Roger Waters: The Wall

Written and directed by Sean Evans and Roger Waters, Roger Waters: The Wall is a concert film that captures Waters’ three-year tour and stage show performance of Pink Floyd’s 1979 album The Wall that also follows Water on the road to travel to the places where his father and grandfather had died in different wars. It’s a film that is a mixture of a concert film and documentary that play into some of the themes of the album as well as Waters’ own exploration of loss. The result is a sprawling yet effective film from Sean Evans and Roger Waters.

The film chronicles the 2010-2013 world tour from Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters as he performs the band’s 1979 album The Wall in its entirety with an elaborate stage production similar to what the band did back in 1980 and 1981 during its tour for the album. The film isn’t just a concert film where Waters and his band performs the album in its entirety with its immense stage production of 3D animation, lights, and films on display as a wall is being built only to be torn down in the end. It’s also a film that has Waters going on the road from Britain to France and Italy to visit the places and grave sites of both his father and grandfather. The film shifts back and forth from the concert performances to Waters on the road as he would carry the letter his mother received on the news of her husband’s death as well as a trumpet in which he would play notes of the album closer Outside the Wall.

Shot by cinematographer Brett Turnbull, Waters and Sean Evans would use the scenes on the road where Waters would converse with survivors of war and atrocities during his trip along with imagined images of war and scenes at a bar or at a house that features art direction from Fred Duru and Sam Tidman. One notable scene set at a World War I memorial in France has Waters finding the grave of his grandfather as he brings along with his three adult children in India, Jack, and Harry (who also plays organ/keyboards in Waters’ band) to the site. It would climax with Waters’ trip to Anzio where his father died and a World War II memorial site in Italy as it is a moving moment in the film that has Evans use wide shots of the location while knowing not to use any close-ups for a moment that is emotional and cathartic.

The concert scenes that is helmed by Evans with Turnbull and edited by Andrew Marcus and Katie McQuerrey do have this sense of energy that include the vast visuals that Waters presents in the film along with close-ups of some of the musicians in that band that include guitarist/bassist G.E. Smith, guitarists Snowy White and Dave Kilminster, keyboardists Jon Carin and Harry Waters, drummer Graham Broad, vocalist Robbie Wyckoff, and backing vocalists Jon Joyce, Pat Lennon, Kipp Lennon, and Mark Lennon. The concerts are shot in stadiums around Europe as including a show in Athens and Paris where Waters adds additional lyrics to Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2 in the form of an acoustic ballad dedicated to Jean Charles da Silva e de Menezes who was misidentified as one of the terrorists of the London bombings of July 7, 2005 and was killed by authorities 15 days later. Sound designer Jacob Ribicoff would capture the sound of the live band with the aid of music producer Nigel Godrich in mixing the music and such including Waters’ trumpet solos at the memorial scenes.

Roger Waters: The Wall is an incredible film from Sean Evans and Roger Waters. It’s a film that captures the creator of one of rock’s great rock operas to perform one of his finest creations to the masses while going inward for its themes of war and loss. Fans of Waters and Pink Floyd will definitely want to see this not just for the performances of the songs from the album but also to get insight from the man who created some of rock music’s most daring recordings. In the end, Roger Waters: The Wall is a remarkable film from Sean Evans and Roger Waters.

Pink Floyd: Albums: (The Piper at the Gates of Dawn) – (A Saucerful of Secrets) – (More OST) – (Ummagumma) – (Atom Heart Mother) – (Meddle) – (Obscured by Clouds) – (The Dark Side of the Moon) – (Wish You Were Here) – (Animals) – (The Wall) – (The Final Cut) – (A Momentary Lapse of Reason) – (The Division Bell) – (The Endless River)

Live Albums: (Delicate Sounds of Thunder) – (Pulse) – (Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-1981)

Compilations: (Relics) – (A Collection of Great Dance Songs) – (1967: Their First Singles) – (Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd) – (The Best of Pink Floyd: A Foot in the Door) – (1965: Their First Recordings)

Box Sets: (The Early Years 1965-1972)

Films: (London ’66-’67) – Live at Pompeii - Pink Floyd: The Wall - Pink Floyd: The Final Cut - (Delicate Sounds of Thunder) – (Pulse) – (The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story) – (The Story of Wish You Were Here)

Syd Barrett: (The Madcap Laughs) – (Barrett) – (Opel)

David Gilmour: (David Gilmour) – (About Face) – (On an Island) – (Live in Gdansk) – (Metallic Spheres (w/ the Orb)) – (Rattle That Lock) – (Live at Pompeii)

Nick Mason: (Fictitious Sports) – (Profiles) – (White of the Eye)

Roger Waters: (Music from the Body) – (The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking) – (Radio K.A.O.S.) – (Amused to Death) – (In the Flesh – Live) – (Ca Ira) - Roger Waters: The Wall Tour: 11/18/10-Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - (Is This the Life We Really Want?)

Richard Wright: (Wet Dream) – (Broken China)

© thevoid99 2018

Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars

Directed by Lili Fini Zanuck and written by Stephen “Scooter” Weintraub and Larry Yelen, Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars is the story of the life and career of one of the greatest guitarists in rock n’ roll from his time in the 1960s being an integral part of the emergence of blues in Britain and playing in bands like the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Cream, and Blind Faith and then becoming a successful solo artist. The film also explores Clapton’s struggle with drugs and alcohol as well as the need to be loved as it relates to the lonely childhood he had and how music saved him as well as give him the family that he’s always wanted. The result is a fascinating and evocative film from Lili Fini Zanuck.

Told through various audio clips and footages from interviews from other films and TV appearances, the film follows the life and career of Eric Clapton who emerged in the early 1960s under the radar of the British Invasion as a gifted guitarist with a love for American blues music. Before he would make waves for being in the supergroup power-trio Cream and later as a solo artist, Clapton was considered the best guitarist of his generation where in 1967. A fan wrote graffiti on the wall stating “Clapton is God” which would embarrass a young man who would endure a lot of pain in his early life as well as in his adult life where he spent much of the 1970s battling drug addiction and alcoholism. Much of the film’s first half explore Clapton’s time in the 1960s as well as going back to parts of his early life where he was raised by his grandparents.

With the aid of Chris King’s editing as well as the collection of audio interviews from sound editors Stephen Griffith and Andy Shelley, director Lili Fini Zanuck would showcase the events that shaped Clapton’s life from the fact that he had been abandoned by his mother who would later return to Britain with two children and reject him as well as a visit to Germany with his grandparents where his mother treated him poorly. It would affect his relationship with women including a time in the late 60s where he found himself falling for Pattie Boyd who was then-married to one of his best friends in George Harrison. Though Boyd would eventually divorce Harrison in the early 70s and marry Clapton a few years later, the relationship was shaky due to Clapton’s alcoholism as he traded his addiction to heroin to drinking alcohol.

It’s not just Clapton’s voice that is heard throughout the film but also archival audio from his grandmother Rose as well as Boyd, Harrison, Derek and the Dominos bandmate Bobby Whitlock, and a few others that would help play into Clapton’s story as well as the fulfillment he would have in the late 80s with the arrival of his son Conor until tragedy occurred in March of 1991 when Conor fell off a fifty-three story building in New York City and died at the age of four. His son’s death would inspire him to co-write the song Tears in Heaven that would give not just accolades but also start a period of rebuilding and creating the need for a treatment center as he would later find a new wife in Melia McEnrey who would give him three daughters while Clapton would also discover of another daughter he would have in 1985 as they would give him what he needed.

At the heart of the film is the music which is compiled by music supervisor Gary Welch that doesn’t just feature many of the music Clapton made in the bands he’s been in as well as the artists he collaborated with but also some of his influences. The film also features low-key score music by Gustavo Santoalalla who provides a mixture folk-based blues that play to pictures of Clapton’s pre-fame life.

Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars is a remarkable film from Lili Fini Zanuck. It’s a documentary that doesn’t play by the conventions while allowing audiences to get to know the man on and off the stage as well as someone that used music as his salvation no matter how hard the obstacles of life threw a lot at him. In the end, Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars is an incredible film from Lili Fini Zanuck.

© thevoid99 2018

Pink Floyd: The Final Cut

Directed by Willie Christie and written by Roger Waters that is based on the 1983 album by Pink Floyd, The Final Cut is a 19-minute short film that revolves a man watching images about war as he yearns for the post-war dream. The film features four tracks from the band’s album which all play into Waters’ response to the 1982 Falkland Island war between Britain and Argentina as well as criticism towards Margaret Thatcher. Starring Alex McAvoy and Roger Waters. The Final Cut is a somber yet entrancing film by Willie Christie.

The film revolves around a man who watches television one day as he sees images about war as he copes with his son fighting a war as he ponders the idea of the post-war dream through a series of videos by Pink Floyd. Much of which play into a man haunted by the horror of war and the demands of his government as it is an anti-war short film told through four songs by Pink Floyd including its title track. The videos serve to reflect the ideas of not just the concept of the post-war dream in its title track but also that sense of loss through Margaret Thatcher. Even as songs like The Gunner’s Dream and Not Now John play into not just the sense of loss but also that sense of demand for war in the latter as its clip is presented with surreal imagery with women as geishas tempting men building war machines.

Willie Christie’s direction is very intriguing with its opening scene where this old man is driving on a highway to an unknown location where he stops to see a veteran standing on a bridge. Christie’s direction for the title track features Roger Waters sitting on a couch during a psychiatric session as he sings the song behind the shadows to various stock footage of the post-war life. Christie’s compositions often range towards medium and wide shots that include some very sobering scenes involving the old man watching images about war as he looks towards a picture of his own as the old man is played touchingly by Alex McAvoy. Especially as Christie also provide satires by having actors play such figures as Winston Churchill, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Augusto Pinochet, and Margaret Thatcher as representation of power. Overall, Christie creates a visually-haunting yet eerie film about a man’s desire for the post-war dream.

The Final Cut is a superb film from Willie Christie. While it’s a film that will appeal to Pink Floyd fans who liked the album, it is still an intriguing short film that also serves as an anti-war film. In the end, The Final Cut is a superb film from Willie Christie and Pink Floyd.


Pink Floyd Films: (London ‘66-‘67) - Live at Pompeii - Pink Floyd: The Wall - (Delicate Sound of Thunder) - (Pulse)

© thevoid99 2015

Pink Floyd: The Wall

Based on the 1979 album by Pink Floyd that was conceived by its bassist/lyricist Roger Waters, Pink Floyd: The Wall is the story of a rock singer tormented by memories of his childhood and his dissolving marriage along with stories about the father he never knew as he succumbs to madness. Directed by Alan Parker and screenplay by Roger Waters, the film is a visual interpretation of the album that features animated sequences from Gerald Scarfe who did the album sleeve and animated backdrops for the 1980-1981 tour for the album as the character of Pink Floyd is played by Bob Geldolf. Also starring Christine Hargreaves, Eleanor David, Alex McCoy, Jenny Wright, and Bob Hoskins. Pink Floyd: The Wall is an eerie yet visually-dazzling film from Alan Parker.

The film plays into the mind of a troubled rock star who is haunted by the death of his father as well as a crumbling marriage and all sorts of troubled memories that forces him to build a mental wall against his demons. It’s a film that plays into a man who becomes insane as he would later imagine himself as a totalitarian dictator as it shows troubled he is as he also copes with memories of his mother who would smother him throughout his childhood. Roger Waters’ screenplay doesn’t have much dialogue as much of the narrative is told through the music with some re-recorded tracks from the album made specifically for the film. The first half is about the Pink Floyd character building his wall based on not just his own troubled memories but also the stories of his own father (James Laurenson) as well as events that led to his breakdown relating to marriage. The film’s second half is about Pink in the aftermath of building his wall as he succumbs to madness and later tries to make sense of what he’s feeling.

Alan Parker’s direction is very stylish in terms of some of the compositions he creates as it is a mixture of a lot of genres ranging from war to simple drama. Much of it involves some unique tracking and dolly shots for some of the action as well as some intimate yet startling scenery set in the hotel room that Pink is in. Parker’s usage of close-ups are intriguing from one unique shot of this extreme close-up of a cigarette half-burnt as the camera moves slowly for a close-up of Pink’s face. The usage of medium shots such as the scenes in the hotel room and moments that involve events outside of Pink’s life that includes his wife (Eleanor David) and her lover (James Hazeldine) which plays into Pink’s own sense of loss and growing state of madness.

Adding to Parker’s own unique visual approach are the animation sequences of Gerald Scarfe that played into Pink’s own sense of despair. The animation aren’t just surreal but also have a sense of terror as it relates to what Pink is going through. Then there’s the music which not only drives the story but also help play into the sense of loss that looms over Pink. While the result isn’t entirely perfect as a few songs are shifted into other parts of the narrative while a couple like Hey You and The Show Must Go On are omitted from the film. Parker is able to keep the story faithful while making it something that is clearly of its own. Overall, Parker creates a very thrilling and intense film about a man’s mental descent into madness.

Cinematographer Peter Bizou does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography to set moods for the look of the hotel room as well as some of the nighttime interior/exterior settings for some of the locations in London and other British cities. Editor Gerry Hambling does brilliant work with the editing to capture some of the moments of excess and craziness in the Young Lust sequence as well as some stylish cuts to match some of the animation and live action scenes. Production designer Brian Morris, with art directors Chris Burke and Clinton Cavers, does amazing work with the design of the hotel room that Pink lives in as well as the design of the ceremonies he would have as a dictator along with the design of the meat grinder sequence for Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2.

Costume designer Penny Rose does terrific work with the costumes from the period clothes of the young Pink in the late 1940s/early 1950s to the design of the uniforms he would wear in his dictator persona. Sound mixer Clive Winter does nice work with some of the sound to play into some of the action as well as capturing the chaos of war while music producer James Guthrie provide some sound effects and expand them for the music with some of the songs by Pink Floyd sung by Bob Geldolf for a few of the songs.

The casting by Celestia Fox is superb as it features appearances from Roger Waters as Pink’s best man, Phil Davis as a roadie, James Laurenson as Pink’s father, Michael Ensign as the hotel manager, Margery Mason as the teacher’s wife, James Hazeldine as Pink’s wife’s lover, and as a group of groupies, Joanne Whalley, Nell Campbell, Emma Longfellow, and Lorna Barton. Other notable small roles include Jenny Wright as the American groupie for the One of My Turns scene, Alex McAvoy as the teacher for the young Pink, Christine Hargreaves as Pink’s mother, and Eleanor David as Pink’s wife as they would represent elements of the wall that Pink would built.

Bob Hoskins is terrific in a small role as Pink’s manager despite the minimal dialogue he has. In the roles of Pink Floyd, there’s David Bingham as the little Pink who is craving for a father figure while Kevin McKeon plays the adolescent Pink who not only copes with his father’s absence but also elements that would shape his upbringing. Finally, there’s Bob Geldolf in a remarkable performance as Pink Floyd as it’s a mostly silent performance as it’s very eerie while he goes full on for the few songs he sings to play into Pink’s own unraveling into a madman.

Pink Floyd: The Wall is a phenomenal film from Alan Parker. While Pink Floyd purists will obviously favor the original album in terms of its story, the film does serve as a true and definitive visual companion piece to the album for those that didn’t see the band nor Roger Waters’ recent tour do the album in its entirety in a live setting. As a standalone film, it is one of the most visually-sprawling rock films ever created that transcends the idea of the music video. In the end, Pink Floyd: The Wall is an enthralling film from Alan Parker.

Alan Parker Films: (Bugsy Malone) - Midnight Express - (Fame (1980 film)) - (Shoot the Moon) - (Birdy) - (Angel Heart) - (Mississippi Burning) - (Come See the Paradise) - (The Commitments) - (The Road to Wellville) - (Evita (1996 film)) - (Angela’s Ashes) - (The Life of David Gale)

Pink Floyd Films: (London ‘66-‘67) - Live at Pompeii - The Final Cut - (Delicate Sound of Thunder) - (Pulse)

Related: The Wall (album) - Roger Waters-The Wall Tour Live 11/18/10 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

© thevoid99 2015

Roger Waters: The Wall Tour 11/18/10-Atlanta, GA Phillips Arena

***WARNING:  The Following will contain SPOILERS for those that want to attend the tour for The Wall by Roger Waters***

On November 30, 1979, Pink Floyd released their double album entitled The Wall.  A rock opera about a rock star named Pink whose life begins to unravel.  Haunted by the death of his father in World War II, his over-protective mother, the abuse he suffered at school, and a cheating wife.  He responds by building a mental wall that would turn him into a Fascist hell-bent on destroying his demons.  The concept was created by the band’s bassist/vocalist/lyricist Roger Waters as he wrote nearly every song on the album.  Though it would be one of Floyd’s finest albums of its career.  It also marked the beginning of the end for the band.

The album was followed by a tour that only played four cities from 1980 to 1981.  Largely due to the fact that the band played to an elaborate stage show where during the performance.  A wall was being built between the band and its audience.  Along with inflatable figures for characters in the story, it was one of the most groundbreaking tours that anyone had ever seen.  While footage of the tour has never been officially released, it has been seen on the Internet.  Following Roger Waters’ departure from Pink Floyd in 1985, Waters played The Wall once again in 1990 in Berlin with an array of special guests.

In 2009, The Wall celebrated its 30th Anniversary where Roger Waters made the announcement of doing a full-scale tour behind Pink Floyd’s classic album.  For the world tour behind The Wall, Waters made updates to the characters and message for the album adding political commentary to the images.  Joining Waters for the tour are some of his longtime touring musicians including Waters’ son/keyboardist Harry Waters, drummer Graham Broad, keyboardist/guitarist Jon Carin, guitarists Snowy White (who also played in the 1980 tour for The Wall) and Dave Kilminster.  Also included on the tour is former Hall & Oates guitarist G.E. Smith (also on bass), vocalist Robbie Wyckoff, and as a backing vocalist Jon Joyce, who was one of the original backing vocalists from the original tour.  Also joining Joyce on vocals are Kipp, Mark, and Pat Lennon from the group Venice.

One of the big surprises of the tour is a possible guest appearance from Waters’ former Pink Floyd bandmate in vocalist/guitarist David Gilmour.  Gilmour’s appearance is more of a favor to Waters after Waters made a guest appearance at a charity show singing a few songs with Gilmour.  While Waters stated that this will probably his last tour.  What a way to go out for the art-rock legend.

At the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, I was able to get a ticket for $130 (thanks Mom and Dad) and sit in front near of the right corner of the Wall itself.  I didn’t notice until intermission that sitting rows above me was my dad’s old friend Josie with a friend of his.  We later talked after the show was over.

The show began with a man pretending to be homeless was rambling incoherently while throwing a life-like figure of Pink onto the stage as pyro began to hit for In the Flesh?  Fireworks were shooting up in the air as the band was playing the song while a group of men wearing uniform are holding flags as Roger Waters appear singing the song in front of the Wall staging.  With fireworks and pyrotechnics blasting up above to the arena’s ceiling, a model plane flies from the ceiling to the left corner of the wall where it perished in flames.  For The Thin Ice, images of those killed from war including Roger Waters’ own father appears through the circular screen above the stage as the faces would appear on the bricks of the wall.

Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1 was presented with red images flowing across the wall as bricks start to appear stacking up.  I was able to see how it was done through projectors shooting the images at the wall itself.  The Happiest Days of Our Lives appear with lights above the arena finding a person as Roger says, “You… yes you!  Stand still laddie” as the school teacher appears as a combination of puppetry and inflatable balloons.  The song gets things going as it builds up to the classic Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2 as the children choir chorus features young kids dancing to the song wearing black t-shirts.  Solos by Dave Kilminster, Snowy White, and G.E. Smith were played throughout as they play fantastic notes to the song.

For Mother, it’s Roger Waters sort of doing a duet with himself as he sings with a 1980 video footage of himself at Earl’s Court in London.  The video image is animated in a rotoscope presentation that is projected on the wall and circular screen.  When Robbie Wyckoff sings Gilmour’s part, he’s behind the wall as other images appear while the inflatable mother looks on at the right corner of the stage towards the people sitting on the floor.  Even as White and Smith both do solos for the song.  Goodbye Blue Sky was given an updated image of sorts with birds flying throughout the wall and screen as it gave way to dark images of planes dropping symbols to signify the new political tone of the show.

Empty Spaces featured the famous fucking flowers scene where on the wall, stems appeared expand the imagery from Gerald Scarfe’s original animation as it segued to What Shall We Do Now? with the original images from Scarfe’s animation that appeared in the original show and 1982 film by Alan Parker.  The images on the wall is much broader as it goes into Young Lust.  With Wyckoff singing the song as it featured solos from Kilminster and Smith, the images of the wall show sexy women prancing around as it became a more adult show.  Even as the wall started to be nearly completed with the phone call is projected on the wall segueing into One of My Turns with images of a woman walking around a hotel room.  Even as Waters sing through people all over the stage looking up all over the arena.

In Don’t Leave Me Now, Waters continue to sing to the song with an array of images as he sings to a woman shown on the left side of the screen.  For the song’s climatic solo, the inflatable puppet of the wife appears on the right side of the stage.  With images of an array of things displaying as if it’s a TV.  It starts to break for Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 3 as the show intensify with more dark images as it goes into The Last Few Bricks where the wall is nearly complete.  With one spot left inside, Goodbye Cruel World is sung with Waters singing to the audience as the last brick is filled and the wall is complete.

After a 20-30 minute intermission, the second half of the show begins with Hey You.  With Wyckoff singing the first and second verse, there aren’t any images of the wall except when it breaks apart through a series of visuals.  Is There Anybody Out There? has very little images except a spot where a light is shown from an open spot of the left corner of the wall during the acoustic guitar solo.  A section of the wall folded down for a set featuring a chair, a lamp, and a TV as Waters appears to sing Nobody’s Home.  Images of World War II movies appear on the TV and throughout the Wall as I got a very good look at what he was watching.  The set folds back into the wall as Waters leave to sing Vera Lynn with images of a young Vera Lynn shown throughout.

This would segue to an extended version of Bring the Boys Back Home with an array of horrifying images of war and poverty plus a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower about war.  With the images dying down as it leads to the very popular Comfortably Numb.  Waters sings on the stage with the wall behind him as Robbie Wyckoff appears above the stage to sing Gilmour’s part while Kilminster does the blazing guitar solos.  Even as Waters parts the images on the wall as it then goes to black where the stage in front of the wall show instruments popping up from under.  With the band coming up on the stage for The Show Must Go On (w/ an extended opening verse), the images projected on the wall set the stage for what is to come.

In The Flesh arrives with the whole band wearing the hammer uniform and arm bands while flags appear on top of the wall.  A black flying pig also appears flying above the audience as Waters appears to sing the song as people are pointed throughout the show.  Even as audience members do the hammer signal where Waters dedicate the next song to the paranoid people of Atlanta.  Run Like Hell with its array of blasting visuals and text relating to chaos as Waters and Wyckoff traded verses throughout the song.  The pig disappeared back to the right corner of the stage as the song segues to Waiting For the Worms with images of worms slithering through on screen.  Even as it gives way to the walking hammers from Gerald Scarfe’s animation while Waters talks through a megaphone during the song.

Stop abruptly appears as the lights go down with the band getting off the stage as Water sings with a single light on him.  Even as the instruments go down to under the stage as it closes for The Trial.  Featuring the animation from the film and original concert by Scarfe, it also features some 3-D images of Pink popping up and giving the finger to the audience along with some new text.  Including the line “Shit on him” after the judge sang the line “the urge to defecate”.  The show reaches its climax as the bricks on the wall falls off the stage through an array of loud cheers.  The bricks are cleared as the band returns on stage with acoustic instruments as they all sing Outside the Wall with Waters playing a trumpet to end the show.

From the concert experiences I’ve been to that I recall going back as far as seeing Marilyn Manson back in late 1996.  I’ve seen my share of great theatrical shows.  Probably the most elaborate up to that point was the Nine Inch Nails concert for the Lights in the Sky tour back in August of 2008.  The only negatives I had with that show was that I was sitting on the side of the stage and not getting very much action of the visuals.  The other was the arena itself which I found to be foggy inside and not having a great presentation when it came to sounds.

While I ended up sitting on the side of the stage again and near the wall.  I didn’t have the same issues I had with the NIN show.  Though it was my third time at Phillips Arena, the venue is a much better place while I was able to see a lot of the visual aspects of the show from the side of the stage.  Even as I got very close looks at the Mother, the Wife, the Pig, and even the TV side stage set.  For that, it was more than enough to enjoy the show.

The audience response was truly overwhelming as nearly everyone knew the words to the songs that were going on as Waters himself definitely had a great time.  His interaction with the audience was truly spectacular with everyone just cheering and such.  Even as he sounded great with his vocals with the audience helping along in some parts.  Waters’ band also did a fantastic job.  Notably Dave Kilminster whose guitar work is phenomenal.  He may not be David Gilmour in the guitar department but was superb.  As was Snowy White and G.E. Smith.  Robbie Wyckoff didn’t sound like Gilmour vocally but he hit all the right notes the song was needed.  It didn’t even sound like a cover or tribute band doing the show as Waters and company got it right.  Though there was a bit of technical mishap during the opening notes of Young Lust, the band was able to get through it quickly.

A show like The Wall is never going to be seen ever again and I was fortunate to be able to attend.  Especially in an age of shows that try to be visually amazing but the music doesn’t translate well to its audience.  While The Wall was originally meant to display feelings of disconnection by literally building a wall between band and audience.  Waters’ new approach makes it far more interactive as the political message he adds are presented with dignity.  Even as it adds more emotional punch to the story of The Wall.  At the same time, there’s a bit of joy and excitement to the show where the audience is able to really be amazed by the visuals which are truly amazing.  Credit must go to Gerald Scarfe and the staging team behind this amazing show.

If there’s one show that people must see that is the closest thing to what Pink Floyd has done in the past.  It’s this one.  While it’s obvious that Floyd will never tour again (though the remaining members aren’t opposed to doing occasional one-off shows), Roger Waters does however keep the spirit of Floyd alive.  Even with playing one of the band’s greatest albums to keep more than 20,000 people entertained.  There will never be anything the likes of it to come.  This is theatrical rock at its finest and who better to present it than Roger Waters himself.  It’s a must-see and not to be missed.  This is a show that truly blows away everything else in presentation and audience interaction.  The bottom line is go see Roger Waters do The Wall or you will be one sorry son of a bitch in missing the greatest show ever.

Set List:  Act 1:  In the Flesh?/The Thin Ice/Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1/The Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2/Mother/Goodbye Blue Sky/Empty Spaces/What Shall We Do Now?/Young Lust/One of My Turns/Don’t Leave Me Now/Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 3/The Last Few Bricks/Goodbye Cruel World

(Intermission)

Act 2:  Hey You/Is There Anybody Out There?/Nobody’s Home/Vera Lynn/Bring the Boys Back Home/Comfortably Numb/The Show Must Go On/In the Flesh/Run Like Hell/Waiting for the Worms/Stop/The Trial/Outside the Wall

Related Reviews: Pink Floyd: The Wall - Roger Waters: The Wall

© thevoid99 2010