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Monday, May 21, 2007
Roger Waters wows Tampa
Posted by Wade Tatangelo on Mon, May 21, 2007 at 6:39 PM
Here's my Roger Water review that will run in the Loaf that hits newsstands Thursday. I lucked out and watched the spectacle from about 10 rows back. Events Editor Leilani Polk witnessed the concert from the rowdy lawn area. Mid show, I got a text from her that read: "Down with the pig!" The pink inflatable got stuck on a screen right in front of where she was seated. Look for her take on the conc
Photo by Phil Bardi.
Pink Floyd guru Roger Waters dazzles the Ford Amp crowd.
Concert Review
By Wade Tatangelo
Roger Waters, Sat., May 19, Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa.
Roger Waters had always struck me as cold — a morose type more inclined to scowl than smile, the kind of performer content to merely stand center stage all night, resistant to the even slightest hint of showmanship.
But when Waters performed Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,000 at Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa, it was clear from the get-go that the man was in good sprits and anxious to entertain. Yeah, Waters and his squad of seasoned guitarists, keyboardists, saxophonist, drummer and backup singers enthusiastically re-created The Dark of Side The Moon, the 1973 Pink Floyd opus for which Waters wrote all the lyrics and a good chunk of the music. The band also treated the audience to a slew of favorites from The Wall and Wish You Were Here, the two other Floyd albums that have wormed their way into the consciousness of a (mostly) male demographic that ranges from disaffected teens to nostalgic baby boomers.
Saturday’s concert began with a bang. The ominous, opening strands of “In the Flesh?†— the same tune that kick-starts The Wall — whipped around the venue, eliciting screams from the audience. Waters adjusted the strap on his bass guitar and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. The trim, 62-year-old rocker with a mane of gray hair flashed a smile, looking younger than his years in black slacks, shirt and a matching sport coat that he quickly shed. “So you, thought ya might like to go to the show?†he sang in fine voice. “To feel the warm thrill of confusion — that space cadet glow?â€
One could feel the audience accepting the invitation. The Wagnerian opener was followed by another cut from The Wall, the coming-of-age saga “Mother.†Here Waters switched from bass to acoustic guitar and once again took lead vocals. While he asked such familiar yet timeless questions as “Mother, should I trust the government?†an enormous screen showed a young man alone in his messy bedroom with a radio, a whiskey bottle a pack of smokes and a notebook for his poems. The image could’ve been interpreted as a representation of Waters in his youth and probably a good percentage of the young men who have identified with his songs over the years.
The opening salvo was relentless. “Mother†faded into the early Floyd cult fave “Set the Control for the Heart of the Sun,†followed by a Wish You Were Here sampler that included the poignant title track, a spectacular “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,†and “Have a Cigar.â€
The tempo slowed and the audience was temporarily disengaged when Waters opted for the moodier material of The Final Cut. Before concluding the first set, the famed inflatable Pink Pig was unleashed (it got stuck, blocking a screen facing the lawn), and Waters introduced a new song titled “Leaving Beirut.†The tune features the lines “Oh George! Oh George! That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small,†and was accompanied by images of George W. juxtaposed with the likes of Saddam and Stalin. It was during this song that a man seated behind me with a fake tan and ripped muscles walked into the aisle about six rows from the stage and shot Waters the finger before being directed back to his seat by security.
Following a brief intermission, Waters and company performed, as promised, Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. And while the musicians took few liberties with the source material, there were moments when a certain guitar solo morphed into something distinct and original. The female vocal performance on “The Great Gig in the Sky†was a jaw dropper. Perhaps the biggest thrill of the Dark Side segment was the deep-space visuals that unfurled on screen, with lasers darting across the pavilion roof and a giant light prism floating down for the closing of “Brain Damage†and “Eclipse.â€
Just in case anyone didn’t feel they got their money’s worth, Waters and band returned for a five-song encore, highlighted by a thumping rendition of “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2†that found him bounding across the stage and leading the audience in a decadent sing-along of “We don’t need no education.â€
Finally, the hired hand responsible for guitar solos and vocals originated by David Gilmour sunk his teeth into “Comfortably Numb.†While the gauzy melody and escapist lyrics lulled the audience into a state of bliss, Waters mouthed the words he had written decades ago, beamed and made eye contact with those of us standing gratefully before him — both parties looking thoroughly pleased.
Comments (34)
Showing 1-34 of 34
The show was great and I, too, was pleasantly surprised by Waters' enthusiasm. We arrived a few minutes before the music got started and grabbed a spot on the lawn relatively close to the screen near the main entrance (my left, Waters' right). Unfortunately, there seemed to be issues with the speakers located above the screen. The sound kept cutting in and out during the pre-show music, and through "In the Flesh," which caused the folks in front of us to move to the other side of the lawn. I never verified whether or not the same issues were occurring over there, but I do know that the speakers on our side were ultimately turned off, so the sound on the lawn, which is usually questionable to begin with, was pretty sucky unless the wind was blowing in the right direction. When the flying piggie came our way, we laughed, delighted, at it sailed above us, and pointed to the various political statements it carried, among them, "Impeach Bush" (which was right on its ass) and "Kafka Rules." 'Course, the pig became a big pain when its handlers lost control and let it float away, at which point it became snagged on our screen and hung out, partially and completely obstructing the view through the rest of the show. There were absolutely no attempts to remove the runaway pig from the screen. The lawn scene was pretty tame -- maybe too tame, in fact. We sat on our blanket through both sets and when we stood up to shake our fists during "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2," the peeps behind us yelled at us to sit down. One person even came up and tapped my fiance on the shoulder with his sit-down request. Did I mention we were at a freaking rock show? Did I mention it was the encore? Not only did my fiance refuse, he turned around and pointed at them, singing "We don't need no thought control" right along with Waters, prompting all five of them to boo us, call us assholes and break out into applause when we finally moved so we could enjoy "Comfortably Numb." Luckily, Waters put me in such a good mood that the obnoxious peeps only made me laugh and became part of my fond memories of the evening. Thanks, obnoxious peeps!!
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I was at the show also~ had excellent seats~the show all in all was excellent, only disappointment was the volume~ I saw Division Bell at tpa stadium, the sound was Incredible! When Gilmour hit the first note it was body jarring! I could feel it thru every inch of my being! The only apprehension I had prior to the show was the sound dynamics. Unfortunately my apprehension became a reality:o( I grew up in tpa so I still keep in touch thru tbo.com. Seems I recollect residents near the venue complaining about noise, they even had to build some sort of sound barrier? Does anyone know if there are sound restrictions on the venue? If so, please post back, I'm pretty sure there must be, but I just dont know. If there are restrictions on the venue I will never go back.I couldnt imagine watching The Who with that type of volume. If anyone can comment on this I would appreciate it very much! thank you in advance Mike Kobres
The Pig was meant to "float away" it's that way at every show. Represents freedom I guess? Just an FYI :o)
Not sure about restrictions but I saw the recent Who show from the 300 section and the sound was plenty loud.
It's didn't really float away, though. It floated to the left lawn's only means of seeing Waters' face, up close. ;-( But at the same time, it seemed to be worshipping him, so I couldn't really get that mad. And I know there are restrictions regarding sound and Ford Amp, just not sure what they are.
Thanks for all the info. I'm up in Toronto and looking forward to the last show of the tour on July 14. I was've been a big Floyd freak in the past, but never really paid attention to Waters' solo stuff so much until recently. Also, I bought the "In The Flesh" tour DVD and thoroughly enjoyed watching it twice in a row. The whole experience recently has brought back some old memories of wild times and times when I played Floyd songs with my acoustic to get through the pains of life.
Just saw Waters in Oakland, California last night and posted a review on my Blog at http://isorski.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!
he turned around and pointed at them, singing “We don’t need no thought control” right along with Waters, prompting all five of them to boo us, call us assholes and break out into applause when we finally moved so we could enjoy “Comfortably Numb.”
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