Hi all,
RonToon here with a few friends to share this review with you.
The Milwaukee Auditorium, with a seating capacity of under 4,000, was the setting for Roger's opening night. Sitting in the audience were many familiar faces from echoes including Jon Rosenberg, Elliot Tayman, Doug Hext, Michael Simone of Reg, DAve Cowl, Paul Bridgman, Michael Osborn, Scott Frank, Raymond Steeg (from Holland), Rolf Ossenberg (from Germany) and Richard Ashton. And there was many sources of taping for this show. But, the biggest surprise was, sitting in the 4th row, Rog's mother, Mrs. Waters. She indicated that the show was very loud (shades of Hans Keller).
Dire Straits was the background music prior the show (no WW2 sound effects—just a selection of Dire Strait songs). The main t-shirt stand was really busy selling the lame selection of shirts (3 t-shirts, an embroidered polo shirt and women's baby doll shirt), program, limited edition lithograph (numbered to 1000), coffee mugs, embroidered caps, pink pig pins—and for free were flyers for the upcoming DVD release of the movie The Wall (flip side was a Waters catalog ad).
At 8PM sharp the house lights went down in the auditorium (catching many unaware and creating late seating problems) and in the darkness the first strains of In the Flesh blared. In the shadows of the darkness the band came on stage, taking the positions—the last one out being Rog who climbed a staircase to take his position at the center of the elevated rear platform. As the tape loop of the opening of In The Flesh climaxed the stage lit up revealing the band in place. Band layout: Stage left Snowy White on guitar, Graham Broad on percussion, (next position is Rog's—slightly left of center), then Andy Fairweather Low on guitar, Doyle Bramhall II on guitar, behind Doyle is Jon Carin on keyboards (and behind Jon is keybardist Andy Wallace) and then Katie Kisson and P.P. Arnold on backing vocals.
The stage set had two sofa areas (like the set on the KAOS tour) which would be used later on, at least four living room lamps and four or five lava lamps. A TV was playing throughout the show. For the first half Stanley Kubrick's PATHS OF GLORY was being played. Long gone is the old faithful circular screen, replaced on this tour by a giant rectangualar backdrop, against which the two high powered projectors were aimed.
As mentioned, first song was IN THE FLESH. A faithful rendition to the album, far superior to the Berlin version (Rog's faithfulness to the songs was a key element to the show's success. This is nothing like the 84 or 87 tours). Rog strutted from the elevated walkway at the rear of the stage, striking the cross-fisted hammer pose. On the backdrop images from the Berlin show were projected (nothing from Scarfe's Wall designs).
Segue into THE THIN ICE, ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL I, MOTHER. The projected images were not fully animated, but a series of slides that transitioned through a series of dissolves. Rog was in fine form (up close you could see him really hamming it up with his gestures)—and really appeared to be having a good time. Guitar duties were evenly split between Snowy and Doyle (with Andy stepping to the back of the stage). What really is striking is how decent a job Doyle and Snowy did in playing Dave Gilmour's parts. So far, pretty authentic sounding Floyd.
THE FINAL CUT got an airing in the form of GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY DESERT (sans dialog but with explosion) . Rog sat on a stool and strummed his acoustic guitar. Images were a mixture of Berlin Wall images and poppy fields. Then into SOUTHAMPTION DOCK. Again, pitch perfect renditions from the album.
Against a backdrop of the Animals cover artwork, Rog slipped into PIGS ON THE WING I—but no bridge solo from Snowy White (a la the 8-track version—why not?). But then, after a wait of 22 years, we got our first live performance of DOGS—which pretty much sent the crowd crazy. This was really note perfect, right tempo and great surround sound—especially the howling dog effects. Jon Carin handled the multiple chores of keyboards, vocals and acoustic guitar all at once (the only thing he didn't do was spin a plate on a stick) with Doyle providing harmony.
The backdrop started out reused Berlin Wall city scapes, panning across the screen. At the main dog barking bridge section, Carin played keyboards solo, while Rog and the band sat down at the sofas to play cards—the girls sat at their seperate sofa and drank from a thermos. The backdrop changed to images of Scarfe's inflatables from the 77 tour. On cue ("Got to admit") , the band returned and this is where Rog lead the vocals. Unofficial timing has to be at least 15 minutes for this version of DOGS. Brilliant—the first half of ANIMALS.
Then it's back to more familiar Rog territory as we transition into WELCOME TO THE MACHINE. A faithful version with the backdrop showing the familiar images of the machine monster, the rats and the orb (but not animated—but slide transistions).
Next surprise was the inclusion of WISH YOU WERE HERE done as on the album—which meant full radio sound effects intro, acoustic guitar (with an electric assist from Doyle). The best Waters solo version of this ever, definately in contention against the Floyd's 94 tour version. Water's vocals carried more emotion than Dave's perfunctory version, and to cap it was the obscured projection of Syd Barrett's face on the screen (odd, since the song was written about Nick. Hmmm). Haunting. The only key difference being the repeat chorus and Rog's inflection "I wish that YOU were here."
Big surprise for Rog's next choice, which was SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND (dangerous stuff, marching boldly into Dave's territory—BUT it paid off as the band pulled it off). The backdrop was a standard oil slide (remember Astronomy Domine from Floyd's 94)—but with great blue lighting. They performed part 1 with slight variations from Snowy (who missed a few key notes) then moving into parts 2 & 3. All faithful, with Carin substiuting perfectly for Rick. Part 4 had Rog on lead vocal (great to hear him sing this again)—as the backdrop showed a series of photo montages of Syd. THEY SKIPPED PART 5!!! (dropping the sax solo) and moving straight into part 6 (this was an awkward transition—but will likely smooth out—as the song almost stopped as Rog thumped on the baseline—but we're just being picky). Doyle played lead guitar on part 7 (blistering stuff) injecting his own personality of Texas blues—and traded off with Snowy White. Rog sang part 8 and then reprised part 1, surprisingly. At the finale a glitter ball rose from the back of the stage (now, by comparrison to the Floyd's balls, Rog's ball was somewhat lacking—BUT looks more authentic, reminding us of the 72 show's glitter ball). The only off note was the fade out featured the girls repeating the phrase, "shine, shine."
A glorious end to the first act, clocking just over an hour (65 minutes). Rog addressed the audience with his usual "we're going to take a short break and come back and do the rest." And with that the band left the stage.
How do you follow such a strong first act?
The lights went down and the backdrop filled with stars—and a familar heartbeat started. BREATHE opens up with Doyle taking lead vocal and lead guitar duties. Then with alarm clock sound effects we jump into TIME (no clocks for the backdrop) and right into BREATHE (REPRISE) and then the intro to THE GREAT GIG IN THE SKY—which took us all the way to the girls' vocals which never happened (bit of a tease!) as Rog mimed stairstepping the final piano notes with his fingers.
(side note—the TV switched to Kubrick's 2001).
The inevitable MONEY was up next with frame shots from the MONEY film. Jon Carin performed the sax part on his keyboards, with Doyle on vocals. Get this!! We're 20 minutes into the second act and Rog has yet to take the lead vocals. It's all been Doyle.
But this changes with EVERY STRANGER'S EYES which is introduced with deafening truck sounds as the backdrop shows an image of a 16-wheeler, and the familiar "You want a cup of coffee" echoing around the auditorium. This was a staggeringly emotional performance, with Rog hitting all the high notes (and getting a an ovation from the audience for doing it). A key difference was the backdrop photos were all of Native American Indians. A very moving and powerful performance. Perhaps the highlight of the second act (but not quite).
Next up was THE POWERS THAT BE which was up tempo-ed and hindered by loud sound effects. This was the only song to feature any complex lighting, and was the only song that was noticeably different from the original. The Radio KAOS jingle opened the song, with sound effects of Billy dialling in. Depending on where you sat the percussion was really loud.
A really long sound effects loop and a percussion loop introduced WHAT GOD WANTS PART I—Snowy fumbled a little on the Jeff Beck opening riff—but otherwise they nailed the sound on this. This was the only song where Rog missed a couple of vocal cues (leaving out a few things God wants)—but otherwise a really strong performance. The back drop was of the gorilla holding a TV remote watching TV, with the TV screen changing images.
Next up was PERFECT SENSE—which was probably the high point of the whole show (that or DOGS). The song's highlight was PP's moving lead vocals elevating the evening to new heights. The backdrop featured images falling through space—with the dialog from 2001 (Hal telling Dave Bowman he doesn't feel well—Rog finally got what Rog wanted). As the sound of Marv Albert's commentary came up, the backdrop changed from a nuclear submarine, to the periscope sights taking a bead on an oil rig. An incredible performance! Rog even got the audience to join in with the global national anthem, waving his arms to orchestrate the crowd.
The audience responded—and there was a brief pause as the show segued into the synth intro to IT'S A MIRACLE. Rog took to the back of the stage and held his hands on his head—holding the pose for the entire intro, before stepping up to the mike. Rog performed without a guitar. During the song Rog took the mike off the stand, strolled to stage left and shook hands with someone in the audience—and then returned to stage center (don't know who that VIP was). Another moving performance from Rog, and the song closed with a scorching riff from Snowy white that really drew out and contorted the notes from Beck's original. Stunning.
The TV switched to a financial news feed, with the audio fed through the sound system—as AMUSED TO DEATH opened. Katie Kissoon took the female vocals with another note perfect rendition of the original. On the backdrop catwalk models were projected. The song faded out to the empty chair where the gorilla once sat. This was the conclusion of the Waters solo material.
AMUSED TO DEATH faded out gently to mild applause, but the next event caused the crowd to go wild...
With the stage darkened the sound of a helicopter and a search light playing over the audience. Naturally this lead to THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Andy took lead guitar for this song for the first time and Roger's vocals were much more faithful to the original than previous performances. Unlike the Floyd's instrumental version, this was the full monty! Backdrop was the plain brick wall, colored red, with the teacher being caned by by the "fat and psychopathic wife".
This leads directly to ANOTHER BRICK AND THE WALL II, which had everybody rocking out and dancing. Like MONEY, this was one of the obligatory songs for Roger to play. Doyle and Snowy performed parts of the solo, making this yet another faithful rendition.
Thus ended the second part, with the usual 'thank you's and the house lights coming up a little. The crowd roared for more and before long the players were out once again for the encore. Roger felt the need to quieten the crowd before launching into his typical live rendition of BRAIN DAMAGE. The crowd sang "There's someone in my head but it's not me". During the bridge with the laughing sound effect, Roger actually said "I can't think of anything to say", just like the original sound byte. Then into ECLIPSE, once again similar to the previous Water's live performances.
After what appeared to be a technical difficult (which resolved itself promptly), Roger quietened the crowd again to launch into COMFORTABLY NUMB. Doyle handled Gilmour's vocals well, but the highlight of this song had to be the dueling guitars—Snowy and Doyle trading riffs, both up high on the elevated stage, eventually meeting in the middle, trading scorching riffs.
I'm afraid that's it. Would have like to hear some pre-dark Side stuff, like Free Four, Granchester Meadows, Careful, etc...after all, Roger reached deep into the catalog on previous tours. In a way, this is one of the only ways that he stooped to the current Floyd's standards by choosing a "safe" (yet very satisfying) set list. A very overwhelming experience. It's like the 94 Division Bell tour was performed by a great magaican, using slight-of-hand to distract the audience from the music with amazing visuals. It's not that they needed it, the musicianship of dave and company speaks for itself...I'm a big fan of the touring Gilmour version. It's just that Rog's show has very limited visuals and once again relies on the music which he can once again claim as his own....and not by changing around old faves to put a new "signature"on 'em.
Rog really shines on for this tour. I think that the shows will get better as the tour progresses (I really wish I got tix for Atlanta now!) and I know that he is going to get some strong publicity from these upcoming venues. I wouldn't be surprised if he played to larger capacity crowds next Spring.
The real key for me was that this was the show Rog should have done in 1984 (for the Pros and Cons tour). That was when he should have embraced his Floyd heritage instead of running from it by rearranging the classics. Had Rog done that in 1984 then the history of Pink Floyd would be different today. Had Rog established his creative leadership then Gilmour et al would not have had an avenue to persue (remember, in 84 Dave was doing just solo stuff with Comfy Numb/Run Like Hell as an encore). Rog could have preempted Gilmour's one claim to Floyd name—that being that he could do it better. Rog always had it in him, but left it too late. It's always been about the music and Rog left it too late to get it right.
But—here we are in 1999. Dave Gilmour's recent Q mag interview suggests that the Floyd are buried under an ocean of apathy—and maybe this tour will restore Rog to his rightful place. Who knows? While 4000 seaters might not sound much now, word will spread that this is a big show. By the 2000 leg of the tour I'd bet that the West coast sells out and playing in bigger arenas. Unless Rog decides to keep it small.
It'd be nice to see some of the Floyd standards retired (Money, Another Brick 2 could go) and some classics brought back in (Sheep? or some pre-Dark Side).
But, the show is a tour de force. It's what we've been waiting since 1981 (when Rog last performed with the Floyd).
It's 4AM and later today we have to do this all over again. So let's roll another one and wait to see the fat old sun in the morning.
Regards,
RonToon (with Richard and DAve : )
Friday, July 23, 1999 Milwaukee Auditorium 8:02-10:52 PM
I last saw Roger Waters perform in 1987, at Madison Square Garden, during the brilliant Radio KAOS tour. Unable to travel to Berlin for The Wall performance in 1990, and not particularly interested in catching his brief appearance at Don Henley's Walden Woods Project in 1992, it was with great anticipation that I made my way from Madison to Milwaukee for this evening's long-awaited return-to-the-stage by Roger. I made the trip back to Madison feeling privileged to have been there.
The Milwaukee Auditorium is a rather small venue, but it is a beautiful and acoustically wonderful arena, and it seemed well-suited to the tone of the performance Roger intended. What the In the Flesh performance lacks in the usual Waters-style spectacle is more than compensated for by the striking intimacy not achieved since Roger's pre-Dark Side of the Moon days with Pink Floyd. Sure, there is a screen filled with thematically compelling images, and Roger made certain to bring along the quadrophonically-rendered tapes containing the well-known sound effects and samplings which often give the songs resonance and depth, but the most lasting impression of this show is that of Roger actually developing a rapport with the audience, and being sincerely open to, and appreciative of, its reciprocal warmth. (Case in point, Roger gratefully accepted roses and even a handshake from those in the first row!)
As you can see from the set list, the show was heavily weighted toward Floyd tunes from Dark Side and beyond, with an all-too brief (but passionate) segment of the second set devoted to his solo material. While it was disappointing to not hear more from The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking and KAOS (of course, with an oeuvre as lengthy and diverse as that of Waters/Floyd, any set list is bound to disappoint the hardcore fan), it was delightful to see Roger reclaim as his own many of the Floyd tunes he'd ignored in performances since departing the Floyd. Still, the highlight of the show (for me, and seemingly for Roger, for whom the inclusion of these songs was obviously most gratifying) was the large portion of tunes from Amused to Death, beginning with a seductively slowed-down What God Wants, Part I and culminating in a flawless rendition of the title track; this only hinted at what might have been had Roger been compelled to tour the album upon release. The enthusiasm with which Roger approached this segment of the show was even more apparent during the obligatory Another Brick (Part 2), during which he seemed to be simply going through the motions.
Roger's assembled a magnificent band consisting of old standbys Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar), Snowy White (guitar) and Graham Broad (drums), as well as Waters-newcomers Doyle Bramhall II (guitar/vocals), Jon Carin (Keyboards, programming, guitar and bass), and Andy Wallace (keyboards). Brilliantly backing up Roger's and Bramhall's vocals (and occasionally taking center stage) are the incredibly talented (and equally sexy) Katie Kissoon, and P.P. Arnold. Although this band doesn't swing quite like The Bleeding Heart Band, it rocks better than the group of musicians currently passing itself off as Pink Floyd. Much like the KAOS tour, during which Roger allowed Paul Carrack to sing many of the Floyd tunes originally sung by Gilmour, Bramhall spells Gilmour on a great many songs during the first set, and the Dark Side segment of the second. (Bramhall has obviously mastered the bulk of David Gilmour's most difficult riffs, and his voice is remarkably similar to Gilmour's as well.) I must admit that, far too often for my tastes, Roger disappeared into the background during these moments (most sadly during the entire Dark Side segment which opens the second set, and frequently relaxing with a cup of coffee on one of the many couches that adorn the stage!), and the impression was that of listening to a really great cover band. Nonetheless, one can certainly say that the legendarily egomaniacal Roger has considerably mellowed and is willing to let his talented companions fully participate in expressing his material. That aside, Roger himself looked and sounded magnificent. He's aging extremely gracefully (I should be so lucky), and he frequently hit notes that he hasn't hit in a while, and likely won't be able to hit as the tour progresses and his already-worn voice becomes more gravelly; I feel quite lucky to have been able to catch the first date on the tour.
All things considered, In the Flesh was mildly disappointing at times but wonderfully surprising at others, and on the whole was a truly rewarding experience. After seeing both the Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell performances of The David Glimour Band, I finally feel like I've seen Pink Floyd again ... at the very least, its heart and soul. Thank you, Roger and company.
Now, let me see if I can scare up some tickets for tomorrow night's show in Chicago!
"No tears to cry.
No feelings left.
This species has amused itself to death."
The stage door or a section of the wall at the rear of the stage actually fell down during the intermission. It made a loud sound but was immediately picked up by a roadie and put back in place. No big deal. By the way, the show was great for the most part. The band has a few kinks and timing to work out such as ending a song together but it was all in all a very cool experience. It was even more surreal for me since I've been a Floyd fan since high school in the 70's and I brought my 18 year old son to the show since Roger Waters/Pink Floyd is his favorite now! Gregg T.
by Jason Forbes
Yesterday I had one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, as I attended the July 23, 1999 Milwaukee show. The day of the show, I listened to no PF/RW music (as is my rule for attending concerts) and we got there about 15 minutes before the doors opened. Once in, we found our seats (which were fairly good, Section F, Row 5) then bought a shirt and program. We bought food, and sat back down to wait for the show. I was surprised that the show started only a few minutes after 8:00 PM (I didn't even finish my nachos!).
I won't go into all of the setlist details as that has already been done. I simply wanted to share some of the details that I thought made the show so great. The entrance was stunning - In The Flesh playing and Roger made quite an entrance. I've never seen him or any PF tour before, so this was one of the greatest moments I will ever remember, seeing him come out, and with such a commanding presence (I must admit, I had to hold the tears back!). He really looked good, way better than the pictures from the eighties with him sporting the Ray Bans.
One thing that I noticed immediately was that the songs were very true to their original. There was almost no differences in many of the songs. I liked that, since studio versions usually sound the best. I also noticed that the lights/effects were way more theatrical than I thought they would be. From what he said I expected maybe 1 or 2 spotlights on the band and not much else. I was very impressed by the Mirror Ball during SOYCD and the use of the oil slides combined with pictures of Syd were absolutely mind-blowing.
Another part of the show that really stood out was DOGS. The long instrumental parts were incredible. The accoustics in the Mecca are great, and the sound system was set up perfectly. Even the volume levels were perfect, and there was no distortion whatsoever. During dogs, the lights and music combined for a truly "trippy" experience I thought, and I used absolutely no mind-enhancers! One other review posted here mentioned that it was like seeing a really good cover band, and I thought it funny that he should mention that, because I thought exactly the same thing while in the show - it seemed like being at a Pink Floyd concert 20 years ago! Doyle Bramhill's vocals were great, and his guitar solos were incredible (as were the other guitarists, but I think he stood out).
I really enjoyed the solo material , and the climax of the whole show was Perfect Sense, with Rog opening his arms fully and getting the entire crowd to sing along, it was really great to see him participating with the crowd so easily. It seemed that he was really enjoying himself throughout the entire show, and that it wasn't forced, but actually fun for him. He was maybe a little annoyed at the end when he came out for the encore and nobody would shut up, I hope that doesn't progress as the tours drag on.
I did see a few people recording the show, one guy was recording video, I asked him if he was interested in trades, and he told me that he takes $100/copy for the video! I did get his email addy however, but another man I met had a very expensive DAT recorder, so I may get a copy from him. I would love to have a copy of this show, if anybody else knows of a copy, please contact me.
All in all, I enjoyed this show immensely, and would love to hit it again, but dont think i'll be able to. Roger was great, they really put on a great show, and I wish him the best of luck.
Jason Forbes
j_c_forbes@hotmail.com
