Posted on 04/28/2008 7:00:27 AM PDT by KevinB
INDIO, Calif. - Roger Waters brought Coachella to a close with an epic two-set performance that included playing all of "Dark Side of the Moon" and unleashing a giant inflated pig into the night sky.
The 64-year-old Waters, the third headliner of the three-day music festival following Prince and Jack Johnson, performed an elaborate, almost retrospective concert Sunday featuring music from throughout Pink Floyd's catalog.
Old photographs of the band often flashed across the screen behind Waters and his current band, which played songs from "The Wall," "Wish You Were Here" and "Animals," among other Floyd albums. They also played "Dark Side" in its entirety, culminating with the album's iconic triangle prism rising above the stage.
But Waters' biggest prop was an inflatable pig the size of a school bus that emerged while he played a version of "Pigs" from 1977's capitalism critique, "Animals."
The pig, which was led above the crowd from lines held on the ground, displayed the words "Don't be led to the slaughter" and a cartoon of Uncle Sam wielding two bloody cleavers. The other side read "Fear builds walls."
The underside of the pig simply read "Obama" with a checked ballot box alongside.
As Waters drew the song to a close, flame bursts exploded on the sides of the stage and the swine floated into the night sky. Waters said sadly and comically, "That's my pig."
The performance also included speaker towers placed around the outside of the crowd. Smoke machines funneled across the stage and over the audience, thickening the atmosphere.
I was thinking the same thing, plus the imagery from “Animal Farm” comes to mind as well. Doubtful, but was Roger being cheeky?
All this from someone .......FOLLOWING......Prince, or what ever his name is at this moment. WOW MAN......whats next? Maybe a gig at the Grundy Co. Fair!!!
i saw pink floyd once in cleveland and, although they put on a great show, 90% of the crowd couldn’t complete a coherent sentence.
My first thought was “Vote Obama When Pigs Fly”.
it's a clinton ploy! he used a pig because of muslims and pork. he did it to associate obama with muslims. it's a clinton conspiracy!
He road Gilmore's coattails to fame.
Oh, the next step in protecting yourself from criticism - the claim of death threats.
Any death threats would come from those that want him to shut up, right? That would have to be those that agree with him, because everyone else wants his opinions to be loud and proud out in public.
Well ... this is interesting. One COULD interpret this as anti-Obama since the point of the song “Pigs” is kind of anti-Fascist. And what’s a better example of (liberal) fascism than the big O?
But I don’t that Waters is sophisticated enough to see the irony.
Actually I feel sad for Waters. How humiliating to be reduced to yet another nostalgia act who peaked 35 years ago.
Pink Floyd was already tired back in the mid-80s.
At my last Floyd show, the pig flew during “One of These Days” (from the Meddle album). Probably premature pork ejection.
Good one
I was about 17 years old when I was present for the Animals show in Baton Rouge. I still have the ticket stub. I didn't sense any political message in the music, but I was not there for political indoctrination. Roger Waters is not only wrong on politics, but he is too full of himself to be persuasive.
I....have become....comfortably dumb.....
Here's the (cough) 'lyrics' for “Amused to Death”..
Doctor Doctor what is wrong with meThis 'stuff' continues on, and on, and on.
This supermarket life is getting long
What is the heart life of a colour TV
What is the shelf life of a teenage queenOoh western woman, Ooh western girl
News hound sniffs the air when Jessica Hahn goes down
He latches on to that symbol of detachment
Attracted by the peeling away of feeling
The celebrity of the abused shell the belleOoh western woman, Ooh western girl
And the children on Melrose strut their stuff
Is absolute zero cold enough
And out in the valley warm and clean
The little ones sit by their TV screens
No thoughts to think no tears to cry
All sucked dry down to the very last breath
Bartender what is wrong with me
Why am I so out of breath
The captain said excuse me ma'am
This species has amused itself to deathAmused itself to death, Amused itself to death
He must have taken the Brown Acid at Woodstock :-)
I really do like Pink Floyd, but this song sucks
Exactly what WILL happen if we elect the black supremacist Marxist.
Wonder if Rog will try this stunt in Houston next week.
Good grief. Not 2 minutes ago my son emailed me the lyrics of this particular song!
He lives in LA these days. Most british rockers left their homeland long ago to escape the high taxes on the rich.
Hypocrite socialists.
Which of the three pigs is Obama?
“Pigs (Three Different Ones)”
Big man, pig man, ha ha, charade you are
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha, charade you are
And when your hand is on your heart
You’re nearly a good laugh
Almost a joker
With your head down in the pig bin
Saying “keep on digging”
Pig stain on your fat chin
What do you hope to find?
When you’re down in the pig mine
You’re nearly a laugh
You’re nearly a laugh
But you’re really a cry.
Bus stop rat bag, ha ha, charade you are
You fucked up old hag, ha ha, charade you are
You radiate cold shafts of broken glass
You’re nearly a good laugh
Almost worth a quick grin
You like the feel of steel
You’re hot stuff with a hat pin
And good fun with a hand gun
You’re nearly a laugh
You’re nearly a laugh
But you’re really a cry.
Hey you Whitehouse, ha ha, charade you are
You house proud town mouse, ha ha, charade you are
You’re trying to keep our feelings off the street
You’re nearly a real treat
All tight lips and cold feet
And do you feel abused?
.....!.....!.....!.....!
You gotta stem the evil tide
And keep it all on the inside
Mary you’re nearly a treat
Mary you’re nearly a treat
But you’re really a cry.
Talk about mixing metaphors... Charade indeed.
Though I doubt that’s what he intended.
Seems that sooner or later everybody’s metaphors turn full circle. Hmmm... I’ll bet there’s a song lyric in there somewhere.
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