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Continuing my quest to fulfill the promise I made to myself as I walked out of my first Roger Waters concert – that I would never, ever miss a Roger Waters concert again as long as we both shall live – on October 10th, 2017 I found myself happily driving to the Corel Tirebank Place once again to see him, once again.
Come to think of it, as of this writing I believe that every time I’ve seen the guy play it’s been in that very arena. Maybe I shouldn’t complain about the place so much.
Anyway, the show was nothing short of epic (of course). If I remember correctly there was a large video screen hanging from the roof that ran the length of the arena over the floor section, from the stage all the way over and behind the soundboard and ultimately reaching to the very back of the room. Luckily I was sitting in the bowl in the back corner, as it looked to me like those on the floor were missing out on a big part of the show, with the massive screen dangling over their heads as it was and seemingly out of their view. I had a great vantage point of both the stage and the monstrous screen, all of which battered me with a constant barrage of socially-minded, thought-provoking, and just downright weird lights and images.
And oh, the setlist! Breathe, One Of These Days, Wish You Were Here, Welcome To The Machine, Great Gig In The Sky, Another Brick In The Wall (pts 2 & 3), and that’s just a sampling from the first set!
The second set got decidedly more apocalyptic, jammy, and strange. It started with Dogs and went right into Pigs, complete with a huge drone-driven pig (spray-painted with protest slogans) floating around the vast venue. Money – which is always a treat – Us and Them, Brain Damage, and Eclipse took up much of the remainder of the set.
Then – imagine this – the concert ended with Mother and then (gasp) Comfortably Numb, the very song that first hooked me into Pink Floyd thirty-five years earlier. Gosh, it was a great night of music and spectacle.
And thus the quest continues. C’mon Roger Waters, bring on the tours!
Todd Man Out 