Photo by Scott Harrison
From: Paul Gordon
The June 19 Roger Waters show was one of the best rock shows I have ever
seen. Though a majority of the material was from Pink Floyd albums, it all
sounded hot, including the Waters' solo material. Though Waters has very
little stage presence, his ten piece band were very tight. The lead guitars
could have been accentuated more, but the notes were right on target.
The heavy emphasis on tunes from The Wall did not detract from the overall feel of the concert. Favorite songs of the evening were "In The Flesh," "Amused to Death" and all the stuff he played from the Wish you Were Here album. "Welcome to the Machine" and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" sounded particularly transparent.
On of the highlights of the band were definitely the two syntehsizer
players, who really had an edge on the other instruments in the band. The
synthesizers' sounds were well accentuated, unlike some of the lead guitar
riffs.
From: John M. Cotton
For someone who attended three Post-Roger Pink Floyd shows I can safely
say that the other three members never came close to what Roger Waters
accomplished last night. Once past the awesome power of Roger "In the Flesh"
so to speak there is so much more to appreciate. All the magic, profundity
and talent of Pink Floyd is truly encompassed in this one man.
For the west coast leg of the tour, Roger's performance seems to be even more calculating and animated. Not only is his golden voice reinventing the older tunes, but now he seems to be miming the songs as well as singing them. It was truly unbelievable to be able to witness the creative outpourings of an undeniably soulful performer.
From the jazzed up version of Welcome to the Machine to the surprisingly fresh sound of Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun the concert was even more rewarding than I imagined.
The quadrophonic sound could be felt in the chest -literally- of everyone in the orchestra section as Roger wailed on into the night. Perfect Sense positively electrified the audience, as Roger tends to do. People screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs from atop their chairs-"can't you seee............"
Roger commands so much respect through the quality of the show he puts on. I'm not sure if people were blown away by the spectacle or if it was simple respect for an amazing showman, but the audience seemed to be giving Roger his "quiet times" he so enjoys while performing live (most of them did, anyway). He truly creates an intimate connection with his audience, it's not a myth.
If there was anything to complain about it was that he didn't perform more songs as well from his solo albums-Radio Kaos, only one song from Pros and Cons. But I suppose that's coming from a devout fan. But then again to complain about something like that would be like being fed the finest food in the world and then bitching because you didn't get your after dinner mint.
From this point forward my life will be measured Pre- and Post-Roger
Waters.
From:Jesse Manrique
The "In The Flesh Tour". Wow is the first word to come to mind. I am only 21 but have enjoyed the music of Pink Floyd and Roger Waters for
most of my life.
When I first entered the venue I was not expecting Roger to play any Pink Floyd tunes at all. When I sat down at my front row seat I looked to the stage and saw the image of a pig which got me really intriged on what was to come. When Roger came out, everyone cheered, but not as much as when he began to play the first riff of "In The Flesh". After that song came "Another Brick In The Wall pts.1,2&3".
The hits didn't stop there. He also played "Mother", "Pigs On The Wing 1" and my favorite "Dogs". He covered The best songs from "The Wall", "Dark Side Of The Moon", "The Final Cut", "Animals", "Wish You Were Here", "Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking", "Amused To Death", and he even played "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" from "A Saucer Full Of Secrets"! A big highlight of the show for me was during "Shine On You Crazy Diamond pts.1-9" when a giant image of Sid Barret came out followed by a huge rotating diamond shining up on stage. Another highlight of the show had to be during "Dogs" when during the middle synth solo of the song all the musicians (minus the synth player) and even the back up singers sat around a poker table and played cards.
Even at the end of the show he continued to amaze me when he came back for an encore and played his new song "Each Small Candle". At this point myself along with everyone else in the front rows rushed to the stage and were within 10 ft. of Roger and his crew.
Every one of his members of the group played extraordinarily. Snowy White really nailed down the guitar parts. The show had the best visuals around surpassing every other show I've ever been to,even that of The Cure, which also had spectacular lighting visuals.
Great music, visuals, what else could anyone ask for! This has to be the best show to happen in a
long time. If Roger comes to your town, make it a point to be there. This is a show not to be missed by all Pink Floyd fans along with all
Roger Waters fans. Take it from me, nothing beats watching Roger Waters in the flesh.
From: A true roger fan!! Luis Angel Ramirez
Hi, I just went to the roger waters "In The Flesh" concert yesterday in San
Diego CA. I was amazed by the show..and hearing that Roger still has his superb
voice...
I was kind of sad , cause there weren't that many people... I was hoping that it would be a sold out show!!! And I was wondering ..if Roger is happy by the way the tour is going... and ..if he is doing OK.. in other places... please answer me!
From: David Driscoll
I have been reading the reviews on this page for a year now and I am
happy that I finally get to write one.
The show was incredible and even more so because I was right in the front. This was my first Floyd show of any kind, and I had been waiting six years for it after I missed the 94 tour. I was completely blown away. Roger's voice sounded incredible (much better than I thought it would) and the musicians handled their duties quite well. The double solos during "Dogs" and "Shine On" were perfect, but the intro to "Wish You Were Here" needed a little work.
The highlight of the show was definitly "Perfect Sense" as I was almost
moved to tears by the performance. The crowd was more into that song
than any of the Floyd songs which amazed. During the chorus at the end,
everyone was on their feet screaming "It all makes perfect sense!" right
along with Roger as he cheered on the crowd. It was truly an incredible
sight. I mean, really, when was the last time you saw everyone singing
"the grass was greener" or "she can take it back" along with David
Gilmour?
From: Ted Eckmann
Roger Waters: Senior Citizen, Still Rocks
Coors Amphitheater, San Diego - Monday, June 19, 2000
Bloody great concert. Never thought I'd see a Pink Floyd show in my
lifetime, having been only two years old when they broke-up, but that's exactly
what Roger Waters delivered last night at Coors Amphitheater, San Diego. The (now
senior citizen) rock legend has still got it -- the vocals were crisp and
emotional; the supporting band really did the Floyd tunes justice as well...
especially the guitarists. Three of 'em, two trading-off sections of the extended
solo for "Comfortably Numb." And, of course, the simultaneously choreographed twin
guitar solos for "Dogs". Twelve hours later and its just now hitting me - that
was Pink Floyd. I saw Pink Floyd.
And then the "stage show" aspect of it was rather nice too. (severe understatement) Incredible semi-still images moving across the background screen in hypnotic stop-animation. The multiple projectors forming the canvas illustration slowly faded between frames; the smooth composition would change so gradually over time that I barely noticed the individual transitions, as if staring at a night sky for a few hours and coming to the sudden realization that the stars aren't in the same place anymore.
The Dark-Side prism screen will be stuck in my head for days; otherwise black background with blinding shiny-white illumination focused on the drummer for the intro to "Time." The setup included rear-channel speakers, positioned just behind the permanent seats and facing towards the stage (which left the grass-goers without the quadraphonic surround-sound effect). This was particularly powerful for the cash-register opening of "Money", as anyone with a nice stereo separation on their home system could have predicted.
Interesting use of stage furniture, particularly as Waters and three other musicians sat down to the card table and played a hand during the instrumental break midway through "Dogs". This star-field-backed setup also aided in communicating the "2001" aura. An audio motif of HAL's voice and a stage-prop television showing scenes from Stanley Kubrick's film worked nicely with the spacey theme and atmosphere of the post-Floyd solo pieces.
A very polished performance; clean musicianship, well mixed, carefully engineered. Even the occasional improvisation, (but no ghost-like piano coda on Wish You Were Here). Certainly missing a bit of the original band's essence in having an imperfect substitute for Gilmour, but the tour is certainly redeemed by the untarnished (and unchanged) quality of Roger's highly charismatic and difficult-to-imitate voice. Overall, a trance-like, and fully genuine Pink Floyd composition throughout.
Wouldn't have been complete without the typical Floyd audience, I guess the eleventh band member in this case. Talked with two "Fear and Loathing" types before the show about the acid trips they were on when Floyd (minus Waters) played San Diego back in '94... not sure which one was the attorney. And then the tye-dye-clad flower children dancing on the grass, a few sans-bra twentysomething girls. "We Don't Need No Education/We Don't Need No Thought Control" (with fake British accent) Chanted aloud by the roughly 10,000 in attendance.
Although undoubtedly a minority view, I actually enjoyed the lesser-known Waters solo-project songs more than the big-hit Floyd favorites.
The once raucous audience subdued to a near awestruck silence for the touching barrage of meaning-filled Waters originals. Inspired by the essence, beauty, and sincerity, I could do nothing but sit in wondrous reverie; mouth gaping, ears rejoicing.
Together with two selections from the haunting cold-war album "The Final Cut", a new Waters tune called "Each Small Candle" delivered a powerful message of humanist tolerance in the wake of conflict in Kosovo. By craftily positioning it as the second encore selection, Waters used the rock-concert custom of the raised cigarette lighter (numerous fireflies glowing in the darkened seats of Coors) to connect with the "Small Candle" on a symbolic level.
This poetic song, inspired by a Serbian soldier's act of compassion, concluded the concert with a solemn Amnesty International logo displayed on the large screen. Thoroughly sobering end, to a fantastically surreal psychedelic adventure. (All this, thanks to a senior citizen)
I'll see if I can scrape together the cash to go see Waters again in LA, or a
later stop of this tour. For younger Floyd fans (of my age), seeing Roger Waters
perform live may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but I sure would like to
contradict the cliche and see him twice. (or more)
From: Joe Klatt
First off, I would like to claim "the most traveled miles by two fans, for
one tour." My friend Mike Dennison (from San Diego) flew to Pitt. PA. for the
8-18-99 show, covering 2,687 , miles for the show. I (Joe Klatt) went from
Pitt. PA. to San Diego, to catch "The Man" there, covering 2,592 miles.
Making a grand total of 5,279 miles for two shows, for, two hard core fans!!
I was VERY happy with the second set changes. "Set The Controls" was long
over do. and he played with more zest (shall we say) then the 5 other shows I
saw on the 99 tour. And when he played "Every little candle" we where the
only ones with candles in the front row (& Rog. looked right down at me as I
was holding a candle!!) talk about a rush!!
Also, being a collector of "live recordings" IM so overwhelmed at the quality of live tapes there are out there now. Lets face it, there are no good H.Q. recordings of "The Pros & Cons" out there! Little lone something with Clapton on it. And the K. A. O. S. tour, as fantastic as it was, didn't cough up any good recordings either.
But now, kids, we have several FANTASTIC recordings out thfrome-mailedere from this past two tours. And there talking about releasing something "officia l". I asked the Roger Waters fan club for a COMPLETE SHOW, aposed to something spliced together.
As a foot note to all you tapers out there, don't high speed your recordings!! This just makes fantastic shows sound like crap in just a few recordings! So DON'T DO IT!! This music should be preserved for a long time, & with everyone's help WE can make sure that this fantastic music makes it to another generation. Its up to you my brothers & sisters.
I would also like to thank Mr.Simone for Turning me on to "Reg" mag. at the San Diego Show, if it was not for you I would not be sharing my thoughts on one of my favorite artist of the 20th century, & you damn right I subscribed!!
If any of my brothers & sisters would like to reach me, for some tapes, or to
talk about a show,. you can reach me at KUNIT!@CS.COM Or mail me at:
Joe Klatt
770 Mahood Rd.
W.Sunbury PA.
16061-2620
E-Mail kunit1@cs.com
I look forward to hearing from each & every one of you!
Michael Simone, I
thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing me such a wonderful time
after the show at Dicks. It is a tour I will never forget!
From: Daniel Simmons
Let me start out by saying that the first thing felt was the kinship with all
other fans. Yes, there were not as many as other venues, but those who were there
wanted to
be there and by his comments, Roger recognized it as well. I first saw the
"Floyd" in the 70's and saw "The Wall" in Los Angeles twice and at least two of
every
Roger Waters solo tours and this was by far the most animated he has ever been.
He was singing with the crowd moving from one side of the stage to another. He
joked, he relished and he acknowleged the love we gave him.
The set list was basically the same as I've read across the country with the absence of "The Thin Ice" and "The Powers that Be".
What was so awesome, was the tightness of his band. Both Doyle Brammhall and Snowy White traded and mimincked guitar leads so that on the older "Floyd" tunes, there was that David Gilmour sound due to the fat ones ability to lay down different tracks in the studio. Jon Carin was fantastic with his steel and acoustic guitars (especially during "Dogs") and his keyboard work also worked will with Andy Wallace. Andy Fairweather Low also did his usual greatness in rhythem guitar.
I could go on and on, but you've already read some
great reviews and I cannot wait until the Washington venue at the Gorge this
Friday! I just found out it's a 5 1/2 hour drive from BC, so I'm heading out
early for the last of my tour venues. Hope to see you there.
