The Irish Times June 26, 2002
Roger Waters
The Point, Dublin
By KEVIN COURTNEY
So ya thought ya might like to come to a show?
Well, this ain't quite The Wall, but it's not
exactly a pile of nostalgic rubble either. He may
have lost the lucrative Pink Floyd brand name in a
custody battle, but the original architect of The
Wall is determined not to let people forget who it
was that held all the creative cards.
On his current In the Flesh tour, Waters wisely
avoids trying to replicate a Floyd show, but
instead delivers a compact spectacle, using simple
background visuals, smart surround sound, and a
band of veteran musicians, including Andy
Fairweather-Low, backing singers P.P. Arnold, Katie
Kissoon and Carol Kenyon and guitarist Chester
Kamen, along with the former Thin Lizzy guitarist,
Snowy White.
As the unmistakable intro from In the Flesh
boomed out, and those familiar animated hammers
strode across the screen, the grey-mulleted Waters
strolled out along a ledge behind the band, and
opened with an extended segment from The Wall,
incorporating The Happiest Days of our Lives,
Another Brick in the Wall Part Two, and Mother.
For the next three hours, Waters and company
performed condensed versions of Pink Floyd's
greatest albums, replacing their characteristic
sheer bone-crushing power with some light, stylish
interpretations. It may not have pleased the
hardcore Floyd fans, but it gave Waters a dignified
way to avoid becoming a threadbare pocket
Floyd.
Not that this show was lacking in head-swimming
moments. Extended works like Dogs, Set the Controls
for the Heart of the Sun and Wish You Were Here
came close to blowing the mind, although the
triptych of Breathe, Time and Money seemed somewhat
skeletal without the full Floyd muscle behind
it.
Waters cleverly slotted solo pieces such as
Perfect Sense, It's A Miracle and Amused To Death
into the Dark Side of the Moon segment, rounding
everything off with Brain Damage and Eclipse, then
ending on an exuberant Comfortably Numb, with
Chester Kamen admirably handling vocals, and Snowy
White leaping on to the ledge for a final guitar
duel with Kamen.
From 'Hot Press'
Billed as “an evening with the creative
genius of Pink Floyd,” this rare appearance
from a key member of one of rock’s most
successful outfits was always going to be something
special. And so it proved.
Greeted with rapturous applause by the capacity
crowd, Waters, silver-haired and grinning stalked
around the stage, his bass strapped around him like
a sci-fi weapon. Accompanied by a top-notch band
including ex-Thin Lizzy axe-man Snowy White and the
legendary Andy Fairweather-Low, he took complete
command of proceedings from the off.
The faithful were rewarded in spades with
highlights from throughout his career including
‘Another Brick In the Wall’,
‘Money’ and ‘Comfortably Numb’
all delivered via a stunning 360° quadraphonic
sound system. Other early highlights of this two
and a half-hour marathon included a breathtaking
version of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’,
Waters’ epic ode to Syd Barrett and the
equally memorable, ‘Wish You Were Here’.
The sheer majestic sweep of these timeless Floyd
classics heard in a live setting left most of the
audience open-mouthed in awe.
Inevitably, there were a couple from the
Floyd’s magnum opus, Dark Side Of The Moon
(the ninth greatest album ever made, according to a
recent survey) including the aforementioned
‘Money.’ and ‘Eclipse’ which
was accompanied by a near life-size total eclipse,
courtesy of the giant back projection.
Pigs didn’t fly but this was as close to a
Pink Floyd gig as made no difference.
Stunning!
Colm O'Hare
Thanks to Maz
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