I accept that Roger Waters did not let this show ‘Let’s all re-elect my good friend Donald Trump because I’ve been baptized so much I’ve sucked his cock every day’, but ‘Us + Them’ – the goodies and the bad ones, the racists and the tolerant, the remainers and the leavers, the hawks and the pigeons, the comma-all-round refugee fighters and the gaillers of the saw, and valleysly with your problems. And I know Roger a little bit and I know he thinks it’s good and he just wants to kick us a conscience because it’s very much needed. Because, as a woman who was seen in one of the images on her pancarte had written, ‘If you’re not angry (about the situation in the world), you’re not paying attention!’
But, Roger, I already have a conscience. And I come for the music. And your good friend David Gilmour also has a good heart and has more than you, millions of good causes. But Gilmour does so in silence, and he does not bother us with his images of Guantanamo Bay, prisoners of war, refugees, bombed cities, the compound of Osama bin Laden, mad watchdogs, homeless people during his brilliant concerts. , the Statue of Liberty as a bearded corpse, severed heads (as a cartoon, but still), sheep led by pigs, Trump as a pig, Trump as a transvestite, Trump with a dildo, Trump with dollar signs in his eyes, Trump as he puked, Trump as leader of the Ku Klux Klan, Trump … Waters was the only rock star who ever turned the audience into a flute concert – against Trump, of course. And there were the many slogans on top: ‘We are living in a dystopian nightmare’, ‘Pigs rule the world’, ‘Fuck the pigs’, ‘The piggy bank of war’ (piggy bank is English for sparpot, so the defense budget ) … It did not stop.
I basically give this magnificent show 5 stars because a) that back catalog remains phenomenal and it may be the last time that we see Roger in the flesh and b) because journalists in other media sometimes give 4 or 5 stars to a good concert of a young band that has hardly proven anything with one CD and a show without visual stunts or decors.
But it was too much, Roger. ‘If I was God’ may be one of the best song lyrics of the past years, and ‘Animals’ an appropriate concept to skin Trump & Co, so I came for the music, and even though I imitated two, sometimes even three guitarists David Gilmour’s guitars are very competent (but not so good), yet the mixer dropped a few stitches. Two singers sang the party of Clare Torry on ‘Dark side of the moon’ and did less well than Torry alone. And all visuals did not hide that, for example, “Money” sounded a lot less potent than when Gilmour did it in Tienen. What distinguishes Waters and Gilmour from each other is that Waters is responsible for one of the most counterproductive slogans in pop music – ‘We do not need no education’ – while Gilmour never plays that song ostentatiously and at the behest of his wife Polly “We do need education, and it should be free,” and of course she is right. Another difference between the two: Gilmour chooses original locations to play, even though they are a bit smaller. Waters chooses the largest halls with the best return. Wish you were here, Dave.
‘Resist’ shouted the T-shirts at the souvenir stand. ‘Resist’ said the T-shirts of the children who sang ‘Another brick in the wall’. ‘Resist’ sang Waters. Okay Roger, I resist. And what now? By the way, Roger, how many homeless and refugees have you already received in your spacious houses? Not a single one?! For real?
Is escapism dirty or dishonorable? I personally go to concerts to be of the news and the banal harsh reality of everyday life. Is it allowed? I do not want Trump’s face in my house, let alone that I want to see it on a 40-meter video wall for two hours. It was an impressive show and I will go back today (Saturday, May 12), but I think that in the long run I will close my eyes for a while to enjoy the music without the well-intentioned visual demagoguery of schoolmaster Roger spoiling that pleasure.
And can anyone finally tell Roger from the NVA Roger and all those other rock stars that we speak Dutch in Flanders. Roger said ‘Maintenant intermisson, et après on va voir’.
If this was the last tour of Roger Waters (and perhaps also of David Gilmour – they are almost as old), the question is how to proceed. Descendants can collect copyright for 75 years, so I predict that the children and grandchildren of Waters and Gilmour will fight the Pink Floyd legacy. And that, either, a kind of tribute band (there are already a dozen who fill themselves large halls) will play this oeuvre, or holograms will bring the deceased group members of Pink Floyd to life
Review courtesy of Koen Keppens
Capacity 15,000+
The Antwerps Sportpaleis (English: Antwerp’s Sport Palace), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis, is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall where concerts, sporting events, festivals and fairs are organized. The arena was built for sport, especially track cycling, but there is now little sport there, an exception being the Diamond Games tennis. It is the largest indoor venue in Europe.
According to Billboard Magazine, the Sportpaleis is the second most visited event hall in the world, second only to Madison Square Garden.The Sportpaleis is known for performances by both Dutch-speaking and international artists. It also hosts the Nekka-Nacht, the Proximus Diamond Games tennis tournament for women and Pop Poll De Luxe, organised by the magazine HUMO.
The main building is 88 metres wide and 132 metres long and has a roof spanning 11.600 m². Under the stands, there is a wooden cycling track 250 meters long and 8 meters wide. The arena is elliptical and has two floors.
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