left. I'm a happy Floydian.
A note about Indianapolis, this is a HUGE classic rock town. They're still living in the early eighties here. Lots of rednecks and inbreeding too. They bought lots of Momentary Lapse of Songwriting albums and very few Waters albums. But because they are followers, there will probably be a great turnout this time. (Hey-I hear he'll be doing a bunch of Floyd stuff, want to go?) This time they'll see who's Pink.
Day of Show
I went up to Indianapolis early with my wife. Attempted an early dinner at a favorite restaurant but got slightly behind schedule getting to the show, mostly because of traffic concerns. We arrived at the show at nearly 7pm. Seven bucks to park in an ex-cornfield. Thanks for reaming me Sunshine Promotions.
As soon as I got in, I ran into a friend, talked a few minutes. I immediately ran into my brother who decided to come up and check it out. He's a major Water's fan too. He purchased lawn seats that day. I'm not a big t-shirt fan anymore but had to get a Roger shirt. I decided on the one-sided white shirt with the In The Flesh tour logo. I liked the other ones but they didn't have the Indy show on the venues/dates. I would have rather had the polo shirt but I would never pay $45.00 bucks for that. I have an aversion to the market forces. Wonder where that comes from?
We get down to our seats about 7:25 and a Deer Creek flunky tells us the show has been moved back to 8pm. It's a good thing because there are still tons of people not in their seats. We are sitting stage left at an angle and real close, actually ending up at about row four if the seats weren't angled. We are sitting by some way-too-intoxicated Gilmour Era Floyd fans who have no idea of what they about to see. They get up and we talk to some other fans that just got their seats from Ticketmaster online that day. Seats that are released after the stage is set up that could be obstructed if sold before. They had seen the Cleveland show and were real anxious to experience it again. We talk about the band and the set list.
At approximately 8:05 pm, the band walks out and then Roger. Back to my DRAMA comment, there was more drama and showmanship in the song In The Flesh than in either of the Momentary Lapse tour shows I went to. It's a great song to start a show with. Roger's voice was strong and his actions throughout the song were well received by the crowd. He kept up the crossed arms salute just long enough, any more and it would have been cheesy. The band wasn't immediately in sync but eased into it by halfway through the song.
The Thin Ice flowed smoothly and his voice had just enough edge inflected to effectively strike a balance between pathos and pain. ABITW(pt.1) had the crowd clapping in time. I pointed out the band to my wife, naming them and pointing out associations with various bands, albums and tours. She was impressed immediately with the bands tightness and the pulling off of the "sound of The Wall songs while giving it a face and a show on top of it.
Some fool stuck in the seventies in front of us was way too excited in a stupid, drunken way. We thought he was going to plant a big wet kiss on his buddy at times. He was distracting enough to eventually trade seats with my wife so I would have him in front of me and she would sit by the drunk beside me. That one quieted down when he wasn't making beer runs. The screen show didn't do much for me. I was there for the band and a slideshow with redundant images really doesn't give me a reason to scream. In retrospect, I admit, I did miss the animated movies from his previous tours.
It's always nice hearing at least a slice of The Wall in continuity. ABITW(pt. 2) is a bit worn in my eyes but it was impressive hearing the crowd sing it like they meant it. Mother is one my favorite songs and was effective. The back-up singers covered all of the hard to hit notes and were not distracting to me, actually adding to the song. Even with Roger Waters/ Pink Floyd songs, I don't expect total note-by-note renditions. I go to concerts for a fresh take on songs in a live setting. Roger had obviously been treated to the crowds obligatory screams from various lines and had settled into trying to gloss over some of the well-worn ones. He was fun to watch on this one, with his facial expressions.
For GYFHOMD and Southampton Dock, he sat on a stool with his acoustical guitar. This was a way too brief part of the show. I think the songs off The Final Cut are some of his most introspective and deserve more of the spotlight, especially since he didn't tour with that album. Oh well, Ive seen 4 of the songs live now from various tours. He hit a wrong note at end of the medley. I laughed and he got a good chuckle out of it. Whoops. After the show, I thought about how good When The Tigers Broke Free would sound in a live setting. Oh well, maybe someday. Pigs on the Wing is fantastic short song that has always been another favorite of mine. Anyone who can stand on stage by himself with just a guitar and do a heartfelt rendition of a great song rates high in my book. No trappings, just the musician. I have been anxiously waiting Dogs on this tour and was rewarded well. Jon Carin is underrated in the rock world. Well, maybe not, both Dave and Roger used him. With all due respect for Dave, he recruits a killer band too and he used him first. Carin's guitar work was flawless and the keyboard work was awesome. I paid closer attention to him to see what he was doing during each song from this point on. The song had great atmosphere, something that's hard to pull off in a live setting. The beginning was faster than the album, kind of rushed, but after the first part it slowed down. All of the little touches you expected to hear was there sound wise and Roger's killer, caustic lyrics finally experienced in the flesh made this an unforgettable song.
WYWH was a little more restrained than on his previous tours but I'll take this song any way, any time. And I still sing along to that song every time I hear it.
The sound was excellent throughout the evening. Even being near a speaker bank, we could still here the other speakers. We weren't in the best place for the surround/quad/q-sound (whatever?) effects but we could still hear them when they kicked in. The sound got louder with WTTM and stayed louder for the rest of the show.
SOYCD was another highly anticipated song for me. Snowy pulled off some nice solos. It seemed like the more precise solos went to Snowy while Doyle got the rest. Well, not all, in the second part of the show, Andy did a wild guitar solo but I can't remember the song. It was fantastic though. It was the one of the few times he stepped up near the front of the stage. As mentioned before in other reviews, the transitions weren't entirely smooth in a couple places but I'm not bitching. That in no way detracted from the show and I enjoy watching and hearing musicians pull off different arrangements in songs. It's just great to see Roger on the road again.
Doyle was an extremely capable guitarist. On a couple solos it seemed he tried to play them too fast but that could have been enthusiasm or just the way Roger wanted them to be played. ( It's funny, my wife and I had watched a new release video a few weeks back called "Still Crazy. It's about a fictional 70's rock band that was on the brink of being big but just self-destructs during an outdoor gig. They try to reunite in the 90's but without their original guitarist. They recruit a young hotshot guitarist who reminded both of us of Doyle. We discussed it a couple days later and had both arrived at the same conclusion during the show. There was a weird parallel or 2 going on here. For anyone into rock, the movie was surprisingly good.) Another thing to point out though, I kept wishing Snowy would get more of the solos. He could have obviously handled it.
"We'll take a 10 minute break and be back with the second half. The drunken fool in front spent the entire second half of the show with his head between his knees. Then they left 2 or 3 songs early. My wife and thought this was hilarious as he missed an even better half. The songs from Dark Side were better than expected. I'm so burnt out on that album that I'm not even taking the effort to remember or look up the names of the first 2 of the second set. Money was the third song. I haven't actually played Dark Side in over ten years. It will be the last Floyd CD I will buy. I still hear it too much when (and this is infrequently) I listen to classic rock radio. At least I had never seen him perform the first 2 live before. The crowd loved it. Money is a tired old song that needs to be hung out to dry (it's the ONLY song I,ve seen at every Gilmour solo tour/Waters solo tour/Fake Floyd tours.) Give me Meddle or Obscured any time.
Every Strangers Eyes was not a song I wasn't looking forward to. Surprise-it was a killer! There was definitely electricity coming off the stage from this one as Roger put his heart into it. Seeing the slides from this one brought back great memories from The Pros and Cons tour. (Okay, the slides enhanced this song some, I admit) From this song on, the band never looked back.
The Powers That Be was a rocking version, punched up considerably from the KAOS album and tour. Katie and P.P. were great; you could tell they were getting into it. My wife mentioned that Roger seemed to playing to our side of the stage a lot, particularly to the front, where we were. I certainly agreed. He was giving our side a lot of attention. The crowd was really into it and we were loud. I certainly wasn't the loudest one. And I had been waiting years for Roger to tour again. We were on his side of the stage but it was a good feeling nevertheless.
The crowd pitch jumped up a level here. From other reviews, Roger's solo stuff was a pivotal part of the shows; it lost a lot of the crowd at some shows. I was worried about that happening, just from the point were his solo stuff is vastly unappreciated and people haven't heard it compared to the Floyd body of his work. This didn't happen here. The audience sang along easily as Roger enticed them with Amused To Death. He looked pleased with the crowd, as it got loud here. I think he flubbed a lyric here but did it gracefully.
Perfect Sense 1&2 was awesome. P.P. Arnold has a phenomenal voice. Again, the crowd was responsive with the "It all makes perfect sense sing along. I didn't think they would do that one as well. I was really enjoying myself by this time. The songs from Amused To Death benefited from the live setting. I would have enjoyed a tour from this album to see with a full multimedia treatment as only Roger can do. On a personal note, out of any song Roger has written, I wanted to see Watching TV from ATD. I get chills listening to the Waters and Henley duet. They are a perfect complement to each other's voice. Who would have ever thought?
On songs where Roger played the bass, there were times when he looked as if he was attacking with a real intensity it as he played. The second half of the show he was even more animated and powerful. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Graham Broad was his usual excellent self. He really stood out on the Dark Side songs in the beginning of the second half.
It's A Miracle and Amused To Death were standouts too. We needed a slower song after the last few. I got more out of It's A Miracle this way. Sometimes a song needs to be presented live for it's best effect. No, it wasn't my favorite on the album but I appreciate it much more now. I love the lyrics on Amused To Death and they took on even more substance live.
Roger was totally comfortable on stage in the second half. He took command and stalked and attacked his solo stuff with a vengeance. It was great to see. After ATD, he thanked the audience and let them know how much he appreciated the response to his solo material and how much he enjoyed playing here. I thought I would remember the exact context afterwards but I didn't. I understated what he told us but it was extremely complementary to the audience.
Brain Damage and Eclipse were his pleasant bouncy versions similar to his last couple tours. They are probably my favorites from this way too overplayed album (Do I sound bitter? *l*). Who would have ever thought the band would have started playing different tunes? This is irony in the most bizarre sense.
He reiterated as in previous shows about the lost "magic having made its presence felt again this evening. Thank you Roger.
Comfortably Numb was amazingly close to note perfect although no one can touch Gilmour's solo on this song. Don't get me wrong, Snowy and Doyle did a hell of a job. They could have taken the song even longer in my book. (FYI-An interesting side note, has anyone noticed the ending guitar solos on CN from The Wall in Berlin the video is like nearly 2 minutes longer than the CD version? I tend to watch that one because it's the true length.) The crowd was just fantastic, everyone singing along. It's a great way to end a show. My brother said the crowd was standing for nearly the entire show. He had lawn seats and they were standing the whole time. I know every time I looked, the crowd was standing everywhere. Regardless, Comfortably Numb was great. I plan on trying to catch a show next year. Or two of them, if possible.
by Bruce Miller
My best friend bought the tickets. 13 years ago he and I were looking forward to going to the Radio KAOS show when I wound up being away on business and couldn't get back in time. He wound up using the tickets and I have heard about how incredible that show was all this time, so when they announced Waters was coming it was payback time! They announced the show only nineteen days before it happened yet by my conservative estimate there were 15,000 people there enjoying a killer show.
I had the pleasure of attending with my best friend, my fourteen year old son, a neightbor, and his fourteen year old son. The boys are big time second generation fans and considering the popular music of today I consider that a major accomplishment.
We got to the show early and many people dressed in various Floyd garb were all milling around. Everybody was really cool and I only saw one guy who was drunk off his ass, but he wasn't bothering anybody. Even before the concert started but especially after it started I hadn't smelled that much pot smoked since back in the glory days of the late seventies.
The show started a half hour late (I assume to allow the huge volume of fans to get in because they announced about 7:45 that everybody should take their seat and it would start in fifteen minutes), but it was worth the wait!
Highlights for me were: Amused to Death, What God Wants, Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
I really enjoyed the two back-up singers = they were awesome. It was a treat to see Snowy White and Andy Fairweather Low together and I enjoyed Doyle Bramhall's guitar playing (his singing of Gilmour's parts left a little to be desired). The multi-instrumentalist on keyboards, guitar, etc. was really great.
He covered all the periods but I would have loved to have heard a short version of Echoes or Astronomy Domine but what the heck.
The thing that I will remember most about the show was at the end Roger wiping away tears and you could tell he was genuinely moved and gratified when he gave us his sincere thanks for coming and bringing him back.
I have seen Pink Floyd Inc. and this was far better, but I said to my buddy it still seemed weird to be seeing those songs not sung by Gilmour and played by Wright and Mason. It is a shame they are so far away philosophically that a reunion most likely will never happen and even if it did it wouldn't be a whole tour just a couple dates in some big city I could never get to or get tickets for anyway.
I decided to go to the show about 30 minutes before I had to leave in order to make it on time. A friend of mine called me up to ask if I wanted to go and I decided what the hell. The drive to Indianapolis was a pain with stop and go traffic but it was well worth it. I was expecting to see a noncommercial experimental Waters freak show, which I would have been happy with, but what I got was the best concert experience I've ever had.
He opened with In The Flesh and proceeded to play all of my Floyd favorites: Another Brick In The Wall, Money, Time, Dogs and more. Waters was the genius, heart, and soul of Pink Floyd. I didn't miss Gilmor, Wright, or Mason (the hack). The guys Waters had were all easily better, virtuosos in a couple of cases. The musicianship was outstanding. As far as I'm concerned, I saw Pink Floyd and I have not talked to a single person who went to the show that feels otherwise.
by Bob Berry
Being my third Waters Show in 15 years, I was more impressed than ever how powerful the music can be. The show was toned down from "Pros and Cons" and "KAOS" but the fans didn't seem to mind whatsoever!! Good tour Rog!
I drove to deer creek music center in the greatest of moods! I, Charlie Rolfes, was about to see the man, the myth, the legend, Roger Waters.
Not hearing of the show until about a week before, I was surprised to hear that there were actually tickets remaining. So Monday some friends and I decided to spend the best twenty four dollars we had ever spent. I only had a day to wait, but let me tell you I could not have taken any more. So Tuesday arrives and the next thing I knew I was standing in the same stadium as the afore mentioned genius. When "In the Flesh" breaks out there is a roar equally as loud from the hungry crowd. The fans were all ages. There were those who were around when Pink Floyd was in their prime all the way through those who will never forget the first time they heard their parents' LP of the Wall, and how it changed their life.
Regardless of age, there was a common bond and we all knew we were in for the ride of our lives. You have seen the set list so I will not go into that aspect, but I will tell you this I am forever changed. If you were there then you know what I mean, if not better luck next time.
