Rock News
REVIEW, PHOTOS: Roger Waters The Wall Live, Allphones Arena, Sydney Post by: Dave-O 15 February, 2012 - 12:49 AM
(Photo: Triple M)
It was Sydney's turn to experience Roger Waters' visual spectacular that is The Wall Live and he did not disappoint delivering one of the most brilliant and thoughtful rock shows ever.
The visuals were incredible, the surround sound all-encompassing and the theatrics, including a fighter plane roaring over the crowd only to crash into a ball of flames, meant it was feast for the senses. Even the inflatable flying pig made an appearance towards the end of the show hovering dangerously across the audience.
Above all Roger Waters poured his heart and soul into this performance, as much now as he did 33 years ago.
Released in 1979, The Wall was Pink Floyd's 11th studio album. To this day. it remains the best selling double album of all time and, judging by the capacity audience tonight, it's resonance for a generation of music fans remains unparalleled.
Roger Waters, the lyricist, conceptualist, bassist has been touring this magnum opus minus Pink Floyd since 2010 with his 12-piece band.
Pink Floyd fans may think without Dave Gilmour and the rest of the band you're getting a watered down experience. But Roger pulled it off. In any case, The Wall was always Roger's album - he created this thing and he wants to show it off to the world.
He played the album from start to finish and while a lot of the music comes from his personal life growing up, loaded with themes of despair and loss, he's dragged the show into the 21st century by adding a powerful, thought-provoking anti-war, anti-propaganda stance.
(Photo: Triple M)
As the first half moves toward the intermission the wall is methodically built brick-by-brick - all 424 of them. And then in the second half the massive wall comes down. You know it's coming, but it still amazes.
Musical highlights included a ferocious version of Pink Floyd's heaviest number "Run Like Hell", the countryside folk of "Mother" and a rousing "Comfortably Numb" that saw the crowd rise from their seats as the giant wall burst into a kaleidoscope of colour.
As you can see in video above sourced from YouTube, during the song "Mother" Roger played along to a little piece of film of himself singing the same song only in 1980 at Earls Court. He introduced the man on the screen as that "poor miserable f***ed up Roger from all those years ago".
This was a great show that not only moved you but made you think.
Setlist
In the Flesh?
The Thin Ice
Another Brick in the Wall Part 1
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Mother
Goodbye Blue Sky
Empty Spaces
What Shall We Do Now?
Young Lust
One of My Turns
Don't Leave Me Now
Another Brick in the Wall Part 3
The Last Few Bricks
Goodbye Cruel World
Intermission
Hey You
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nobody Home
Vera
Bring the Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb
The Show Must Go On
In the Flesh
Run Like Hell
Waiting for the Worms
Stop
Outside the Wall
What did you think of the show?
