Posted on 10/01/2006 9:50:09 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
Given his legacy as the key songwriter and conceptualist for Pink Floyd, one of the most theatrical bands in rock history, fans could expect that Roger Waters' show at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre on Friday would be a visual tour de force.
Considering his infamous perfectionism, it was a given, too, that the sound and musicianship would be top-notch, especially since half of the set would be devoted to the 1973 audiophile masterpiece, "The Dark Side of the Moon."
What came as a surprise was that Waters' three-hour performance in Tinley Park packed such an emotional wallop in the form of a very poignant running commentary about the tragedy of war in general and of America's involvement in Iraq in particular.
Unifies 5-decade career Reviews of earlier gigs on the tour found some critics scoffing at the politics, as if strong anti-war sentiments hadn't always been a key theme in Waters' work, from "Corporal Clegg" in 1968 through his final album with Pink Floyd, "The Final Cut," a 1983 meditation on the Falklands.
But even for hard-core fans who've followed Waters' philosophical evolution, the extent to which his set list drew together songs from throughout a five-decade career to make a unified thematic point seemed extraordinary.
The first part of the evening gave us "Fletcher Memorial Funeral Home," "Perfect Sense," the new song "Leaving Beirut" and "Sheep," a comment on a slumbering electorate illustrated with a version of Pink Floyd's inflatable pig decorated with the slogans "Impeach Bush now" and "Don't get led to the slaughter, vote Nov. 7." The second set, which included all of "Dark Side," had the anti-war anthem "Us and Them," with photos of President Bush at the now-infamous "Mission Accomplished" photo-op, and video of oil rigs pumping in time to "Money." And finally, there was the overwhelming one-two punch of "Vera" and "Bring the Boys Back Home" during a generous encore.
Basks in fan adoration Though Waters certainly made his message clear, the cumulative effect was less like preaching and more like a summation of one strain of his life's work, which has sadly become more timely than ever. And the show made the welcome point that, despite the popular perception, Pink Floyd has never just been the perfect band to fire up the bong to -- there has always been much more substance when the band was at its best. In contrast to the dour front presented on some tours, the amazingly well-preserved, 63-year-old Waters gleefully basked in the adoration of his fans, who cheered his political messages as enthusiastically as his blasts of classic-rock nostalgia.
Always the third-best singer in Pink Floyd, the bandleader did his best with the vocals he recorded on albums, leaving the rest to a crack 11-piece band that included his son Harry on Hammond organ and MVP Dave Kilminster in the role of guitarist David Gilmour.
In fact, the only way this extraordinary evening could have been better was if Waters finally buried the hatchet with Gilmour and his other former Floyd bandmates. As at Gilmour's show at the Rosemont Theatre last April, the night came close, but it still wasn't quite Pink Floyd, and you still couldn't help thinking that, as Waters sang in "In the Flesh" at the start of the show, "Pink isn't well, he stayed back at the hotel / And they sent us along as a surrogate band."
jimdero@jimdero.com
Did DeRogatis remember to cry?
A perception that, perhaps paradoxically, seemed to become more solid the more frequently one fired up the bong.
LOL - that's pretty hilarious especially the Kennedy-McCarthy dilemma.
That's funny because they always seemed like the perfect doper's band to me; a hippie comes up to you and says: "I was high and listening to Floyd last night .... I saw God, man!!! WHUHUHUHUHUHUH!!!!!"
I was at the Indy show last night. Do you think the pig was supposed to break loose and float off? It looked like it was the same I had seen in pictures from recent shows on this tour.
I just wish he would shut up and go away. He's an arrogant ass that still doesnt want to give any credit to any of his former band members. He had good words but Gilmour's guitar and the rest of Pink Floyd is why the band was a success. Its why they were still a success without him. Its why no one likes him now.
Waters is washed up.
Syd is dead.
Even though he is a British bleeding heart, I'm on Gilmour's side all the way.
Why doesn't he comment on the fact that America wasn't in Iraq when we were attacked and have not been attacked since we got there?
"Well, don't throw away any LP copies of Amused to Death.
Last I saw, you could get $200-400 on eBay."
Wow! Unreal...
LLS
Too bad musicians let politics get in the way.Waters did a great show here in Tampa a few years back,great music,great back-up band,no politics.I was planning on catching his show this year until i heard he's making it a "BushBash".Can't these "artists" figure out that they alienate fans?
Did he dedicate "One of these days (I'm going to cut you into little pieces)" to Saddam Hussein?
Saddam WAS removed. Mission Accomplished. We've killed 4,000 NON-Iraqi terrorists who've flooded INTO Iraq since that date. They do not fight to see Saddam restored to power. They fight to rid the Middle East of the sub-human kufir; people who do not despise Jews; people who bring social and political reforms to areas dominated by Islamic theocracy, male domination, rape, torture, slavery, bigotry, discrimination, and extreme wealth and poverty. The middle east is NOT a poor region of the world. In recent years, 5 of the world's 10 wealthiest men lived there.
Rog needs to stuff a sock in it. He's part of the problem in my mind.
We can fight them in Iraq or we can fight them throughout Europe, Asia, and America. But the jihadists WILL fight someplace.
1992 was the nadir of vinyl. Not many copies were made or sold.
No, Nick Berg.
Did he sing his song from The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking "4:37 AM (Arabs With Knives And West German Skies)"?
There were Arabs with knives
At the foot of the bed
Right at the foot of the bed
Oh my God how did they get in here?
I thought we wee safe home in England
She said "Come on now kit, it was wrong what you did
You've got to admit it was wrong."
Jade: "Oh god....Jesus"
Sleep Sleep
I know that I'm only dreamingJade: "Leave her alone..get out..out..get out of my house!"
Through closed eyes
I see West German skies on the ceiling
And I want to get back
To the girl with the rucksack
To feel her flaxen hair
I want to be there
See the sun going down
Behind Krupps steelworks
On the outskirts of some German town...
There there, Rog. Bury your head in middle eastern sand. Pretend that the nasty jihadists with knives coming for your head REALLY AREN'T attacking people in England.
Go back to sleep. Dreams are happier than living in the real world.
Coincidently Amused To Death was the nadir of Roger Waters' career.
I like Pink floyd. David Gilmour is one of my guitar heros. I look at this as just another reason why the dem party does not connect with voters anymore
I am a huge fan of Floyd but I am quite aware that waters is the goofiest member of the band still living, now that Syd is dead.
I also think the same personality, shal we say, quirk, that led to the goofy message in this concert is also what broke up the band.
He reminds me of the "herdsman" character from That Thing You Do (Jimmy).
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