Roger Waters in Camden, NJ 9/16/06
onezebra12
Quite different from his show we saw in 1987 where he was
concentrating mostly on his then new album Radio K.A.O.S. His show
then had been more theatrical, but not as musically up to snuff as I
would've liked. It was especially tough since Dave Gilmour and the
others were touring as Pink Floyd at the same time and really blew
Roger's show away both musically and visually. I gave high marks to
Waters though for having the GUTS to try something different at that
time.
This show was closer to how Pink Floyd would do their shows in the
80s & 90s, playing up the material that everyone came to hear...like
Dark Side of the Moon.
The show got underway at 8:10 with a screen that came to life showing
an old fashion style radio that was playing mostly 40s type Swing or
Big Band. A hand would reach out and change the dial which would
flicker past Abba tunes while looking for more 40s era. The listener
would also reach for a cigarette on an ash tray or grab a nearby
bottle to pour a drink.
Ten minutes later the radio station changed again as Waters & band
hit the stage with In the Flesh.
The one brand new song played was called Leaving Beirut. Waters wrote
this as a fond memory of hitchiking through the Middle East after his
car broke down during his first adventure away from home at age 17 in
1961. A friendly family in Beirut let him stay with them and were
very kind to him. Roger wonders what ever became of them in light of
all the turbulence that's occured in that area during the last 40
years or so.
The movie screen in back of the stage showed a comic illustration of
Waters and his pals breaking down and Roger being charmed by the
kindness of the family and amazed how they lived so peacefully
sharing what little they had. The images of politicians like Bush,
Blair and Reagan were shown as Waters wondered how ALL people in that
area of the world could be tarred with the same brush and how futile
war was.
Of course there were the other familiar images and effects on the
screen, like the walking hammers, and a pig was set loose into the
audience during Sheep.
The band now has some veterans of Floyd's road band, like Snowy White
and Jon Carin. And guitarist Dave Kilminster I recall being a member
of John Wetton's band and Qango, an outfit that Wetton and Carl
Palmer formed after an Asia reunion fell through in 1999(they had
much better luck this year!)
Overall, there was quite a generous helping of Floyd classics,
including Final Cut cuts such as Southhampton Dock and Fletcher
Memorial Home which came off much better live than on record(IMO)
And of course there were Wall tracks and Dark Side of the Moon in its
entirety! Yes, what more could a Floyd fanatic want? And since the
other Floyd boys don't seem to be all that interested in doing any
touring at this time, looks like this is the closest thing we'll be
getting to a classic Pink Floyd show for quite some time.
Band:
Roger Waters - vocals, bass, guitars
Andy Fairweather-Low - guitar, bass, backing vocals
Snowy White - guitars, bass
Dave Kilminster - vocals, guitar
Jon Carin - vocals, keyboards, synths
Harry Waters - organ
Graham Broad - drums
Ian Ritchie - Saxophone
Katie Kissoon - vocals
P.P.Arnold - vocals
Carol Kenyon - vocals
Setlist:
In the Flesh
Mother
Set the Controls For the Heart Of the Sun
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (1-3)
Have A Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Southhampton Dock
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Perfect Sense Parts 1 and 2
Leaving Beirut
Sheep
(15 minute break)
DARK SIDE OF THE MOON:
Speak To Me
Breathe
On The Run
Time
The Great Gig In The Sky
Money
Us And Them
Any Colour You Like
Brain Damage
Eclipse
Encores:
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2
Vera
Bring The Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb