Another really cool thing about the music was that
all the sound bites and effects that you hear on the
albums were recreated perfectly live.
There were some really interesting anti-Bush things
going on in the show as well. Roger sure doesn't like
old GW, that's for sure. For instance, when they performed
Pigs, two guys ran out into the audience holding on
to ropes flying a gigantic pink pig the size of a
bus. The front guy was in a butcher's bloody outfit,
holding a huge knife and screaming bloody murder.
There was graffiti written all over the pig like "vote
Democrat on Nov. 2". And smack dab in the middle
of the floating pig's butt was written "Bush".
Hmmm, I wonder what they were trying to say with that
one?
When they made it to the lawn, they released the
pig into the night sky. I can't help but wonder what
will happen in that pig's wake. Maybe there'll be
a couple bickering about the mid-term elections. The
man will be screaming, "I'll vote Democrat when
pigs fly!" as the pig floats by their bedroom
window.
Waters performed one new original song called 'Leaving
Beirut' which was about a trip a friend and he took
when he was much younger. They got stranded in Lebanon
and Roger was taken in by a poor family for a night.
The song is more than just about those events, however.
Waters' genius lies in his ability to combine music
and poetry, and deliver a message that hits home in
a way that no other thing can.
This song asks if these are the people we want to
be bombing, referring to the kind Lebanese family
that brought him in. It asks if the wars in the Middle
East are our pleasure, punishment or crime? And it
takes a no-holds-barred, blunt, unabashed and unshakable
stance on Bush and the Christian Right. Here are some
of the lyrics:
Oh, George... oh, George...
That Texas education must have fucked you up
When you were very small..."
"America.... America...
You've got freedom of Speech, and great beaches
Wildernesses and malls...
Don't let the might of the Christian Right,
Fuck it all up for you
And the rest of the World..."
These lines brought a huge cheer from the crowd.
One of the cool things about this song was what was
going on in the big screen behind the band. The story
was being recreated in a cartoon storyboard complete
with text bubbles over the heads of the characters.
And all the lyrics to the song were written out in
the bubbles. See the images below for a better idea
of what I'm writing about.
The second set was even better than the first. Roger
and company played 'The Dark Side of the Moon' in
its entirety. As the music began, the corresponding
image on the big screen was a large circle with extremely
psychedelic imagery pulsating, throbbing, shape-shifting,
and blending colors spanning the entire rainbow. Staring
down and into that massive mesmerizing circle as Dark
Side began almost triggered a 60's flashback.
Both 'Time' and 'Money' were played well, but they
were originally sung by David
Gilmore, so the guys in Waters' backup band who
sang them just didn't sound the same. I am also a
big Pink Floyd fan, and although the show was wonderful
on many levels, the one complaint I had was that a
few of the tunes could have been only improved by
Gilmore's voice, and especially his six-string. In
fact, there were two lead guitarists, and I couldn't
think of a better tribute to David.
'Us and Them' gave me chills it was so good. The
imagery on the background big screen was of all kinds
of war-torn lands and peoples. There was a recurring
image of a middle-eastern child getting his head bandaged
in the midst of rubble. And not for the first time
that night, watching this made me sad.
Except for his new tune, many of the songs Roger
wrote and performed for us Saturday night were written
about people and events long in our past, such as
World War I and II, the Cold War and Ronald Reagan.
These songs were about how horrible war is, how it
doesn't solve anything, and how ridiculous violence
is for a solution. Yet history just continuously repeats
itself.
What made me sad was that these songs applied to
the events of today as much as they did to the events
Waters originally wrote about. Just change the time
and place, but actions seem to remain the same.
When 'Brain Damage' and 'Eclipse' were performed,
I again got chills but I realized we were nearing
the end of the concert, which really bummed me out.
And they did indeed take a bow after Dark Side was
completed and left the stage.
The crowd cheered for more and I couldn't believe
how many people hauled out their lighters to shine
them like it was Woodstock. As I was contemplating
whether that many people still smoked or not, Roger
and his band got back on stage and played 'Another
Brick in the Wall', 'Vera' and ended with 'Comfortably
Numb', my favorite Flyod tune.
When it was all over my buddy and I walked out of
there shell-shocked. Both of us were speechless for
a few minutes as we trudged back to our car. I'm not
sure, but somewhere along the way we both looked at
each other and agreed that we'd catch another one
of Roger Waters' shows before this tour wraps up.
It was just too good to experience only once.
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