This show reminded me why I hate going to concerts in stadiums and arenas. It also reminded me why I love Roger Waters.

Despite the snot-nosed, condescending, inaccurate review by a local self-appointed Music Authority, this was an awesome show. The first half, which I managed to record, was all Floyd faves we know and love -- in fact, the first 25 minutes was all from The Wall -- and all were played prettymuch as they are on records, except with guitar and synth solos and plenty of duets/backup from the two lady vocalists (sorry, I didn't get a program so I can't identify them).

The second half included stuff from Radio KAOS and others I hadn't heard before -- from the new album maybe? There's no way to know until it's out. I'll admit I haven't tracked down every song Ol' Rog ever made, so I shouldn't get your hopes up. Besides, I didn't bring a second tape (1. bend over - 2. clamp head in vise - 3. pound with mallet until sane again) so it's gone.

The part I *did* get is still great though! This is the first time he's played live in 12 years, and it's obvious he hasn't been out of practice. The band, which included Snowy White, was sharp as a razor blade, tight as a tourniquet, dry as a funeral drum. The two girls to the right gave the vocals a little something extra, duetting with Roger on several songs. Here's the list:

• 00:00 - Standing In The Aisles (this isn't a song, just crowd noises)
• 01:38 - "LIGHTS! DIE! DIE!!"
• 01:43 - In The Flesh?
• 05:50 - The Thin Ice
• 08:17 - Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1
• 11:16 - The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
• 12:49 - Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 (great solo)
• 18:18 - Yeah! Awesome! Wooooo!!
• 18:51 - Mother (duet with girl singer)
• 24:31 - ?
• 24:52 - cheers & applause
• 25:09 - "Just Checking The Tuning On My Marshmallow" (well, that's what it sounded like he said!)
• 25:45 - Roger Chant
• 25:55 - The Final Cut (duet with girl singer)
• 28:50 - cheers & applause (reprise)
• 28:57 - Pigs On The Wing
• 30:19 - Dogs (with dogs barking all around the arena)
• 46:42 - "Thank You!"
• 46:50 - Welcome To The Machine (great girl vocals, great synth solo)
• 54:08 - brief sound effects
• 54:39 - Wish You Were Here ( acoustic solos)
• 59:49 - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (guitar solo)
• 74:36 - "We're Going To Take A Short 20-Minute Break"
• 75:22 - END

Aaron Beck, who reviewed this for the Dispatch got almost everything wrong. He cited "Money" and "Breathe" among some of the songs played when, in fact, neither "Money" nor "Breathe" was played. He claimed the show was depressing, when in fact everyone was het-up (except obviously him). Calling Roger, Snowy and these other fine musicians a "Pink Floyd tribute band" and "a broadway production of a Pink Floyd concert" was not only wrong but mean.

Beck got so many things wrong that I seriously doubt he even attended the concert. For one thing, he says Rog sang "the occasional lead vocal" when, in fact, I observed him singing lead on every song. Beck implies not only that Doyle Bramhall sang most of the songs but that Bramhall's British accent is fake! It would not be the first time a critic wrote a review of a concert by cribbing from the press kit and reviews by others and not even attending the show.

What really makes me think he wasn't actually there is this:

"At most rock concerts, ticketholders leave feeling a little
closer to the main attraction. Not so at one by former Pink
Floyd bassist and lyric-writer Roger Waters.

"On his first tour since 1987, Waters last night led a six-piece
all-star band and two harmony singers through the discography of
the bleakest rock 'n' roll band in history"

This sounds like Beck splicing the reviews of others together and calling it his, because he obviously has in mind only Waters' (and Floyd's) reputation, not the concert I saw.

I said above that it was awesome. Try also electric, euphoric ecstatic. Especially for the second half of the show, the crowd was in non-stop thrill mode. As Ol' Rog led us through a rousing chant of "It all makes perfect sense!!" I was almost pushed off my feet by the fellow floydians around me ... and held up by the crush of those same people. It was like a revival meeting, only instead of hymns we were singing rock.

Chanting and cheering there along with 7-some-odd-thousand other people, I was reminded why Ol' Rog was so dear to me. Aaron Beck got it wrong: the man is not bleak, nor is his music. He sings about cold hard reality, sure, but that doesn't make him bleak. On the contrary, his music is the most reassuring and affirming I've ever heard. Roger Waters' message is not that we must give up, but that we must NEVER give up. Not that the Enemy will win, but that he is now winning, and that we must fight all the harder. Who is the Enemy? All those people who try to govern us, restrict us, control us and destroy us. Authority, basically. Bleak? Hell no: this man and his music tell me there is at least some hope in the world.

The Kindest Cut Of All ...

Know what the best part of this show was, though? The Old Man's gratitude. he truly seemed pleased to see us. One little fact few people know is that this concert was originally set for Veteran's Memorial Auditorium, which only seats about 2,000 people. It sold out there and had to be moved to the Schot, where over 7,000 people attended. Obviously either Rog or his booking agents underestimated his appeal. If you were wondering whether you could fill a concert hall, then found out you were so hot you needed a sports arena, wouldn't you be happy?

That's how he seemed on Sunday: very kind, very congenial, not "bleak" at all. Ol' Rog seemed to take this as an affirmation of his art. Maybe he thought nobody would want to see him, that we all loved Pink Floyd without him and would ask, "Roger who??" Well, Sunday night proved that wrong. I'll bet the Velvet Underground felt the same way at the roaring reception they got on their European reunion tour in 1993. Heck, I know they did -- after all, I've got a bootleg from that tour!

Like I said above, this show reminded me of why I hate satdiums and arenas. Basically it's too crowded and everyone's an asshole. The fans are all drunk, yelling in my ear (and my microphone!) and spilling beer on me, the toilets have waitng lines, the food and drinks are crappy and overpriced, and there are little Hitlers with walkie-talkies everywhere trying to fuck with you. Heck, they wouldn't even let us hang out in the aisles, which would have made "Hey You" the perfect ironic highlight. Too bad he didn't play it.

But you know, despite all that, I had a great time. So what if I only got the first half? Lying there in the motel room afterward, between the sheets, contemplating the silent freeway, listening to that tape, I knew it had all been worthwhile.

Jim Kelley
Columbus, Ohio
16 AUG 99