Real Time Thoughts on 121212 Concert for Hurricane Sandy

I tell ya, the way to watch the 121212 Sandy benefit concert is on DVR. You skip the hurricane montages and the Billy Crystal filler between sets and get right to what you want.

I actually skipped the first 30 minutes or so. Sorry but Springsteen has never done much for me, and his special guest Bon Jovi even less. Maybe it's because I have never had a true blue collar job and don't relate to the east coast but Bruce has never clicked for me. I'm sure he rocked and was a cool choice to open the event but I guess I'll never know!

So that means I jumped right to Roger Waters. Man, who invited him to this thing? I love Waters and Floyd but if you wanted uplifting, you weren't going to get it here!

He opens with In The Flesh, which is very in your face, then continuing to tell the MSG that we don't need no education. Money and Us and Them are totally aimed at the politicians in attendance and viewing around the world. Maybe not the most appropriate cause at which to get on the soapbox but it was pretty cool.

My only problem with Roger Waters' band doing Dark Side stuff is that Waters doesn't sing on any of it, so it's a bit of a tribute band situation. Those two songs didn't do much for me.

The closer, Comfortably Numb, was good. Eddie Vedder guested to sing the choruses and was excellent. But the whole thing was too heavy for the cause if you ask me.

Next up we had Adam Sandler with Paul Shaffer between sets doing a silly version on Hallelujah that was more appropriate to the cause than Waters' whole set, which says a lot!

Bon Jovi was up next. Skipped most of it. Again, not super into him but Richie Sambora sounded good.

Next up was Clapton, who walked out with a nylon string guitar and sat down. I thought oh no holy shit bossa nova Layla. But no, it was a sweet version of Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out.

Then a drummer and bass player joined and Clapton picked up his Strat for a funky version of Got To Get Better in a Little While. Nice to see Clapton in a three piece that isn't Cream, and his solo was absolutely off the hook. Next was a jumpy version of Crossroads. The whole set was really stripped down, blues-based jamming. It was cool. Could have as easily been in a bar!

I generally think he is over rated but truth is, Clapton really shines at events like this where he can hand pick four or five tunes that he can really own. But I did think, why didn't Clapton get up with Waters and rip a solo on something? He did lay down sweet leads all over Waters' Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking way back when, but oh well...

The Stones followed. I was pretty excited to see this based on their recent UK and US shows. Interesting set list and decent playing. The opener was really surprising! You Got Me Rockin from Voodoo Lounge. But slower and more groovy, like almost everything I heard on YouTube from those other concerts. The only other song they played was a super slowed down Jumpin Jack Flash.

Two songs? Total tease. But Jagger was tremendous. Still skinny, slinky and jerky, and his voice sounded strong as ever. Woodie sounded great. Had all the licks down. Pretty mellow onstage now that he's sober but gets the job done. Charlie is rock solid but as noted, slower. And fucking Keith. He is absolutely ancient. Shit they all are but somehow it works.

Next up was the first artist who wasn't between the age of 48 and 70. Alicia Keys, born in New York in 1981. I don't know much about her but she played three songs on piano and she was awesome. Fantastic voice, no autotune bullshit. Real singing and real playing. She was also so far the only NY-born artist, which helped her connect with the audience when she asked the whole MSG to put their lit cellphones in the air. Her generation's version of the lighter I guess...

Then it was time to roll out more oldies, with The Who. Wasn't sure I'd dig them or not. Lots of shark jumping lately for example their atrocious Super Bowl appearance. But The Who owned it. From the opening synth of Who Are You they slayed it with reckless abandon. Second song: Bell Boy from Quadrophenia. Are you kidding me? Epic! Using films of Keith from the 1973 tour for his vocal parts was brilliant.

I could have done without Pinball Wizard (ever again) but Baba O'Rielly was on fire (much because of drummer Zak Starkey and bassist Pino Palladino) and Love Rein O'er Me was a surprise electric finish (no Fooled Again) but it worked. The tempo was a little slower, so it was kind of brooding and Daltry really brought it. Daltry and Townshend wrapped it up with an acoustic Tea and Theatre, a newer gentle, introspective tune I have come to enjoy.

So I thought The Who stole the show to this point. Yeah, Daltry's voice has had it and he looks a bit like William Shatner up there, but Pete windmilled away, ripped some blazing leads and sawed at his guitar, while Starkey and Palladino channelled their best Moon and Entwistle. So The Who do six songs and the Stones do two. Weird.

How do you follow up The Who? You don't bother trying so you put Kanye West onstage. Who gives a fuck? Fast forward after 29 seconds. Take fast forward off to see what I am missing and hear Kanye's voice through auto tune. Really? Oh forget it...

How do you make up for that shit? Billy Joel? Close my eyes and his voice sounds exactly the same as it always has. Fantastic! Dude hasn't put out an album in 17 or 18 years but an still bring it at an event like this. Joel is a bit of an anomaly to me. Have a Merry Little Christmas into New York State of Mind was a nice touch. Closing with You May Be Right and Only The Good Die Young was cool.

I have never thought Billy Joel was very legit but over the years he had stuck through it and now has earned a bit of respect. Kind of like Neil Diamond. I dunno maybe I am smoking crack. He was good at this event.

Next up was Chris Marin from Coldplay on an acoustic guitar for some reason. Damn is his stuff singable. He did Viva La Vida and then dragged out Michael Stipe for Losing My Religion. Was pretty cool, actually!

Then the closer was supposed to be Paul McCartney and I feared for my sanity at hearing that dreadful song of his, Freedom. But no, he showed up playing Kurt Cobain in a reformed Nirvana.

Well, first he played some stuff with his usual absolutely killer, rocking band: Helter Skelter, Let Me Roll It, 1985, a new tune called My Valentine, and Blackbird.

But then here we go. No lie. Dave Grohl on drums. Recluse bassist Krist Novoselic. First guitarist Pat Smear. And McCartney. Huh? Did it work? Yeah!

But it was weird! Reminded me of McCartney's side project The Fireman. Dave Grohl plays harder than McCartney's usual drummer, if that is possible. Novoselic looked uncomfortable and strange. McCartney was playing some boxy looking slide guitar thing. The new song co-written by the Nirvana folks and McCartney was called Cut Me Some Slack or something like that. It totally rocked but then it was back to normal and McCartney played I've Got A Feeling and a few others to close it out with Live And Let Die. The Nirvana tune should have been the end. But what are ya gonna do?

All in all a hell of an event and lineup. Jagger said it best when he said this has got to be the largest collection of old English musicians ever assembled in Madison Square Garden!

As with most of these events, there were loads of celebs answering phones and talking between bands. Nothing much to call out except when did Chelsea Clinton get semi-hot?

Here is the McNirvana tune:

Stones, The Who, McCartney, Roger Waters, Springsteen to Rock MSG for Hurricane Sandy

I would be crucified for suggesting there is an upside to horrible tragic events like 9-11 and Hurricane Sandy, but New York tragedies do tend to lead to the most killer all-star charity concerts.

Take tonight, where the 12-12-12 Concert for Hurricane Sandy cranks up at 7:30 p.m. ET, with this crazy all-star cast: Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and Chris Martin of Coldplay. I am sure there will be guests too.

Some of the pre-event buzz says that Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl will do some kind of a duet, and Roger Waters told Jimmy Fallon last night that he’d be closing with Comfortably Numb with the assistance of a special guest, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. That will be pretty cool.

My kid has his Christmas program tonight – I really have to tell the school to consult with my rock and roll calendar before booking shit – so it’ll be DVR all the way for me!

Here is the full video from Waters’ interview on Fallon last night. Fallon is always so freaked out by Waters, it’s funny! Hulu won’t let me embed the video but you can see it here.

Concert Review - Roger Waters The Wall in Portland

It seems only fitting to review this show over Memorial Day weekend, since Waters has converted The Wall from an autobiographic piece to a larger global statement on war and the abuse of power.

All the footage in the show of soldiers coming home from duty and particularly the song Bring The Boys Back Home made me think of all those who fight for our freedom. The show vacillates between heartfelt and frequently tear-inducing images of the victims of war - including soldiers, and the Dogs and Pigs who wage war from behind the boardroom walls. You all know the story.

I took my 14 year old son to the show and Waters didn't disappoint. Right out of the gate it was a visual onslaught from the pyro opening of In The Flesh to the giant Wall toppling over two and a half hours later.

I noticed some new things in the show from when I saw it in December 2010. First of all, cameras have been added to capture Waters onstage and broadcast him onto the wall - much like the jumbo screens at big stadium shows.

But it was very effective on a couple of fronts. In Nobody Home, where Waters sings the song from a faux hotel room that extends from the wall, I remember that in the 2010 show I had a hard time seeing him. I was in the 100 section in the back, which was a great place to be but not for moments like Nobody Home.

But now, an image of Waters is broadcast on the right hand side of the wall so you can see all the nuances of his delivery. They also used this in Don't Leave Me Now to great effect (see photo below).

And it was also used in my favorite moment of the show, where Waters machine guns the audience to death at the end of In The Flesh. He now shows up 50 feet tall in front of the 'Nazi rally' imagery so you REALLY get the point. See the video below.

Otherwise, my review from December pretty much stands - I don't have much to add except that Waters sounded awesome vocally and stretched out a little more on the bass. The sound in the Portland Rose Garden was very crisp and his band was fantastic.

I especially noted the large amount of vocal harmonies for example in The Show Must Go On. These live four and five part harmonies, so well executed, are refreshing given today's era of lip syncing and playing to pre-recorded backing tracks.

Overall, I am glad I saw this show a second time, and honestly wish I could see it just one more time.



Isorski and Son

Yep, I had to also get the T-Shirt! Run Like Hell!

Roger Waters on 60 Minutes

If you have 15 minutes or so, or are looking for brain break, take a look at this fantastic 60 Minutes segment on Roger Waters and The Wall.



...and the 'bonus footage'





Going to see The Wall with my 14 year old son tomorrow night. I don't know who I am more excited for...

Roger Waters, David Gilmour Wall Reunion Video Posts

This a real treat to watch. Six minutes long, though -- I want the unedited footage, man!

Tell you what though, it warms my heart that these guys buried the hatchet from so long ago. It also gets me revved up to see The Wall as the show comes to Portland on Tuesday. I saw it last year - review posted here - and it's amazing.

Roger Waters and Foo Fighters Rock Jimmy Fallon

I am a bit on the fence with all this remastered Pink Floyd stuff. I mean, I already re-bought all of it a few years ago. How much better can it sound? And I am not an audiophile to the level that appreciates the "James Guthrie 5.1 Surround Mix in high resolution audio at 640 kbps" version found on the Immersion Set at more than $100.

But it is always great to see bands like Floyd get exposure to the level that might introduce the music to new generations. This remaster thing is all about that, I think.

Along those lines, Floyd fan(atic) Jimmy Fallon is trying to make up for his atrocious Roger Waters interview by hosting "Pink Floyd Week" and having Waters return the other night to talk a bit but to more importantly jam In The Flesh with the Foo Fighters.

Very powerful indeed, as the below video will attest. Also interesting to hear the song isolated from the rest of the album, where you realize it's a series of totally pummeling riffs with really only one verse! What do you think:

Backstage Details and Hi-Res Video of Floyd "Reunion" Emerge

As discussed earlier and known by any Floyd fan who has had their ear to the ground this week, David Gilmour and Nick Mason shared the stage with Roger Waters at a recent Wall show in the UK last week.

Waters has been pretty transparent about posting high-res video clips of the appearances (below), and now Rolling Stone has published a short article with an interview with Mason, here. Some of the more interesting tidbits:

When Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason got to London's O2 arena last week, he had no idea that he'd be walking into David Gilmour and Roger Waters performing "Comfortably Numb" in a soundcheck for Waters' show that night. "It hadn't ever been quite finalized – there'd been talk about maybe playing in Paris or something else," Mason tells Rolling Stone. "So it was very nice to get there and see that [David] was there."

After soundcheck, the three took seats at a table in a backstage room and had a light dinner. "We were all just a little bit nervous, because it was a pre-show moment so it wasn't that sort of totally relaxed, 'Let's all chat about everything.' Since [David] hadn't played the track in so long, he was probably worried about the technology of lifting him up on the Wall. It's quite scary up there – I've been up there once and it's a long way up."

Next, Mason retreated to his seat on the floor of the arena, where fans greeted him enthusiastically, and watched The Wall for the first time as a spectator. "It was mind-blowingly good," he says. "It's a shame in a way . . . if you could turn the clock back and have access to that sort of technology, 40, 30 years ago, it would've been fantastic. I mean, it's interesting because I think The Wall has been brought up to date. When you look at the stage sets and the lighting that goes on now, it so eclipses what we used to do."

This is all great but it really made me miss Richard Wright because you know he would have been a part of this too. It would have been so cool for the original four guys to get together one more time, and in front of that giant Wall. Makes me all that much more thankful for Live8 (also below).

Enjoy:

Outside The Wall


Comfortably Numb


Live8:

Roger Waters to Film London "The Wall" Shows

Various sources yesterday reported that Roger Waters will film all six upcoming London Wall shows for release on DVD. So, that probably narrows down which show David Gilmour will show up to by, oh about six.

This tour has been incredible and although I was only able to catch one performance, I found some excellent HD video of every song and was able to make my own DVD of the whole gig, which ought to tide me over under Waters' official release comes out, probably by next Christmas - my guess.

Here is one of the videos. It's a multi-camera edit from two or three different shows, synced with probably the best bootleg I have heard from the tour. Enjoy:

Concert Review - Roger Waters The Wall

I saw Roger Waters’ The Wall in San Jose last Tuesday and it took me a few days to put ‘pen to paper’ because I wanted to let it all soak in. Of course as expected the concert was unlike anything I have ever seen. I think the photos I took will do it far more justice than a detailed description but here are some thoughts:

Musically, Waters stuck to the script. There were the same extended pieces that the Floyd did back in the 1980 shows (three solos at the end of Brick 2 instead of one, the extended Mother solo, the ‘A Few More Bricks’ medley). These were included to add more time to the concert and allow more time for the Wall to be built. It was great to hear a really true rendition of the album with all of the music pretty much as I knew it.

His band was great – Snowy White and G.E. Smith on guitars. A younger guy who did the leads, who was a little over the top rocker-style for me, but played Gilmour’s parts very faithfully (on a Tele no less). Waters had a number of vocalists including a guy who did nothing but sing Gilmour’s parts. And of course Rog played loads of bass.

But truthfully I was not watching the band. They are all dressed in black and on a visual level, they are totally secondary to the Wall, the props and the amazing, amazing visuals that were broadcast onto the Wall itself. The Wall had an almost fluorescent glow to it all night when it was just being backlit. But most of the time, amazing videos were beamed onto the Wall, which then became basically a 240-foot long movie screen.

I mean, these visuals were insane and led the audience on everything from IMAX-style nausea-inducing 3D to transforming the arena much like the use of different movie sets would – look at my various photos below and you will see what I mean about how the Wall itself was the star of this show.

The props were all there: the enormous marionette teacher for Brick 2, the plane flying into the Wall at the end of In The Flesh?, the giant inflatable Mother, and of course the flying pig, which roamed the rafters of the arena during Run Like Hell. Rog used a number of videos from the Wall film, including the parrying flowers from What Shall We Do Now? and the whole The Trial sequence. It was great to see that original, grainy film animation and that Waters did not try and ‘update’ (ruin) it in any way.

One thing that was different was Waters himself. He admitted more than once during the show that when he wrote The Wall 30 years ago he was an ‘angry young man’ and even went so far as to say he didn’t feel that way anymore and was really happy to be playing the show for us. Which is great for Waters, but I kind of missed the angry, tortured guy in some of the gut busters like Don’t Leave Me Now and Nobody Home. He was almost campy in those songs and it didn’t work as well, but shit I wouldn’t wish him sorrow for my enjoyment, so what the hell! I am just glad to see this show.

My buddy and I were saying that The Wall stage show is an amazing concept that we really sort of take for granted because it’s been around about 75 percent of the time we’ve been alive. But what an idea, and to come up with this in 1980! Image the band meeting: “So we build a wall. In front of the band. After the first set, the audience can’t see the band at all. We have giant puppets and a flying pig. At the end we topple the wall into the audience and that’s it – no encore. Holy f’ing shit.

Thematically the visuals were true to the original themes of alienation between nations, people and institutions. Lots of imagery of the recent wars and the men and women lost in those wars and how senseless they are – driven by greed, and ideological and religious jockeying. On his Facebook site, Waters had asked people who lost loved ones in wars to send photos and information prior to the tour, and he used at least a couple hundred of those images over the course of the night.

I have heard that the crux of the story for Waters is the song Bring the Boys Back Home and I have to say that this was the only part of the show that gave me a giant lump in the throat. In Vera, he showed slow-mo footage of little kids in school classrooms in surprise reunions with their dads and this one girl’s face went from surprise to elation to just a waterworks as she jumped into her daddy’s arms. It may be the one image I always remember after the bitching animations and flying pigs and planes fade from my memory. It was heartwarming and heart wrenching at the same time when you really get to the emotion of what these wars do to little kids. I found someone's video of it and posted that below the photos.

So anyway, the North American leg of The Wall tour is almost over and I am damn glad I saw it. Here are some of my snaps for those interested:

Roger Waters "The Wall" Tour Opens - Spoiler Videos From Rog Himself

So we don't need to worry about set list spoilers for the Roger Waters Wall tour that just started this week - we know he's doing The Wall, and if you didn't know that...well, I just don't know what to say.

So the things to avoid if you are trying to be surprised at the show are videos from the gigs depicting the visuals. You know, video of the wall crashing to the ground at the end of the show etc.

If you want to remain in the dark about what you may see at the show DO NOT watch the below two videos from Roger's site. There are loads and loads of spoilers and I am kind of sorry I watched them. But with my memory, come December when I see the shows I won't recall any of this anyway. Suffice it to say the production looks incredible. No. FUCKING incredible. I have tickets to the 12/6 show and will almost certainly try and score one for 12/8. This is a once in a lifetime, must see event.

Enjoy:



Some fan observations and video from opening night:

Waters and Gilmour Reunion Video - Comfortably Numb and Brick 2

David Gilmour's official YouTube page just posted full versions of the four songs played in July at The Hoping Foundation Charity Event. For sure not the best picture or audio quality but damn it's great to see these two together again! The below is video of the latter two songs - Comfortably Numb and Brick In The Wall Part 2. Enjoy:

Video of Rogers Waters and David Gilmour Reunion

I posted last month about the great burying of the hatchet on July 10, 2010 where David Gilmour invited Roger Waters to appear with him at a charity benefit for an intimate audience of 200 lucky-assed motherfuckers. Waters agreed, then hedged, but in the end did it after Gilmour upped the ante and said he'd play on Comfortably Numb at an upcoming to be determined Wall gig. Wow!

Today, Waters sent an email to his fan base with a two minute snip of the performance, saying:

"Hi everyone,

Here is a two minute taster of the gig David and I did together for The Hoping Foundation back in July. The sound quality is crap but it was a great night for me, and for him, and also for "US and THEM".

Please support the Hoping Foundation; they are doing great work for refugee children. David and I have given the charity the whole 29 minutes and I'm told they're going to put it up at approximately 5 pm BST on Monday, August 16.

Go to HopingFoundation.org to see the full video and please support the charity if you can."

Vimeo won't let me embed the video yet but you can see it here.

Gilmour to Play on Waters' Wall

Wow. I go off the grid on vacation for a week and Pink Floyd get back together. Well, not really, but close.

According to a Billboard article a couple of days ago, the recent Gilmour-Waters reunion at a charity gig came as an offer from Gilmour, who said if Waters joined him at the gig to do the obscure "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by the Teddy Bears, Gilmour would join Waters onstage for ONE Wall gig to rip his Comfortably Numb solo, presumably from the top of the wall just like in the old days.

Oh please do it in San Jose! Ha ha.

Here are some choice quotes from the article:

Waters says Gilmour emailed him with a tongue-in-cheek offer for them to collaborate at the 2010 benefit on the Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him," in a nod to the pair's famously rough-and-tumble relationship. Waters says he "loved" the idea, and the duo agreed to also round out their set with the Pink Floyd classics "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb."

The only trouble: Gilmour began sending Waters "a number of very musical and eloquent demos of how we could do the song in two-part harmony." Waters then got cold feet and told Gilmour performing the song in that fashion was "way outside my vocal comfort zone," to his "eternal shame."

According to Waters, Gilmour then made him a better offer. If Waters would agree to perform "To Know Him Is To Love Him" at the Hoping Foundation Benefit, Gilmour would guest on "Comfortably Numb" at a to-be-determined show on Waters' upcoming tour featuring Pink Floyd's "The Wall" being performed in its entirety.

"You could have knocked me down with a feather," Waters says. "How f*cking cool! I was blown away. How could I refuse such an offer. I couldn't, there was no way. Generosity trumped fear. And so explaining that I would probably be sh*te, but if he didn't mind I didn't, I agreed and the rest is history. We did it, and it was f*cking great. End of story. Or possibly beginning."

The plan is for Gilmour's appearance to be a surprise, adds Waters.

Are you kidding me? This is a fantastic development and I hope it leads to further collaboration between the two. Hopefully Gilmour will have such a blast on his one show that he'll do a few. WOW!

The audio to the below is from the Live 8 reunion but there are lots of great photos from last weekend:

Waters and Gilmour Unite in Charity Gig

Logged into the "I swore I'd never see this happen" file is the news story I saw on Spinner.com this morning.

Roger Waters and David Gilmour performed four songs together over the weekend at a charity event for the Hoping Foundation Benefit Evening at Kiddington Hall in Oxfordshire, England.

The duo were backed by longtime side guys Guy Pratt (bass and acoustic guitar), Harry Waters (keyboards), Andy Newmark (drums), Chester Kamen (guitar) and Jonjo Grisdale (keyboards). The line-up performed in front of 200 people, raising some £350,000 for the foundation.

They played "To Know Him Is To Love Him," (a cover) "Wish You Were Here," Comfortably Numb" and "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2), and of course this was the guys' first time back together onstage since the Live 8 reunion in 2005.

This is obviously notable because despite the 2005 reunion, the two have not been totally complimentary of the other and most held out little hope of them playing together again.

This totally begs the question, will Gilmour join Waters to rip out his Comfortably Numb lead on top of Waters' giant Wall on any dates on the upcoming tour? Let's hope so!

Roger Waters Wall Preview Video

Now here is a good interview. Waters talks a bit about the origins of The Wall from 30 years ago and what may be different this time around. There are some great clips that I had never seen, from the original limited run of shows.

Roger Waters on Jimmy Fallon

This is really interesting. Waters never does TV interviews and for some reason Jimmy Fallon got him. Fallon is slim on his Floyd history and is clearly intimidated and highly nervous (as I would be) and asks really dumb ass questions.

But at the same time, it's wild to see Waters on late night. Video is below.

As an aside, I signed up for the RogerWaters.com ticket presale lottery for Tacoma and San Jose and actually won the opportunity to buy San Jose tickets. I bought a good pair yesterday when that presale hit, so I am very happy to be seeing the show in San Jose on December 6.

The iTunes presale is running today (you had to buy a copy of the Wall film from iTunes to get access) and there is a LiveNation presale tomorrow. Lots of complaining on Waters' Facebook site about the insane prices for the premium packages ($750), but you can get decent seats for around $150 in most venues. It's a lot of dough, but really - this is a once in a lifetime chance, people.

Also, dig this Jim Ladd interview (Ladd was the DJ on Radio K.A.O.S by the way), talking about how the sound system will be quadrophonic and huge, the wall and gear will require 20 semis, etc. 100 stage hands to construct the wall...No wonder it's so expensive...

Part One:

Part Two:

Roger Waters U.S. Wall Tour Dates Announced

According to an article on MTV.com, Roger Waters has announced dates for his upcoming solo tour, which will feature the full stage production of The Wall, 30 years after the original album was released by the Floyd.

According to the article, Waters has "promised to perform an updated version of the original stage show, which included the construction of a massive white brick wall between the audience and performers during the course of the show."

Waters posted the following to his Web site:

30 Years ago when I wrote The Wall I was a frightened young man. Well not that young, I was 36 years old.

It took me a long time to get over my fears. Anyway, in the intervening years it has occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss with it’s concomitant inevitable residue of ridicule, shame and punishment, provides an allegory for broader concerns.: Nationalism, racism, sexism, religion, Whatever! All these issues and ‘isms are driven by the same fears that drove my young life.

This new production of The Wall is an attempt to draw some comparisons, to illuminate our current predicament, and is dedicated to all the innocent lost in the intervening years.

In some quarters, among the chattering classes, there exists a cynical view that human beings as a collective are incapable of developing more ‘humane’ ie, kinder, more generous, more cooperative, more empathetic relationships with one another.

I disagree.

In my view it is too early in our story to leap to such a conclusion, we are after all a very young species.

I believe we have at least a chance to aspire to something better than the dog eat dog ritual slaughter that is our current response to our institutionalized fear of each other.

I feel it is my responsibility as an artist to express my, albeit guarded, optimism, and encourage others to do the same. To quote the great man, ” You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”

Are you shitting me? This is another must-see show, right up there with Rush doing Moving Pictures this summer. Looks like the closest they get to me is one night before the tour closes, in Tacoma - not bad of a drive. And seeing the show near the end of its run should mean the kinks would be worked out of the massive scale and set-up involved. Wow.

Tickets go on sale May 10. Waters' site has more info and is redesigned to support the tour.

The Wall tour dates are below. Regarding pre-sales, like with the Led Zeppelin reunion a couple of years ago, you have to sign up for a lottery drawing to have the chance to purchase a pair of tickets. More info on that is here.

» 9/15 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
» 9/20 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
» 9/21 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
» 9/26 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Consol Energy Center
» 9/28 - Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
» 9/30 - Boston, MA @ TD Garden
» 10/5 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
» 10/8 - Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
» 10/10 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
» 10/12 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
» 10/15 - Hartford, CT @ XL Center
» 10/17 - Ottawa, ON @ ScotiaBank Place
» 10/19 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
» 10/22 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
» 10/24 - Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
» 10/26 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
» 10/27 - St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
» 10/29 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
» 10/30 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
» 11/3 - New York, NY @ Izod Center
» 11/8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
» 11/9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
» 11/13 - Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
» 11/16 - Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
» 11/18 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
» 11/20 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
» 11/21 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
» 11/23 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
» 11/26 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
» 11/27 - Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways Center
» 11/29 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
» 12/6 - San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion
» 12/10 - Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
» 12/11 - Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
» 12/13 - Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center

Roger Waters to Tour The Wall in 2010 in the U.S.

Just got my March 4 issue of Rolling Stone in the mail yesterday and flipping through could not help but notice this little sidebar on page 28:

Dates TBA -- Thirty years after Pink Floyd's legendary The Wall tour, Waters is going to re-stage the elaborate show -- which climaxes with the destruction of a giant wall -- on a U.S. tour. The original 1980-81 trek played only four cities and was infamously expensive. "Technology is much easier now," Waters says. "They were pretty heavy, those [bricks]. They would be easier to build now. Dates and venues have yet to be announced.

Holy shit! This is once in a lifetime if it comes true. Stay tuned.

Nick Mason Interview Completes Floyd Reposts on ClassicRock.com

I posted earlier about ClassicRock.com re-publishing some fairly revealing interviews with David Gilmour and Roger Waters from 2000, when the Floyd released the live version of one of The Wall performances, called Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live.

The publication has now posted a typically witty chat with drummer Nick Mason from the same time period. Mason's dry humor is always a nice counterpoint to the seriousness of the other two guys. I didn't get as many new nuggets of info in Mason's interview, but it's worth a read.

Oh and by the way, if you don't have Is There Anybody Out There? and are a Floyd fan, you need to get it. Roger Waters shouting at the crowd to "Clap! Come On! Have a GOOD TIME!!! ENJOY YOURSELVES!!!" at the front end of Run Like Hell is worth the admission alone.

Plus, you get the song "Last Few Bricks," which is a medley that was inserted before "Goodbye Cruel World" to give the crew a chance to finish placing the last few bricks in the wall at the end of the first set. Many of the other songs are extended. "The Show Must Go On" has an extra verse, for example, and "Empty Spaces" is totally different from the album version.

I recently found a bootleg of one of the rehearsals for these Wall shows and Waters barks orders left right and center at band, crew, sound guys, the guys building the wall across the stage. He is large and in charge! Pretty classic.

Read Mason's interview here.

Gilmour to Perform Atom Heart Mother

Roger Waters called it "pompous" and said it should be "thrown into the dustbin and never listened to by anyone ever again," but David Gilmour will join a 10-piece brass ensemble, a 40-piece choir and Italian band Mun Floyd to perform the album side long Atom Heart Mother from the 1970 album of the same name.

The performance will be staged at Cadogan Hall in London on June 14 and 15 by Ron Geesin, who composed the orchestrated component of the song on the original album. He also did an album called Music from the Body with Waters, also in 1970.

If you want to hear something that ought to be thrown in the dustbin, that's your album.

Atom Heart Mother on the other hand has its moments. Check out Floyd playing it live, without the orchestra or choir, in this video: