Monday, May 05, 2008

Roger Waters tells Big D a thing or two... And the people just hum along...


He’s the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he don't know what it means

Saw Roger Waters at the recently named Superpages.com Center (aka Smirnoff Music Center, aka Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheater, aka Starplex, and I'm pretty certain I'm forgetting one or two...) this past Friday night, and I'm glad I went. I was really on the fence about it, which is kinda surprising considering how big a Pink Floyd fan I was in high school and college. But I picked sides and I was bitter... I read all sorts of Pink Floyd books and articles, as if I was going to go in and help the four of them settle this matter so they can get on with things because they obviously need each other... I mean, Division Bell? It was okay... And I honestly haven't listened to any Waters solo stuff since Radio KAOS. But I always figured that when you've got three people on one side and one on the other, the one is typically the asshat that needs some attitude adjustment. Plus, I watched the Pink Floyd reunion on Live 8, and Waters' voice sounded horrific! So yeah, I had mixed emotions going into this...

Turns out it was all for naught... Waters' voice was in great form, and he was hitting some pretty high notes. He's also touring with what amounts to an amazing Pink Floyd tribute band that can pull off Gilmour's vocals and guitar lines beautifully.

The other problem for me is that I've never understood Pink Floyd as party music. Yeah, much of it has that stoner vibe... Okay, most of it, but to me, it's an introspective stoner vibe. It's always been headphone music. My cassette copy of The Wall got played so much on my Walkman that the center section was stretched and would play a good half-step lower. When I got the CD version, the middle songs all sounded too fast... Pink Floyd was almost always reserved for laying on my bed in a dark room with headphones on. When driving around with friends, we'd play AC/DC or Zeppelin. That was party music. Pink Floyd was about life, emotions, the psyche, relationships, and eventually politics.

So, Friday night, when Waters said of George W. Bush, "That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small!" and the guy in the next row yells back, "Yeah, I'm fucked up," you just get the general impression that much of the message is either going over the heads of the audience or they're just gleefully ignoring it while they party on, dude.

I found that some of the songs from Final Cut took on new meaning in light of the Iraq war, while many used it as an excuse to get more beer. I'm not saying I'm better than the rest of the audience, it's just that my reaction was different. I went into my shell. While much of the crowd danced, drank and smoked pot, I sat and listened. And it was surreal, sitting there while the lady in front of me WooHooed and made the devil horns with one hand while holding a beer and a cigarette in the other.

The effects were amazing! Some great films to accompany the music, along with some fantastic lighting. And of course there was the inflatable pig, which "accidentally" got away from the handlers at Coachella. Yeah, it "accidentally" got away at the Dallas show as well. As noted elsewhere, the pig had an Obama endorsement on one side. What hasn't been noted in other reviews is that the penis of the pig had "Cheney" painted on it, and "Impeach Bush Now!" was painted where the asshole would normally have been. Subtle.

Waters seemed to be having a genuinely good time on the stage. He seemed warm towards the audience, and at the end of the show, he was actually the last to leave the stage, unlike many of the stars who play "sprint for the limo" while their backing band plays the last few notes.

In the end, I'm glad I went, and it was a fantastic show. It was great hearing some of the old tunes in a new context, and hopefully some of the crowd will consider some of Waters' message... But most likely not...

Standout moments for me? The moving video tribute to Syd Barrett during "Shine On" and "Wish You Were Here," along with a rousing version of "Bring the Boys Back Home" for the first encore.

Update on the pig:
"I was taking a smoke break at the backstage door of the House Of Blues/Dallas in Victory Park when suddenly...Here comes this UFO navigating oddly through the huge downtown buildings. At first I thought was a Blimp actually but as it got closer, I noticed it had legs!
Oh my god! it a freggin flying pig!
None of my HOB buddies believed me until they looked up to see a freggin pig flying through the sky!"

3 Comments:

Blogger Darren said...

He returns!

8:16 AM  
Blogger Steve said...

Waters or me? ;-)

8:26 AM  
Blogger Darren said...

Waters, psssh ... he's always around. It's the return of Steve.

12:06 PM  

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