I have been a Pink Floyd fan for many years, which isn't really saying much since the majority of their fan base consists mostly of old stoners who still wear jean jackets and hiking boots. Not that I am being snobby, but I didn’t want you to think I thought it was some kind of exclusive club that you can not be a part of.
I actually didn’t purchase my tickets to Roger Waters, “The Wall 2010” until 4 days before the show. I was definitely interested in the idea of it all, but wasn’t sure if it would be just another last ditch effort by an aging rock star to do one last “cash-in” by raping the fans of all the money he could get away with.
It also didn’t help that I wasn’t too impressed with Waters singing performance during the “Live 8” reunion with the other members of Floyd. He truly sounded like an old man when he sang, and David Gilmore blew him out of the waters (get it? Waters?? I’m so effing clever).
Needless to say, I ended up going out to see what kind of tickets I could get. When I saw the prices for even mediocre seats, all of my suspicions seemed to be coming true. $125 for the section right next to the stage but with an obstructed view?! And, since I was bringing the wife AND we would be drinking that night…..all the sudden I am looking at a $350 night!!!! (We drink premium cocktails and tend to order doubles, yeah…. we don’t fuck around). After some more searching, I found some seats waaaay up high that were $87 each. I figured there would be an elaborate stage production, so being high up for this concert might be ok. I bought them and we fast forward to Friday night…..
The seats weren’t actually that bad, and we could definitely see almost the entire stage. Early on, we noticed a homeless looking man pushing a cart around the floor section. I asked the wife, “How can he afford floor seats? And, did he have to buy a ticket for his shopping cart?”. Anyway, turns out he was part of the show as he made his way to the stage and then went back stage. Not sure what he was yelling, but people seemed to be reacting to whatever he was yelling. At that point, the intro music started that was in the movie. You can probably find better footage, but here is a shot comparable to where I was sitting, ala YouTube. For added awesomeness, make sure to watch the last 30 seconds for a pretty cool plane crash!
The entire arena went batshit insane and I knew right then that I had not wasted my money. Even my wife, who isn't much of a Floyd fan, couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was total eye candy, and they did not skimp on the sets, pyro or anything else in the production. The way they utilized the beginnings of the Wall set on each side with plenty of video images being projected on to it, was brilliant!
Musically, I couldn’t have been happier. I figured Waters would have an excellent band to back him up, but his vocals were nothing like I had heard on the Live 8 reunion footage I saw. He was hitting every note just as he did back when he originally recorded this album. I knew this night was going to be special.
I was going to post a set list, but he did the entire album exactly how it was recorded with some additional songs that were in the movie. So, google that shit…..
During each song, stage hands were building up the wall brick by brick, which would finally leave one final space open where Waters would sing the final song off of Part 1.
During each song, stage hands were building up the wall brick by brick, which would finally leave one final space open where Waters would sing the final song off of Part 1.
Every single song on the first album went off without a hitch and stayed true to the recordings. They actually took an intermission after, which was pretty awesome considering all of the visuals being presented. Act one ended as Waters uttered the word "goodbye" at the end of "Goodbye Cruel World". A very nice place to take a break and it gave us time to soak it all in (plus pee and get another drink).
We returned to our seats after waiting in line 15 minutes for a cocktail and were ready for round 2. The second act was just as good as the first, and the use of many stage props so far was unbelievable. A giant inflated "headmaster", "mother" & "Vera" all made appearances during the show. And an unbelievable amount of light show/projected movies on the the wall were incredible.
It is truly difficult to pass on the amount of badassedness that took place that night. I HIGHLY recommend going to see this show if it comes to your town, and would also say, don't worry too much about sitting close. I enjoyed the hell out of being able to see the entire stage from a distance, and think sitting closer would take away from that.
Until I come up with a more creative rating process, I give this show a major A+. So now, you must go to YouTube and enter "Roger Waters The Wall 2010" and you can see just a morsel of how cool this show turned out to be.
That is all for now....
We returned to our seats after waiting in line 15 minutes for a cocktail and were ready for round 2. The second act was just as good as the first, and the use of many stage props so far was unbelievable. A giant inflated "headmaster", "mother" & "Vera" all made appearances during the show. And an unbelievable amount of light show/projected movies on the the wall were incredible.
It is truly difficult to pass on the amount of badassedness that took place that night. I HIGHLY recommend going to see this show if it comes to your town, and would also say, don't worry too much about sitting close. I enjoyed the hell out of being able to see the entire stage from a distance, and think sitting closer would take away from that.
Until I come up with a more creative rating process, I give this show a major A+. So now, you must go to YouTube and enter "Roger Waters The Wall 2010" and you can see just a morsel of how cool this show turned out to be.
That is all for now....
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