In The Flesh
Tour Reviews

The day started out cloudy but it was hot and muggy, in our drought engulfed area of PA. We started with the ritual incense burning followed by a mood enhancer (you know what I mean!). We got our tickets and blankets and headed down the road at about 6pm. When we got there we saw the usual, brightly colored tie dyes and Pink Floyd shirts everywhere....mood setting for a hot summer concert.

We got on the yellow school bus and headed up the mountain, everyone singing and yelling whatever they felt, just being free and having fun. We got off the bus and headed for the stairs down to the concert area where we were frisked and had our water taken away of course! Montage loves to do that!

I did notice one older lady frisking the men a little too much especially their butts! Whatever was in their butts ought to be left in there, you know?

So, we proceeded to look for familiar faces but could night find our tribe of people so we opted to just find a nice place to sit on the lawn and get comfortable. Pretty soon it was eight o'clock and you could hear someone on stage saying "take your seats the show will begin in five minutes". So we got excited and the next thing you know you are seeing a big screen pig on red and the words In The Flesh and from there things started out great. We were about 3 songs into the show when suddenly it poured rain! For us it was unbelievable since we have had no rain all summer. But we were willing to stay and deal with it, when suddenly the music stops and Roger says we're sorry folks but we have to stop because of the rain.

Everyone sighed and got disheartened. He went on to explain that is was too dangerous and so on. At that point people started to leave but we just stood there in disbelief. So we packed our blankets into a plastic bag and just stood there trying to smoke a cigarette in the rain to pass the time. A little while later about a half hour later Roger comes out and says that the Airport stated that it would be about an hour before conditions may get better so he said if we were willing to stay so would he. All the fans cheered and yelled and you could see beach balls rolling around in the crowd like they were floating on waves of ocean water.

At that point we all got our bearings and decided we were not goin nowhere! We must have sat in the rain for about 2 hours instead of just one but we made the best of it and listened to the same "before the concert music" two or three times.

So we were standing there in the rain watching the lightning and listening to the thunder roll through. By the way no one was disappointed at the "light show" Pink Floyd never had what we did. Nature seemed to be in tune with us last night because the lightning was incredible. It seemed to branch across the sky with the music and it could not have been more perfect if God was at the show with us. For those who walked out, I feel sorry because they missed a very special and unique experience. For the true fans, they got more than they bargained for.

At about 8pm or 8:30pm people were being let in for free and if you paid for a gold circle seat you may have felt cheated because last night you could have stood next to the stage for free. A few of my friends stood within feet from Roger and all they had were lawn tickets. Also up in the lawn section on the hill, a mass of young men overtook the upper level beer tent and went nuts! They must have taken about 13 kegs of beer so if you were on the hill you were feeling ok. People crashed the back fence took down a spot of it and all I could see were a few 4 wheelers and a lot of people with kegs and coolers and weed of course, all havin a great time on this memorable occasion. They took down the beer tent and started throwing picnic tables on top of it. The funny thing was that the security personnel were no where to be found most of them were drinking with the concert goers at this point. No one cared anymore, just wanted to have a good time.

At one point Roger yelled out and asked how we were doing out there and everyone cheered and roared and he then said "Fuck the Rain!" and he then said "I don't know about you all but I will never forget this night!". He thanked us all more than once for staying and suffering thru the weather. We didn't really care at all sometimes you even forgot it was raining.

As for the show, it was great and I rather enjoyed what he did with the screen instead of having a big ornate dramatization. It was very modest but at some points brilliant especially the colors of the lights, just simply beautiful. As for his singing, I have to say I think his voice at some points sounded rough but that is just the way Roger's voice sounds alone but I found everything to be pleasing.

My boyfriend and his best friend said that when they performed Dogs it was better than any album version they ever heard. There was no intermission due to the weather conditions and he played every encore song without teasing us as he joked about it because he knew we had been thru a lot and I think that he deserves a round of applause for 1. staying and putting the show on 2. for playing without a break. Also during one part of Dogs a friend told me that Roger and the guys were actually playing cards at a table on stage. I thought that was funny.

Well Me, I have not been a Floyd fan for as many years as some out there but at the end the last song was comfortably numb and I just stood there wet and cold with my blanket wrapped around me swaying back and forth to the sounds. I started to cry as I listened on and once again realized why I love their music so much because their music brings to light my darkest nightmares and my most spiritual dreams, and just when you think you are crazy and no one understands you realize that you are not alone. Their is someone out there who knows those things that you just can't always explain with human language. They know and I know too. I am not alone and I am glad to have had such a wonderful experience. We were at one with nature, in harmony with the music and Roger Waters is a special man with a unique way of seeing things it was an honor to see him perform.

by jmrindsp@ptd.net
Friday 13, 1999, Montage Mountain, Scranton, Pa, Usa, Earth 8)

Part One: A Day in Parking Lot Hell

Imagine yourself upon a mountain, on the outskirts of Scanton, Pennslyvannia. It is a rather rural area for the most part, with the city of Scranton as the major metro area. Now Imagine that you are going to a concert, a Roger Waters concert, and that while you love the music, you know what a hell hole of a concert venue Montage Mountain is.

Let me set the scene for you, a large flat dirt parking lot, one road in, the dirt is painted with white chalk lines to set up rows for the cars. I drive in, park, and prepare for the inevitable nasty onslaught from the local sheriffs. Looking around at the people arriving in the rows around me, I see a mixture of Deadheads, Floydian, and general partiers, a rather mellow crowd. Within five minutes of parking, the first sheriff deputies patrol car prowls by, black leather gloves, crew cuts, scowls, the two hammers almost tattooed on their fists.

Before I crack my first beer, a kid is chased down, and in the process a deputy biffs into the ground hard making the crowd cheer, chased down for trying to sell tie-dyed shirts. I pour my frosty yueng ling larger, a fine local Penn brew, into a large Pepsi cup, to try and avoid the Pigs attention, but after a few sips, another sheriffs cruiser comes from the other direction while I was talking to someone, and a short, head shaven, 40ish, grumpy sheriff comes up to me, looks me up and down, takes my cup, smells it, and says, "Dump it out! I'm giving you the warning I'm gonna give everyone, If We see you drinking again, we're gonna take your beer, and arrest you, thats it."

I vainly try and reason with him, the whole freedom, I'm over 21, this is America, etc, but to no avail, he stomps off to rain on someone else's day. After that, some people next to me comiserate upon the loss of my beer, and the foul state of oppression in the parking lot. Having been to this venue before, I was prepared for infamy, but this was the worst parking lot scene I have ever been to over a 200 show plus concert history. Not fifteen minutes after the beer loss, we see two cops search a car, and take two cooler full of beer and food and stash it in their cars, keeping the cooler. I was blown away. So I poured two beers into my second pepsi cup, boy scout motto: be prepared—he he—and put a top on with a straw and went on my way, avoid the nasty pigs as much as possible. Now for the Show!

A Night of Musical Amazement, and the True Deadicated Wet Crowd

When one enters the venue at Montage Mountain, you climb down about 70 wooden steps, that takes you to the entrance. So leaving the carnage of the parking lot behind, I walked down the sets toward the show. People milling around, me, strait arrow to gate, find the least searching searcher, she checks my bag, misses everything, I smile, Bam, into show.

Montage is a ski resort that doubles, or pretends to double as a Concert Venue. It is a amphitheater, with a few thousand seat, no roof (this will be important later), and then a large grassy area of lawn seating, where most of the people get tickets. I hear up the hill to the ski lodge, where the sell BEER, and food, bathrooms etc. I get the maximum 2 beers per ID, drink one, while chatting with a woman next to me, smoke a cig, and watch the crowd steam in.

Its about 7:35, so I head for my seat. On the way I see some friends, talk, and then onto seat. as this is Waters, I knew to get center seats for a good view. I find mine, and then relax. I strike up a convo with some guys sitting behing me, about Floyd, shows, Waters excellent lyrics, etc. Get up to use facilities at 7:50, meet more friends, dash to bathroom through mad crowd, dash back, get to seat, and WHAAAAAA, Roger Waters Arrives.

He opens with 'In the Flesh', nice, people getting into the mood, slipping into the stream of sound, the darkness of evening is descending, 'The Thin Ice' is very cool, its getting darker, clouds rolling in, (Pa is currently in a tough drought), 'Another Brick in the Wall pt 1' Wow, the momentum is building, the lights, sounds visuals, the crowds energy building, some dancing, others laughing and staring, the sweet smell of green buds in the air, 'The Happiest Days of our lives' very cool, the whole wall feeling is perfect considering the fascistic parking lot scene, but the music and experience of a Waters show makes the trails worthwhile, Then in the middle of the song BaM, Crash, thunder, and Rain, Pouring rain, Deluge, sheets of Rain, the band eventually sputters to a stop, the crowd cheers, Roger says they'll gonna have to stop playing till the rain subsides, It is pouring.

Will the Rain ever stop?

People put on whatever rain gear they have, black garbage bags, cardbord boxes as umbrellas, etc. Lucliky I (boy scout motto—be prepared) have my gortex supper slammy rain jacket, whip it on, total dryness. As it pours down upon me, I stand and reflect, just thought, me and about 8-10,000 very wet people. Every once in a while I turn to look around from outside my hooded face, the lawn is turning into a Mud Pit, as sheets of pouring rain descend from the heavens, and crackling bolts of lightning light the sky in arcs accross the nights sky, the thunder lazily rolling down in waves upon us. After about 30 minutes or so, tough to tell time now.

Roger Comes out to give us the status report, he says "We just got off the phone with the weather people, and they say that the lightning is going to pass through here for the next 20 mins or so, and the rain for about 40 after that, but then it should pass by, so we're not going anywhere, and we'll begin at about 10 pm" Wow, the Monatge people must be freaking, all shows here end a 11, and this one is going to start at 10.

So I head off to hit the bathroom and dry off a bit. I make my way to the lodge, of course its packed, find my way through the crowd, get inside, its like a sauna, 500 wet people in a ski lodge, the rain evaporating into heat. I use the bathroom, and come out into the maelstrom, the security has basically disappeared, those who have remained, probably 70-75% in my estimation, are waiting, many just sitting on the mountain, getting poured on, but the mud making it almost impossible to move.

I make my way outside, and go to get a beer, but they stopped serving (Rats!), I run into a buddy, he moves on, I light up a wet cig from someones lit cig, my lighter having died in the rain. Get into a convo with two ladies about the rain, the parking lot debaucle, etc, get ansy standing under tent, head back out to seats. As I get to security check point, no security in sight, must be to wet for them. I find the sound board, snake up next to it, and find a nice set of seats right in the middle, my favorite spot.

Time passes, the storm continues unabated, Pouring, thundering, lightning, WET ! I an stanging next to one of the projectors, and a guy climbs into, and literally 100 gallons+ of waters pours our of some part of it, O dude. An Announcer comes out, says all right, the show starts in five minutes, get to you seats. I like the sound of that, the show starts, hope they'll do the full show. And in about 5 mins Roger comes out, and says " Well it looks like its still raining, but were going to play Wuntil the rain stops," (Big crowd cheers) At this point a guy next to me, not me off course, takes out a joint from his rain jacket expecting it to be dry, but its wet (Rats, dratted rain), but luckily he to knows (boy scout motto-be prepared) so he asks to borrow a lighter, and after many trys, gets it going, and they, this guy and the guy with the light happily share it.

And the Show must Go on

The music begins with 'Another Brick in the Wall pt 2' right where they ended, Amazing ! The crowd begins to slowly move and shake off the chill of the mountain rain, They go into 'Mother', beautifull, the sweet acoustics blend with the rain, So many times this night there is a lyric about rain, and the sky would alight with lightning, or just the rain itself would meld with the music to create a sense of serendipity in me, like everything kind of blending into a harmonious chi or wha, oneness, it was very profoundly beautiful, then into 'get your filthy hands off my rain jacket (dessert)', and this blended into 'Southampton Dock' which really moved me as the female singers voices soared on the refrain, Ohh, Maggie what have you done,sweet, then into 'Pigs on the wing' the acoustic blending into the rain, the 'Dogs' one of my altime favorite Floyd tunes, this one was spacey, jamming, and totally intense, lighting across the sky, the rain pouring, the music soaring, WOW, into'Welcome to the Machine' the screen visuals melding with the music Tasty, into a beautiful 'Wish you were here' Blue skys from grey, soaring, into an amazing "Shine on you Crazy Diamond' I was blown away. At the end of it Roger says, " Well normally here, we would have our break, but we've already had a break, so just let us change the film in the projectors, and we'll be back,". And in about 5 minutes they were, for the second set, this being the shortest set break in history.

'We're going to Play until the Rain stops'

(remember this whole time, lightning bolts are blasting across the mountain, lighting the sky, it is continuously pouring sheets of rain)

They begin with 'Breathe' at this point, wet, but happy, I am floating along in bliss, into 'Time' which is great, the drums guitars are soaring, they tease 'Great gig', and then melt into 'money' which is jamming, into a gem from Pros and cons of Hitchiking 'every strangers eyes', then into 'Powers that be' which is perfect considering the crazy parking lot scene, then into 'What God wants' which was stellar.

At this point a guy behind me says to his friend, 'Man, did you notice that it is still pouring, but we dont seem to be getting wet anymore, thats wierd man." As he says this I notice its true, I can see in the lights that it is pouring, but it anly feels light a slight drizzel, very strange. Then they go into 'Perfect Sense' which I hadnt really listened to much, but at this point it totally made sense to me, and then into 'Its a miricle' which it was, then into 'Amused to Death' which I totally got at this supreme moment. (The rain was just ending)

Then Roger addressed us again he said, "Well, now the rain finally stops, We want to thank you all for staying here through all of this, no ordinary crowd would have done that, but you're no ordinary crowd, we'll never forget this, and were not through yet ". Then they went into an amazing 'Brain Damage/Eclipse' which exploded in my brain. Then Roger said, "Well normally at this point we pretend to go back stage, but its too fucking wet, so lets just go on. I want to thank you again for staying,". And with that they launched into a mamouth 'Comfortably Numb', the crowd singing loudly, as loud as the PA system, blending with it, the mist an orange tinge behind the stage from the lights, the guitar solo flying into the sky, people swaying in bliss, it was breath taking. The music finally glided to a stop to the cheers of many drenched but happy fans, The band took their bows, obviously effected by what had just taken place.

It was now 1 am, the latest this place hase probably ever been open, the crowd began to move toward the doors, I got a sense of the trecherous mud that the lawn must have become by people running down the slopes to avoid falling, and girls falling into me as they tried and failed to maneuver on the mud, got outside, marched up the stairs, found my trusty vehicle, gave away what was left of my beer to many happy revelers, ate a tasty sandwich, smoked a final cig, and I was off, found a seem in the traffic flow, and on the road I went. On the radio they played some Floyd, but then lapsed into somthing bogus. So I popped the talking tape of Tolkiens Lord of the Rings which I had been listening to on the way to the show, and melting into the shire, mixing with flashbacks of a trully Amazing Show.

I have seen many good show, some great show, and a few extra ordinary next level there is some kinka somthing big on this planet going on kinda shows, this was one of the later. As Roger said, and I think most people there would agree, "We'll never forget this." 8)

by Adam B. Hager
"Fuck this rain!" Roger proclaimed as he returned after an almost two and a half hour delay: a delay caused by the first rain Northeastern PA has seen in almost two months. And rain it did. The lightning started just as the announcer came over the P.A. system to announce that the show would begin in 5 minutes. Then, just as Roger began to ascend the staircase leading to the platform that crossed the back of the stage, the wind, along with the entire Montage Mountain audience, began to howl. The wind was blowing so badly that the sound had a hard time reaching all of us that choose the lawn seats for our night with Mr. Waters. As the band began to tear into "In The Flesh," the wind seemed to carry the guitar riffs off into oblivion.

The next four song from "The Wall" all followed the first and seemed to drift in and out at the winds every whim. Not three minutes into "Another Brick int he Wall, part II," the skies open up with a deluge that would have made Moses a little fearful. It was at this point Roger announced that the show would have to be stopped because it was no longer safe for them to continue and that he hoped we would "stick around." Trust me, I wasn't going anywhere. I had been watching the Weather Channel and they had been reporting a chance of showers all day. So we broke out the handy raincoats and prepared to ride it out. Unfortunately, it seemed that many in the audience hadn't seen the weather reports and were ill prepared for this monsoon that was now upon us. I felt extremely bad for the girl that was behind us that had gotten dolled up and was wearing this tiny, black, skin tight dress. I didn't see her much more after the rain started.

About twenty minutes later an announcement came that said they were going to try to resume the show in a little while so we needed to "hold on and try to keep dry." Where we wee standing on the hill, their was a food tent just up the hill to our left. When the rain started, it had been over run with people trying to do just that. The problem was, being the "children" that they were, simply appreciating the fact that the vendors, either by their good graces or force, had allowed this horde to remain under the tent,was impossible. It wasn't long before some, and please excuse my use of expletives, assholes were destroying the contents of the tent and throwing them into the crowd. This asinine behavior went on for the next hour and a half without any sign of security. After remembering the debacle that was the last two hours of Woodstock, my fiance' and I decided it would be better to find a place on the other side of the park. It wasn't soon after that the tent came down and was destroyed.

Just a brief editorial...what the fuck is happening to our youth. Why do they feel the constant need to go to a concert and become destructive. What ever happened to fans getting together, with peace and love, and enjoying themselves. This was not a heavy metal show with a mosh pit. This was Roger Waters, asking you to open up your mind and distance yourself from the violence in our society. Did no one understand the messages of "Darkside of the Moon," "The Final Cut," "Radio KAOS," or "Amused to Death" just to name a few.

At about 9:15, Roger came back out to tell us that they were in contact with the area's airport and that they felt the lightning should be ending in about 20 minutes. "That's the good news." Roger interjected, "The bad news is that this rain could go on for another hour or so. So we're gonna try for around 10:00, it should be safe for us to return by then—that is is you guys are gonna stick around?" With a rousing howl from the audience he got his answer, a resounding "YES!" He thanked us for our patience and again he was gone.

By 10:00, when no one had been back out to report on the whether the concert would continue, the lawn seat people began to stream out of the park. I'd estimate about a third of the crowd had exited by 10:30 when the stage hands came out and started removing the plastic that was covering the instruments, mics, lights, and props. As the crowd began to stir with the activity on the stage, and the cheers of anticipation began to rise, many of those recently exited began to stream back through the gates.

And at 10:45 the announcement came, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats. The show will begin in 5 minutes." And when Roger and the band returned to the stage, a soaked to the bone, teeth chattering from the cold audience opened up and let loose a cheer that seemed to last for days. Like the consummate performer that he is, he grabbed his bass, stepped to the mic and uttered "So, you're still here. "Well now, where were we?" And without missing a beat, they picked up, practically, from where they had left off almost two and a half hours ago: smack dab in the middle of "Brick, part II."

I was beside my self. I had waited 12 years, then another 2 plus hours, for Mr. Waters to return to the people that love and respect him, and let me tell you, the show I saw that night marvelled even the most lavish of the recent Pink Floyd shows. Not by the amount of props; Roger had only a stage length screen used for projection (not to take away from the effect the stills and the other projections had for the show.) Not by the amount of laser lights and dramatic lighting. Most of the lighting used that night seemed simply to set the mood for the song.

It was one of the best, if not the second best show I've ever seen, and I've seen every Floyd tour that's come to either Cleveland or Philly since 1987, because Roger made it that way. He played Floyd songs that they don't even do anymore, and they sounded as if right off the record. "The Wall" set brought the madness and genius to life. And to actually hear "Mother" live on stage, it was almost more than I could bear. "Dogs," which is my all time favorite song, actually brought me to tears. (Even though I did secretly long for it to be Dave up there playing the solos.)

The two songs from "The Final Cut" and "Welcome to the Machine" were so stunning that I pray they never leave my memory. But the part that touched my soul was the pictures of Syd that came up on the screen during "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." It was so heart warming to see one of the members of Pink Floyd remember they're fallen comrade and present him to an audience full of young people who may have not even known who this man on the screen even was. Although I must say I was shocked when the kid standing next to me, who must of only been 15 or 16 years old, leaned over and asked who it was.

More than the Floyd songs though, the songs from his solo material presented the man for exactly what he is, a song writing and composing genius. "What God Wants," stuck me even harder now than it did when I first heard it back in '92. And how poignant the lyrics are in this age of deterioration and mayhem. A world Roger had hoped and prayed against in that very song. And eventhough the rain never stopped, in fact at times it got worse, and even through my raincoat I was soaked, and even more people left during Roger's solo material, the night was a complete success. And as Mr. Waters left the stage telling us "I'll never forget you and love you've shown by staying here through all this rain," I left that concert with the belief he was telling the truth. He won't forget us, you could see the love he was exuding to the crowd.

Even though I sit up at night and pray to the gods of rock and roll that one day Floyd and Roger will put aside whatever differences they have and once again bring to this world the music of the greatest rock and roll band that ever existed, I was glad, no proud, to see Roger Waters back where we all wish he would stay: in our hearts, in our souls, and on the stage.

by Bradley Kaplan
First off the venue sucked. They had us park 5 miles from the place and bus us in. I missed In The Flesh. Roger should not have started this show on time because even getting in the parking lot an hour before show time did not mean you would get to the venue on time. And getting to the parking lot an hour before the show ment being in trafic for about 45 minutes in line for the parking lot

Going into the venue, the security frisked everyone. They had bridge chairs for seats. Total kaos. No ushers nothing, so we just sat anywhere. Then the rain comes. During ABITW pt 2, Roger says they have to stop because it is too dangerous. Says he will play when the rain stopped. We get into the covered handicap seating area and watch everyone get rained on. 45 minutes latter he comes back and says they called the airport and the airport says the rain will be gone by 10pm. Then we decide to walk around. No security nothing. This was now a free concert. No one collecting tickets at the gates. People walking in and out as they pleased. Luckily it was a peacful croud and no one caused any trouble. At 1 point, rain hits the dry ice on stage and the whole stage gets covered with smoke. A lightning bolt struck the stage nocking out the stage lights for about a minute. We finally left the handicap section and went to VIP tent with about 50 other people. A lot of side shows going on during the rain.

Then Roger comes back on stage. It is still raining. Kattie Kisson is wearing a rain coat. They have towels everywhere ane where constantly drying stuff off. Roger goes "lets start where we left off" and they start ABITW pt 2 in the middle right before the guitar solo. Lightning was constnatly going off. During Pigs On The Wing, when Waters said the word "rain" a huge lightning bolt hits lights up the sky, Waters then messed up the rift and sings the last line about 10 seconds after he should have. The lightning did add a nice ambeince to everything.

None of the projections where working properly.

The band played great.

After Shine On, Roger said normally the band takes a break, but now there where not going to, but they needed 5 minutes to re-set the films and stuff. It also seemed that Dogs and Shine on where longer then normal.

Roger played a teaser rift of Set The Controls for The Heart of the Son. Nobody cheared, so he did not play it.

Then roger says "lets go" with that the drum rift for Breath begins. There was no video back drop until Money. With Money they only showed part of it. With Every Strangers Eye they just showed 1 slide and kept it up for the whole time

All the while the rain was still pouring down.

I got a beach ball that was being thrown around, deflated it and made a rain cap.

Due to the bussing situation and hypothermia setting in we left after Every Stranger's Eyes

Did not want to have to wait 3 hours in the rain for a bus to take us to the car after the final encore.

The band played great considering the conditions.

When they came back on everyone just went anywhere. We ended up about 5th row on the right. I still have no idea where the 700 section of Montage Mountain is.

The place is a ski resort. They sold unlimited amount of lawn seats. They would just keep piling people up the lawn. It was the most disorganized concert I have ever been to. The venue was horrible. They do not have enough security and all their employees disappeared when the rain came. Luckly the crowd was calm

by Rpanzik@aol.com
What can I say, Roger Waters just kicked ass. He definitely showed who was "Pink" in his amazing concert in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was a concert I had been waiting my whole life to see, and now am pleased to say that I could die a happy man.

Twenty minutes into the concert, it started pouring rain and the lights from the thunder lit up the sky. Unfortunately, the concert was originally postponed until the rain stopped. However, being the showman that he is, Roger declared that he wouldn't leave until the crowd did. And as the time passed on, chants of the ''show must go on" began echoing through the crowd. No one ever left, no one would dare miss the show that began at 8 that night. At about 11pm, Roger decided to begin playing again, "rain or shine." It became an amazing concert in which the bolts of lightening help accent the brilliant lighting of the stage. From that point on, the fans were standing on their chairs just to capture a glance at the mastermind behind Pink Floyd. He went through a complete repetoire of his classics, as well as some of the songs from his solo career. Singing the whole time, I loved the concert. It was a sight to see. From the point when he started with "In the Flesh" until he finished with "Comfortably Numb," I was in ecstasy.

On the downside, the rain was freezing cold and the wind just made it worse. In some ways it was a shame that some of the people didn't leave when the rain started. It was an unusually young crowd and many of the people of the crowd didn't go to see Roger, but instead went only to get high and drunk. I thought that it was very disrespectful, especially when I saw a glow light almost hit one of the women backup singers. Also, as the rain intensified, the security practically disappeared and crowd really took advantage. At a moments glance, the crowd began to diffuse toward the stage and many of those people were very obnoxious, either being drunk or stoned. The only part of the show I was disappointed with is that the beginning of "Great Gig in the Sky" was played, but they quit before the singing began.

On the positive side, it was the best show that I ever saw, even without laser lights. Roger was unbelievable in some of his solo moments, especially on acoustics during "Pigs on the Wing." Although the guitarist was no Gilmour, he was still very good and I felt like I was at a Pink Floyd concert most of the time instead of being at a Roger Waters concert. The women backup singers were phenomenal and sang the backup pieces like the days of old. With twentieth row seats that I got two days before the concert, I had an amazing view, probably the best in the house considering it was center stage.

It was the concert of a lifetime if you love the music of Roger Waters! If you can get to see it in one of the later venues, don't miss it. Although freezing and dripping wet, I would never have given up the opportunity to see this show. I would just like to thank Roger for the opportunity of a lifetime that he gave me by returning to the stage this summer. His desire to satisfy the crowd was uncanny and truly gratious, considering the risk he put himself at by playing in rain and lightening with his equipment. He showed an ungreedy desire that showed that he really loved to play his music and to please the crowd, unlike many of today's musicians.

by drb
I went to the Waters show last night (August 13, 1999) at Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA. Needless to say, Roger stated near the end, "I will never forget this night." Why you ask? Because in the middle of ABITW 2 (about 15 minutes into the show) they stopped playing and Roger announced, "We have to stop because the rain and lightning are dangerous." About 2.5 (YES TWO AND ONE HALF) hours later the show started up again—AMAZINGLY from the very note where they left off! They played on through the setlist (same) until 1 AM! Awesome!

I won't repeat the same info about setlists and venue, just some observations:

I have to dissent and say the Waters-Gilmour combo was a unique and perfect match that simply can't be duplicated. The guitar players were very good, but Gilmour has a unique and dreamy PF style—sorry boys. I was especially disappointed on WttM and WYWH (What the hell did they do to that song? It sounded almost undiscernible).

Mr. Waters was very cool. Good voice, good bass, very emotional. A cool and intelligent guy. I have always thought he was arguably the best lyricist and "Conceptualist" in the business. My opinion was fortified—just the body of his work alone is astounding in Rock & Roll history.

Lowlights:

The 'diamond' in SOYCD seemed to do nothing.

Annoying and ignorant crowd—people actually started leaving en masse during 'Amused to Death'—are you kidding me?

The storm and sitting in water for 5 hours was a drag, but worth the wait.

Highlights:

The opening when Roger came out—on time—and started 'In The Flesh' gave me goosebumps.

Roger was extremely vocal and thanked the audience numerous times for their tenacity. Right before the encore he was witty when he said, "This is the part of the show where we act like it's over and then wait for you to cheer so we can come back for an encore. But we won't do that tonight because it's too fucking wet." Then they went right into CF.

I recommend the show, but PF with Gilmour and Waters is unmatchable. By the way, Jon Carin is phenomenally talented!

by Agonious@aol.com
My background:

• Traveled from NYC (drove 126 miles after getting out of work early) to see the show.
• Had last row in the reserved seats - section 600 row V(the row right next to the lawn) but eventually moved rather close to the stage. Past shows:
• Roger: Radio KAOS in NYC in 87 and Jones Beach on 8/7/99.
• Floyd : Reason 5 times in 87 & 88 (including last show of tour at Nassau Coliseum) and Bell once in 94.

The show started at 8:00pm with clouds rolling in. The lighting started behind the stage and the thunder mixed well with the songs. The mostly young crowd (I saw many 'Class of 99' high school shirts) was totally into the show. The rain started coming down hard at the beginning of Another Brick part 2 and by the solo .... they started lowering the screen & lights and the band stopped the show. Roger said they were going to wait until the storm passed over. This was about 8:30

Some fans were upset but everybody remained rather calm (some were jumping from the lawn to the reserved area) and NOBODY was leaving (only looking for cover). Talking to some of the locals, they were saying all the shows end at 11pm and nothing goes beyond so they were quickly losing hope ( I was never at the Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center before so I had no clue).

Roger came out a few minutes later and said that he was really impressed that every was still there and stated "If your staying ... we're staying." This got the crowd going. The place cut off the beer and they were running out of food. At one point the power went out from a rather loud sounding lighting crack. At around 9pm with the lighting and heavy rain not letting up. Roger came back out on stage and said that they've been in contact with the local airport who said the lighting/rain will end soon so it looks like the band would hit the stage at around ten. People started to leave.

10:00 came and the lighting/hard rain were still happening.

10:10 - the crew came out and started to uncover the instruments. They did the standard check and they announced the band would come out at in 5 minutes. I moved from my last row seats to 15th row center stage.

10:30: Roger & Co. hit the stage and he said: "ok ...we're did we leave off" and kicked right back into Another Brick part 2 solo right were they left off 2 hours ago.

They proceed to play the entire set list. They had a much higher energy level then Jones Beach (maybe the fear of electrocution had something to do which it).

Whenever Roger mentioned something about rain (Like from Pigs on a Wing "Glancing up thru the rain") the crowd went nuts. There was lighting/rain the entire rest of the show with the band member at times trying to avoid the rain.

They didn't have an intermission because as Roger said "We had a break before"

They were running into problems with the projector during the second set and sometimes the backdrop was black (for all Dark side songs except Money) or the moving liquid when I remembered something else on the screen from the Jones Beach show. The "Sex in Pennsylvania" line from It's a Miracle got a good reaction.

After Eclipse ... Roger said that they normally head off the stage to tease the audience before the encore but not this time. He stressed he was VERY impressed with the fans staying thru all the rain ... stating: "We're gonna remember this one for a while" also pointing out that it finally stopped raining (which it did for a little while)

Time the show ended: about 1am.
Time I got home: around 4am.

by Chris
The show at Montage will be hard to forget. It was delayed by lightning for a bit but he did finish the show. Watching Roger Waters do "Good bye blue skies" at an oustide show in with a lightning storm lighting up the black sky while rain pours on Friday the 13th is something to behold.

I have seen Pink Floyd minus Roger Waters and now I have seen Roger Waters. Roger Waters is the "real" Pink Floyd!!! The show was absolutely fantastic!! From "Shine on you crazy diamond" to "Another brick in the wall part 2", Roger Waters was flawless and delivered with such power and emotion that words can't do it justice. All I have to say is if you get a chance to see him on this tour, do yourself a favor and go!! You will not regret it!!

CHRIS!!

by Stephanie Davis
My name is Stephanie and I've been following Pink Floyd for about 12 years now. Its Friday the 13th and the sky is pitch black at about 7:30 perfect setting for a Roger Waters show. He stepped on stage at 8:00 on the dot played In The Flesh? The Thin Ice, Anothor Brick in the Wall, Part 1, The Happiest Days of Are Lives then during Anthor Brick in the Wall, Part 2 he's dragged off staged because of the bolts of lighting crashing down, just over our heads, all the way around the mountain & the unannounced downpour we recieved during a drought.

Its now About 8:30, there is 13,000 people soaking wet, frozen, and anger waiting to see the 3 hour show we were promised and paid for. The employes at Montage Mountain were brought inside because the people in the lawn seats tore down all the stands,threw food,stole garbage bags,kicked over soda machines,& stole the tarps off anything the could to keep dry.

The beer tents were shut down and everyone started bringing in cases of beer from their cars and sat in the lodge drinking and smoking waiting out the rain.The Lodge I had worked in a year before had become a sauna there were people everywhere you looked and stepped, everyone held their ground till he return at about 11:00. Roger made it clear to all of us "If You'll stay I'll stay!" By this time the concert had become a free for all. Fearing there'd be a riot any and every security gaurd was brought up to the stage, meanwhile excited Floyd fans ran around finding the best seat we could. No one even bothered to ask "where's your ticket?" or dare say "you're in my seat!"

Finally Roger had picked up where he had left off. 13,000 people chanting Mother along with him. For all of the none believers of the magic Pink Floyd holds its was a night never to forget. During the intro to Welcome to the Machine Roger held up his arms and Bolts of lighting light the sky up one by one. It was His night and I think he knew it too.

I wish all the die hard Floyd fans could of been there...Roger sounded amazing, mother nature jioned in, the setlist was a dream come true, & the night was never ending. Even Syd Jioned us For A moment. A picture of him light up during Wish you were Here & Shine on you Crazy Diamond but lasted only moments. This is one concert those who stuck it out will never ever forget.

Stephanie Davis
08-14-99

by Trudy McPeek
We just left the show in Scranton, PA, 8-14. We got SOAKED! He opened with IN THE FLESH. Bear in mind this show was on a ski trail at the top of a mountain. Now rain was forecasted for the night, but none of us would accept that. We didn't bring any rain gear.

Right before the show started (8:00) the sky started to cloud up from behind the stage, and then God gave us one of the best light shows I've seen. Lightning lit up the sky! So this was set to be an unforgettable show.

Next was THE THIN ICE. As the song went on the lightning was getting more beautiful each note. The wind started to pick up and the crowd was really enjoying the lightning. Cheering every time a bolt crackled in the sky. Then he started ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL PT 1. It seemed that the lightning was answering to the rhythm, before it got really dark and the sky opened up, slow at first, then huge droplets of water started to pelt us on top of that mountain. Within 15 minutes I was soaked all the way through. It started raining very hard and Waters stopped the song. He said that he was sorry, but they had to stop playing until the rain stopped. Everybody started booing, and he said he was sorry, but it was dangerous, then he said "have fun in the rain," and walked off the stage.

It rained hard for about 45 minutes and Waters came out and said that they wouldn't be able to come back on unless the rain stopped. He said that they heard the rain was supposed to stop after an hour. About an hour an a half later they said they would be out in five minutes. Waters came out five minutes later, and was surprised that most of the rain-drenched fans were still there enduring the constant rain, and then he said "fuck the rain!" After a loud cheer he said "let's see where were we?" and went back into ANOTHER BRICK PT 1, followed by MOTHER.

Next was GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY DESERT, and SOUTHAMPTON DOCK. Next was a powerful PIG ON THE WING PT 1, and DOGS. Meanwhile the rain did not stop. Next he played WELCOME TO THE MACHINE and WISH YOU WERE HERE. Next was a lengthy SHINE ON CRAZY DIAMOND. Because of the rain delay Waters didn't take a set break and went right into BREATHE, GREAT GIG IN THE SKY and MONEY. His backup singers really sounded beautiful here. Then back into 5:06 A.M, the POWERS THAT BE and a beautiful WHAT GOD WANTS PT. 1. I Was starting to get very cold and turn purple.

I had to leave in the middle of PERFECT SENSE. If the rain had held off it would have been the best shows I had seen. Waters really impressed me playing throughout the rain. A great light show added a nice psychadelic touch. Well I hope anybody that reads this is looking forward to a show coming to your town. This will be my only show until he comes to my home town August 27 at Riverport Ampitheatre in St. Louis. See you there. oh yeah, if anybody comes to my town, St. Louis that is, stop by my store, Mi Casa in University City 862-2272. It's right between St. Louis and the venue. One Love!

by Times Crossing
We got to the lot around 5:30, traffic wasn't too bad. The lot scene would have been jumpin, except for the cops. They had cops in cars crusing up and down, cops on foot, and cops on bikes. They were always around, so no one got too crazy. The cops did provide us with one bit of entertainment, though.

A cop was chasing some guy around the parking lot. The guy was running between cars and sliding over hoods. The entire crowd was cheering him on, guess they were a little upset by the number of cops, too.

Anyway, just when the cop was about to grab him, he put on an extra burst of speed and the cop did a faceplant in the lot. Ouch.

Anyway, on to the show. Roger started promptly at 8, and by around 8:20 it started pouring rain and thundering and lightninging something fierce, so he stopped playing.

We all sat around in the pouring rain for over two hours. At around 10:45 Roger came back out and said something along the lines of "Fuck this rain!" and picked up right where they left off (which was right in the middle of the solo in ABITW Part 2). He closed the set with Shine On... and then he said that they weren't taking a set break, so they kicked right in to the Dark Side stuff.

They played Breathe, Time, and Money, and then came all the solo material. I must admit that I haven't heard much of his solo stuff, but it kicked ass! Right after that, they did Brain Damage and Eclipse.

Instead of going off stage, he said "We're not even going to bother going offstage, its too fucking wet!" and kicked right into Comfortably Numb, which I was at the time because of the rain and cold wind.

It was about 1:30 by this time. Anyway, that ended the concert, and we all sloshed back to the lot and cranked the heat on my truck and headed on out. I got home and took a quick shower to warm up, wrote this, and its 3 now.

I definitely give it to Roger for sticking around and hooking us up with memories that will never be forgotten. Definitely the wettest concert I've ever been to, but also the best. The lightning continued flashing all through the night, and the huge forks of lightning in the sky helped make for the most intense concert I've ever seen! Way to go Roger, I'll definitely be back for more!

by HC_Christie@hotmail.com
The Roger Waters show I and 13 of my friends attended was on Friday August 13th and Montage Mountain By Scranton, PA.

We were a little late getting there but we made it. When we got there it was so crowded and we finally found a spot on the lawn (we're all college students and very broke... $20 was all we could afford). He came on and the crowd went wild.

About 15-30 minutes after we got there it started to thunderstorm. He stopped in the middle of a song (the We Don't Need No Education song). Everyone got pissed when he left the stage. My friends and I were soaked to the bone and freezing as well.

He came out about an hour later and said that they were going to wait for the lightening to stop, and that they would definitely play and they weren't going anywhere. So, that made us happy.

A lot of people left and all the drunk people got rowdy and tore down a tent (which, by the way, I absolutely did not approve of). I lost track of time, but it was a while, and Roger finally came out and started with the song he left off with.

By the way, it was raining the entire night! But, we weren't leaving because we were having the best time of our lives. He played for a while (once again, I lost track of time) and we left. And guess what... as soon as we got to the car, it stopped raining. Figures! But the show was awesome. He sounded great, and the stage was incredible. We are planning to got to his show on the 17th (I think) at Hershey Park in PA.

So, those are my thoughts. Oh, and here's a little side note—I never like that kind of music before I attended this concert. I went out and bought a couple Pink Floyd CD's today.

by Gary Marcy
I went to the August 13 show at Montage Mountain, and I was stunned by waters performance. He played all of the classic Floyd (except "hey you") and some of his new solo work. I got to the show about two hours ahead of time to already find a ton of people there, and they justr kept coming in all night. Then waters came out and all the crowd went balistic.

He began his first set, he only got four songs in before the torrential down pour began. Due to the rain the show was stopped for safety reasons. After 2 hours of standing in the rain he came back on and played incredibly. It was still pouring and thundering and lighting while he was playing. The show was made better by the cloud to cloud lighting directly above us that made it as bright as day. The projection screen behind the stage was awesome. this was the best concert I have ever been to.