ROGER WATERS - THE WALL LIVE 9-24-10 Report

This is a concert I've waited all my life to see, and now I have seen it. Of course, its not the full Floyd, it was just Roger. But still, I feel like I saw the whole thing. The whole shebang. A Full performance of my favorite album of all time. Lets begin:

I drove through the traffic jam infested and treacherous skyway of Chicago to arrive downtown at the United Center (otherwise known as BULLS' STADIUM). To be in the place where Michael Jordan won so many games and took home championships was awesome in itself. I used to be an avid basketball watcher back in the 90's of the BULLS' heyday. Only problem, the seats are STEEP! Check it out:



I found my seat in section 307 on the top level and immediately my vertigo set in. There were no guard rails and if I stood up there I would get all dizzy and want to fall over. The seats were damn close together too and considering I am a man of size, it wouldn't have been good for my poor neighbors. Luckily for me, right next to my section was a bar lounge. The ledge looked out onto the concert floor, giving me the same angle and view I would have had anyway. But-without all the people around me, the people talking through the show and the pot smoking. So I hung out there at the bar. There were people on the ledge with me looking out, including this nice couple whom I chatted with during the show. Man, could they drink! I scored a Sam Adams and waited for the show to start.





It started off with a bang with fireworks, chanting and explosions galore. And what followed next was what I feel to be, a very faithful (and very modern) re-creation of the 1980-1981 WALL TOUR Pink Floyd put on. Complete with teacher, wife and mother puppets, wall construction, Gerald Scarfe animation, and costumes. The only thing really that has changed was there was no "surragate band" and there was a TON of updated and modern graphics that were projected onto the Wall itself. Alot of eye candy.




Oh yeah, and the famous PIG made an appearance...



It really is hard to reconstruct the visual feast I was presented with. But all in all, it was a stunning performance. I really noticed no mistakes or miscues on a part of the band or the massive lightshow. Everything seemed to be pretty on. Perhaps the kinks are now worked out on this, the sixth show of the tour.





I had bought my ticket back in July/August before we had to move and I had a bit of money. After we found out we have to move come November and how tight everything is as a result, I tried even to see if I could generate some funds by getting my ticket refunded. I could not. So I decided to go anyway and just have fun. and I am soooooo glad it worked out the way it did. It was a wonderful show. Only a few times did I feel the twinge of remorse that it wasn't the full monty of Floyd on the stage instead of just Roger and his band. But there were some really good musicians with him. Including G.E. Smith from the Sat. Night Live band. Remember that dude? Yeah, he wailed. Snowy White and Jon Carin were in, as well as Harry Waters on organ (yes, Roger's son). There were some touching moments, such as when Roger sang harmony perfectly with his audio track from 1980, and him walking outside the wall during the solo to comfortably numb, lightly caressing the wall.. his baby. His masterpiece. The thing he's built. I couldn't help but think that in that moment. There was also a massive amount of anti-war graphics and feel to the projections. Including a list of lost soldiers and people from 9-11, Iraq War, World War 2 and other various evils from the past 80 years. Some touching videos of soldiers coming home and surprising their kids at school with their arrival. The look on the kids' faces when they saw that daddy was home was a real tear-jerker. This played on a longer version of "Bring the Boys Back Home."




All in all, it was a great show and I am extremely glad I went. It kind of sucked to not have anyone to share the experience with cause I went solo. But really, THE WALL has been MY favorite album. Usually all my music peeps appreciate it, but not nearly as much as I do. I fell in love with it when I first heard it. and I fell in love with it again last night. Cause now I have memories to relive with it even more now. I am not so much the angry and bitter young man that I was when I first heard and related to the album so long ago. But I can certainly see new things in it and relate it to how things feel for me now. In short, it still holds up, even over thirty years later.





I wish the band the best of luck on the rest of this tour. And urge anyone interested in seeing possibly one of the greatest rock shows ever put on, to go. There's tons of dates across the US and it will venture across the pond for next year. Just go. You'll thank me. We'll all stagger and fall, after all its not easy... to bang your heart against some mad buggar's wall.

T