Show: Roger Waters
Date: December 13, 2010
Venue: The Honda Center
City: Anaheim, CA
Roger Waters
Photo by RogerWatersTours.com
Written by Lana Mann
Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters’s recreation of The Wall at The Honda Center was more than just a concert; it was an incredibly engrossing, elaborate theatrical performance unlike any other.
A dilapidated man shuffled around with a shopping cart as audience members located their seats and settled in prior to the show starting. But that seemingly dilapidated man was in fact part of the show: as the arena fell dark, a spotlight identified him as Roger Waters.
Along with an eleven-piece band, Waters proceeded to recreate his opus The Wall, which follows his semi-autobiographical protagonist Pink. The third best selling record of all time, it spawned a tour in the early eighties similar to his current outing in which the band played the 1979 Pink Floyd concept album front to back accompanied by innovative visuals.
The album and show opener “In the Flesh?” featured rows of sparks spouting from above and below the stage and a stunning, fiery plane crash at its apex, literally signifying the explosive show to come.
Throughout the first half of the performance, which also represented the first side of the album, stagehands slowly built a wall of white bricks between the band and the audience. The wall, with strategic holes left until last second for glimpses of the musicians, doubled as a screen for the captivating video projections.
Despite the passage of thirty years between this tour and its original performance, many of the heavy themes—alienation, conformity, fear, and war—maintained social and cultural relevance and continued to resonate strongly with the audience. One of many blatant examples occurred during “Mother,” in which present day Waters duets with a projected thirty-years-younger version of himself performing the piece in London. After singing lyrics “Mother, should I trust the government?” the wall was splattered with the response “No fucking way!” and the crowd went insane.
A giant, mantis-like marionette representing the “teacher” crept to life as “Another Brick in the Wall (part 1)” began playing. A group of children sporting shirts proclaiming “Fear Builds Walls” danced along to the famous song. Other grotesque inflatables dropped from the ceiling to represent various characters throughout the show.
A visually updated version of “Goodbye Blue Sky” featured an airplane dropping corporate, political, and religious symbols—such as the Shell and Mercedes logos, dollar signs, and the Star of David—like bombs. Other incendiary images pulling the show to present day included President Bush presented as a dictator and Iraqi civilian deaths.
By the beginning of the rock opera’s second act, the wall completely concealed the musicians from the crowd, partially illustrating Waters’s feeling of band/audience disconnect when writing the record. But here, the wall only increased crowd intrigue and provided more space for the dreamlike projections.
Secluded in a protruding living room set that emerged from a corner of the wall, Rogers’s sang a moving rendition of “Nobody Home.” Poignant footage of soldiers reuniting with their children powerfully illustrated “Bring the Boys Back Home.” Pink Floyd’s iconic logo-laden flying pig circled above the audience like a blimp during the reprise of “In the Flesh.” Although many of his metaphors are obvious, their design and implementation was striking nonetheless.
“Comfortably Numb” proved to be an emotional and sonic peak of the show. Alternatively perched atop the wall, David Gilmour’s substitutes (yes, they needed multiple) convincingly sang and flawlessly played the seminal guitar solo. Waters threw his body in frustration against the white wall, which erupted into kaleidoscopic color.
The intense buildup continued with “The Trial,” borrowing surreal footage from the 1982 film that animated the album. It culminated in Waters, accompanied fervently by the crowd, demanding “Tear down the wall!” repeatedly until a force from behind caused it to collapse in a satisfying climax.
In addition to spellbinding visual elements, the band sounded musically stunning. The lineup included greats like ex-SNL musical director/former Hall and Oats guitarist G.E. Smith, Pink Floyd contributor Snowy White, and Waters’s son Harry on keys, and all members converged to precisely create the haunting soundtrack.
If Waters opts to again perform this masterpiece—go. Even if pawning belongings to afford the steep ticket price is necessary, this sensory-saturating spectacle is beyond worth the cost.