2012/05/30

The Hollywood Reporter, 5/20/201


Roger Waters -- The Wall Live in Los Angeles: Concert Review


The ambitious show refocuses the 1979 Pink Floyd album as an overt political statement amid vivid imagery and technical wizardry.



Roger Waters has created the rarest type of stadium concert: one where the seats farthest from the stage are as good as any. But calling The Wall Live a “concert” is something of a misnomer. It’s an experience.

That’s because this show has to be taken as a whole, rather than just watched and/or listened to. Visually stunning and sonically astounding, the mega-production is sheer spectacle – rock concert as performance art. There really isn’t anything to compare it against.
Therein lies something of a conundrum: It’s an impressive, immersive, ambitious show that must be seen to be described -- but was it a great concert?
Yes, with a few qualifiers.
Saturday’s show at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum certainly was memorable; its indelible images – including faces of military and civilian war victims dating to World War I -- and utter scope all but assure that. The familiar songs were performed flawlessly by an ace band that mostly replicated the album, with a few tweaks. But the music is so entirely secondary as to be borderline inconsequential. Whether that’s a problem is strictly personal preference.
With so much to look at, the singer is no longer the focus, which makes it easier to please a giant crowd. U2’s recent tour, for example, boasted the largest stage set ever constructed, but Bono still had to engage the throng. Waters really doesn’t, and he knows it. As he sang, he sometimes resorted to near-pantomime and air drumming, the latter once embarrassingly offbeat.
To his credit, the 68-year-old Brit is in good shape and was in terrific voice when he was featured, especially during “One of My Turns” and “Run Like Hell.” The radio-staple latter cut was much meatier than on record, really the only time the music not only trumped the visuals but overwhelmed them.

The erstwhile Pink Floyd frontman has refocused The Wall – tied for third-best-selling album in U.S. history by the RIAA’s standards – into an overtly political statement. Much of the nuance and ambiguity about the dangers of conformity and blind faith (and blind trust) takes a back seat to anti-war sentiment and government distrust. Those whose interpretation of the 1979 double album focused on the wall between rock star and audience must have felt slighted. Maybe Waters sees that an anachronism in the age of social media.
Whatever his motivation, he made the decision to go all-in, and the show reflects it.
The projected imagery is vivid -- often grotesque and abhorrent, sometimes festive and exhilarating, occasionally disturbing or borderline seditious. An example of the latter: The “bombs” deployed from warplanes in “Goodbye Blue Sky” included symbols of governments (hammer and sickle), religions (Stars of David), financial oppression (dollar signs) and open-to-analysis (the McDonald’s Golden Arches). There also was animation familiar from the 1982 movie of The Wall: the marching hammers, the fighting/fornicating flowers, etc.
All the while, during the first half, bricks fill in the wall, which spans nearly 500 feet.
Saturday’s performance got off to a rocky start, when Waters abruptly halted the production during “The Thin Ice” because of a technical problem. “We’re gonna figure out why that mic is not on,” he told the crowd, “then we’re gonna do that verse again because I want to sing it.” He conversed with unseen staffers and, after about five minutes, restarted the song. Following the dramatic and attention-getting opening, it was jarring but excusable.
Along with all the eye candy, there certainly were musical highlights, which predictably – despite the “Thin Ice” mishap – included all of Side 1. The helicopter sound effect in “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” was chilling as it crept up from behind and got louder before it “settled” in front. A group of local kids was trotted onstage to yell along with the No. 1 pop single “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II),” to which a non-album acoustic coda was added. And “Mother,” among the record’s most affecting songs, was a joyous/ominous show-stopper. It featured projected sound and video of Waters performing the song live in London in 1980. He played along on acoustic guitar as he invited the crowd to watch “poor, miserable, f---ed up Roger from all those years ago.”
Many folks were seen shaking their heads at the beginning of intermission.
Later, a clanging cowbell introduced “Young Lust,” which followed “What Shall We Do Now?” – a track that was cut from the album at the eleventh hour but has been part of subsequent live performances. “Waiting for the Worms” began with sparkling Beach Boys-like harmonies – supplied by Pat, Mark and Kipp Lennon of the veteran L.A. band Venice -- and its middle section channeled The Doors’ “Five to One,” much more so than on record.
It was all quite thrilling, but -- like the album -- the second half didn’t match the first. Regardless, if this is to be the template for future stadium extravaganzas, the bar undoubtedly has been set. But that’s doubtful, really, because it’s likely that few acts have the wherewithal (let alone the money, motivation and popularity) to attempt anything like it.
That alone made this show – this concert – a singular experience.

Written by Erik Pedersen

                       

Roger Waters -- The Wall Live in Los Angeles, 19 May 2012



By rafael1t

2012/05/25

We Don't Need No Education: San Diego Kids Rock - San Diego Reader, May 15, 2012The Wall


"I'd heard from the School of Rock in Denver that they'd been able to get some of their kids on stage with Roger Waters, so I started looking around for contact information." Tyler Ward is the general manager and music director of the San Diego School of Rock in Golden Hill. He called everyone he could think of, but says that his attempts to get through to the Waters entourage came to a dead end.
"But then Waters' people contacted the Joan Kroc Center in La Mesa. I don't know, maybe they called Joan Kroc because they saw pictures of children on their web site. As it turns out, we've been good friends for a while. The School of Rock has done a lot of shows there. So when Waters' production people called them, they said to call us."

Founded as a single school in Philadelphia, PA in 1998, the School of Rock has become an international franchise with schools in the U.S. and Mexico. As it turns out, several of the students enrolled at the San Diego school are also die hard Pink Floyd fans.

"At least 20 of our students are working on performing Dark Side of the Moon from top to bottom. They're using, like, iPads to play back some of the sound effects sequences." The age range of the kids that got tapped to perform as the children's chorus on stage at Valley View Arena during The Wall tour stop here was from 10 to 15.

"We hung out in our green room area. Then, when Waters got there, we went out and watched them rehearse and try out some of the special effects." Waters taught the School of Rock kids their parts and showed them their marks on stage. "He was really sweet to the kids. He spent time with them, and after, he posed for pictures." The kids, Ward says, were star struck.

"When Waters was finished rehearsing, he just walked through this little hole in the wall into no man's land. It was so weird. They made this little hole in the wall he could walk back and forth through and talk to the band and give direction, and when rehearsal was over he just walked back to wherever it was he came from."

Ticket prices for 41-date Wall tour are reportedly extravagant. "The production value of that show is absurd. There's an airplane that flies overhead. There are all kinds of effects. They started building the stage at 5a.m. the day before the show to have it ready for sound check the following afternoon. There were dozens of trucks and trailers outside the arena in the parking lot." But the School of Rock kids performed pro bono and in the end, Ward thought it a fair trade.
"Most of our kids couldn't afford to go. They're 10 years old. They don't have, like, $300 dollars for a ticket."

Waters and San Diego School of Roch choir, Valley View Arena Photo:Josh Krimston

Written by Dave Good

From: www.sandiegoreader.com

Up against 'The Wall,' Roger Waters! - U-T San Diego, May 10, 2012


Former Oasis leader Noel Gallagher won’t be in the audience when former Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters brings his “The Wall Live” tour here Sunday night, but he doesn’t need to be.

“I know every word to every song on Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall.’ I could sing it for you now, but I don’t have the time,” Gallagher told me during a U-T San Diego interview last month. “It’s an amazing masterpiece and monument to Roger Waters’ megalomania. I like megalomania. Rock ’n’ roll would be nowhere without it.”

Gallagher, 44, acknowledged there was another factor that made “The Wall” so appealing to him: “It came out just before I left school, when I started smoking pot and (expletive) doing magic mushrooms.”


Gallagher, 44, acknowledged there was another factor that made “The Wall” so appealing to him: “It came out just before I left school, when I started smoking pot and (expletive) doing magic mushrooms.”

Happily, fans don’t have to do anything more than listen to the best parts of “The Wall,” which came out in 1979 as a two-record set by Pink Floyd, to have a near magical experience.

Admirers of this alternately audacious and overblown concept album range from Smashing Pumpkins’ leader Billy Corgan to the members of My Chemical Romance (who hired “Wall” producer Bob Ezrin to oversee the making of their “Wall”-inspired album, “The Black Parade,” in 2007).

Corgan caught Waters' "The Wall Live" tour in late 2010 in Chicago, and he sounded awed when he talked about it with me in an interview later that year.

"Sitting and watching 'The Wall,' in hindsight, this appears to be a master work, especially when you see it staged," Corgan said. "It has been 30 years since 'The Wall' (debuted) and what has anybody done since then that’s been close to this as a cultural critique?"

Then there’s former San Diegan Eddie Vedder, who led the audience at Pearl Jam’s 1995 San Diego Sports Arena concert in a singalong on the “We don’t need no education” refrain from “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II),” a standout song from “The Wall” that gave Pink Floyd its only chart-topping single in the United States and England.

By coincidence, this same arena (now known as Valley View Casino Center) is where Waters will perform “The Wall” in its entirety Sunday night. He’ll be leading an 11-piece band that includes his son, Harry, on keyboards, former “Saturday Night Live” musical director G.E. Smith on guitar and bass, and keyboardist Jon Carin (who has the distinction of being perhaps the only musician extant to have also worked with a latter-day edition of Pink Floyd, guitarist David Gilmour’s post-Floyd band, and — yes! — Spinal Tap).

Sunday’s concert has been sold out for months. Waters, 68, has not performed in San Diego since a 2000 date at Coors (now Cricket Wireless) Amphitheatre. That show was mesmerizing one moment, polished but perfunctory the next. With any luck, Sunday’s Valley View concert will be an all-epic, rote-free affair.

Fun fact:During a 2000 U-T San Diego interview, Waters discussed the Los Angeles recording sessions for “The Wall.” I asked if he’d heard the whispered speculation that, during the sessions, a fellow Pink Floyd member had a fling with a very attractive and at-the-time very married female “Wall” backing singer. Waters’ coy response: “No, but I bet I know which one!”


Written by
George Varga

Photo Gallery

From: www.utsandiego.com


2012/05/18

Roger Waters live in Argentina, 11.03.2012 (Full Concert)

In Concert - Roger Waters Live Chicago 2010




The Wall Live band:

Roger Waters - bass, lead vocals, acoustic guitar & trumpet
Robbie Wyckoff - lead vocals
Graham Broad - drums, percussion, ukelele
Dave Kilminster - guitar, banjo
G.E. Smith - guitar, bass, mandolin
Snowy White - guitar
Jon Carin - keyboards, guitar, lap steel guitar
Harry Waters - Hammond organ, keyboards, accordian
Jon Joyce, Kipp Lennon, Mark Lennon, Pat Lennon - backing vocals


Setlist

Slideshow Intro
I'm Spartacus
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

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/The Trial
Outside the Wall

2012/05/15

The Austin Chronicle, MAY 11, 2012




Live Shots
BY LUKE WINKIE, FRI., MAY 11, 2012




Roger Waters
Frank Erwin Center, May 3


Virtual bombers dropping payloads of crucifixes, Stars of David, and McDonald's logos on impoverished landscapes; biographies from across the last century of dead soldiers superimposed on the same massive, white brick wall; an enormous, inflatable praying mantis vixen suspended from the rafters, flames for hair and saw blades for arms, both impressive and slightly misogynistic: These are just a handful of the relentless onslaught of words, images, sounds, deco, conflict, resolve, and money Roger Waters' disciples were assaulted with last Thursday night when the bassist, singer, and composer erected Pink Floyd's celebrated and contentious 1979 double album The Wall at the Frank Erwin Center. You certainly couldn't accuse the 68-year-old prog pioneer of phoning it in. This was a budgeteering feat, and no stop went unpulled. A local children's choir, the costumes, flying pigs, and, of course, the anime hammers all got their requisite show time. There was no organic wiggle room, the theatrics were scripted down to the bows. When Waters introduced "Run Like Hell," his script was literally projected on the wall behind him. An idealist would say Waters is doing his best tribute to Floyd's notoriously huge tours and its nutty mythology, but it's easy to be cynical when a diminutive, gray-haired Englishman is taking the stage to fireworks and hawking band shirts for $45. Maybe that's too harsh, especially in the face of Waters, solo on an acoustic guitar, harmonizing with vintage video of himself on "Mother." And how about the absurdly disturbing inflatable teacher lording over the crowd throughout "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" or the sensory beatdown of "The Trial"? Man, that's the best bombast money can buy. The Wall is a paranoid, seasick album, and its live incarnation is about as physically demanding as an invasion, even if the "iProtest" puns felt a little easy. For Watersians, the performance was the closest anyone will ever get to the authorized Pink Floyd experience. If the music got left by the wayside, so be it.

PHOTO BY SANDY CARSON

From: austinchronicle.com


2012/05/12

"Radio K.A.O.S." album, 1987

Radio K.A.O.S. is a 1987 concept album by former Pink Floyd bassist, singer songwriter Roger Waters. It is his second solo album.




The concept is based around a 23-year-old disabled man from Wales named Billy.
Billy uses a wheelchair and is thought to be mentally a vegetable. However, Billy is highly intelligent but has no way of expressing himself. Billy has a twin brother Benny who is a coal miner. Billy lives with Benny, Benny's wife Molly, and their children. Unfortunately, Benny has lost his job in the mines due to the "market forces". One night, Benny and Billy are out on a pub crawl when they pass a shop full of TV screens broadcasting Margaret Thatcher's "mocking condescension". Benny vents his anger on this shop and steals a cordless phone. Next, in theatrical fashion, Benny poses on a footbridge in protest to the closures; the same night, a taxi driver is killed by a concrete block dropped from a similar bridge (Track 2 "Who Needs Information"). The police question Benny, who hides the phone in Billy's wheelchair. Benny is taken to prison, and Molly, unable to cope, sends Billy to live with his uncle David in L.A.. Billy is gifted and can hear radio waves in his head ("Radio Waves" track 1), so he begins to explore the cordless phone, recognising its similarity to a radio. He experiments with the phone and is able to access computers and speech synthesisers, he learns to speak through them. He calls a radio station in L.A. named Radio KAOS (hence the album title) and tells them of his life story about his brother being in jail ("Me or Him" track 3), about his sister-in-law not being able to cope and sending him to L.A. to live with his uncle Dave ("Sunset Strip" track 5), and about the closures of the mines ("Powers that Be" track 4). Billy eventually hacks in to a military satellite and fools the world in to thinking nuclear ICBMs are about to be detonated at major cities all over the world whilst deactivating the military's power to retaliate ("Home" track 6 and "Four Minutes" track 7). The album concludes with a song about how everyone, in thinking they were about to die, realises that the fear and competitiveness peddled by the mass media is much less important than their love for family and the larger community. ("The Tide is Turning" track 8).
The album is dedicated "to all those who find themselves at the violent end of monetarism."

Track listing

All songs written by Roger Waters.
"Radio Waves" – 4:58
"Who Needs Information" – 5:55
"Me or Him" – 5:23
"The Powers That Be" – 4:36
"Sunset Strip" – 4:45
"Home" – 6:00
"Four Minutes" – 4:00
"The Tide Is Turning (After Live Aid)" – 5:43

Personnel 


Roger Waters – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, shakuhachi, keyboards


Graham Broad – percussion, drums
Mel Collins – saxophones
Nick Glennie-Smith – DX7 and Emu on "Powers That Be"
Matt Irving – Hammond organ on "Powers That Be"
John Linwood – drums on "Powers That Be"
Andy Fairweather Low – electric guitars
Suzanne Rhatigan – main background vocals on "Radio Waves", "Me or Him", "Sunset Strip" and "The Tide Is Turning"
Ian Ritchie – piano, keyboards, tenor saxophone, Fairlight programming, drum programming
Jay Stapley – electric guitars
John Phirkell – trumpet
Peter Thoms – trombone
Katie Kissoon, Doreen Chanter, Madeline Bell, Steve Langer & Vicki Brown) – background vocals on "Who Needs Information", "Powers That Be" and "Radio Waves"
[edit]Guest Appearance
Clare Torry – vocals on "Home" and "Four Minutes"
Paul Carrack – vocals on "The Powers That Be"




Radio K.A.O.S. Lyrics


Jim: This is K.A.O.S. You and I are listening to KAOS in Los Angeles. Let's
go to the telephones now and take a request.
Billy: Hello, I'm Billy.
Jim: Yes?
Billy: I hear radio waves in my head.
Jim: You hear radio waves in your head? Ah! Is there a request that you have
tonight for KAOS?

Radio Waves


Radio waves. Radio waves.
He hears radio waves. Radio waves.
The atmosphere is thin and cold
The yellow sun is getting old
The ozone overflows with radio waves
AM, FM, weather and news
Our leaders had a frank exchange of views
Are you confused, radio waves.

Radio waves, radio waves
AM radio waves, FM radio waves
Radio waves, mind-numbing radio waves
Fish-stunning radio waves
Radio waves.

Magic Billy in his wheel chair
Is picking up all this stuff in the air
Billy is face to face with outer space
Messages from distant stars
The local police calling all cars, radio waves

Hear them radio waves, radio waves
Jesus saves radio, radio waves
Radio waves, AM radio waves, FM radio waves
All them radio waves

Radio waves, radio waves, he hears radio waves
Radio waves, radio waves, hopeful radio waves, dopeful radio waves
Radio waves, Russian radio waves, Prussian radio waves
Eastern radio waves, Western radio waves
Testing radio waves, one two. One two.
Radio waves. Getting through to you
More code radio waves, Tobacco road radio waves
South to Paloma radio waves, Oklahoma City radio waves
Sitting pretty radio waves, nitty-gritty radio waves
Radio waves

Jim: Alright, that's a song called Radio Waves. You are listening to KAOS in
Los Angeles and we've got Billy on the line.
Billy: I'm from the valleys.
Jim: You're from the valley?
Billy: No, Jim you schmuck, the Valleys; male voice choirs, Wales.
Jim: Ah, you're from Wales! Now is this sperm or blue-tip?
Billy: Ha, ha, ha, ha. Very funny Jim.
Jim: Sorry.
Billy: Me and Benny went out.
Jim: Who's Benny?

Who Needs Information


Me and Benny went out last night
Looking for fun
Supping ale in the moonlight
Waiting for the dawn to come
Benny pointed at a HiFi shop
He said hey man look at all the stuff they've got
How'd you make a have out of a have not
Hmmmm.
Who needs information
When you're working underground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds

Benny climbed up on a footbridge
And he teetered on the parapet
He said can you see the whites of their headlights
Are they coming yet

Who needs information
This high off the ground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds

Who needs information
When you're living in constant fear
Just give me confirmation
There's some way out of here
Some way out of here

Benny hefted a breeze block
And tried to let go
Got hung up on a tear drop
So me and Benny went home

Who needs information
When you're living in constant fear
Just give me confirmation
There's some way out of here
Some way out of here

Who needs information yeah
When you're living on borrowed time
Just give me confirmation
There will be a winner this time

Who needs information when you're working underground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds
Who needs, who needs, who needs information
This high off the ground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds - yeah

Jim: Um.
Jim lights a cigarette.
Jim: So your brother's in jail?

Me or Him


You wake up in the morning, get something for the pot
Wonder why the sun makes the rocks feel hot
Draw on the walls, eat, get laid
Back in the good old days

Then some damn fool invents the wheel
Listen to the whitewalls squeal
You spend all day looking for a parking spot
Nothing for the heart, nothing for the pot

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio
Oh how he wanted to talk to the people,
he wanted his own show
Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York
Listen tot the Welsh kid talk
Communicating like in the good old days

Forgive me father for I have sinned
It was either me or him
And a voice said Benny
You fucked the whole thing up
Benny your time is up
Your time is up

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio
He wanted to talk to the people
He wanted his own show
Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York
Listen to the Welsh kid talk communicating
Like in the good old days

Forgive me Father
Welsh Policeman: Mobile One Two to Central.
For I have sinned
Welsh Policeman: We have a multiple on the A465
between Cwmbran and Cylgoch.
Father it was either me or him.
Father can we turn back the clock?
Welsh Policeman: Ambulance, over.
I never meant to drop the concrete block.
Welsh Policeman: Roger central, over and out.

Benny turned the dial on his Short Wave radio
He wanted to talk to the people
He wanted his own show
Tune in Moscow. Tune in New York
Listen to the Welsh kid talk
Just like in the good old days
The good old days

Radio announcer: Do you really think Iranian terrorists would have taken
Americans hostage if Ronald Reagan were president?
Do you really think the Russians would have invaded Afghanistan if Ronald
Reagan were president?
Do you really think third-rate military dictators would laugh at America and
burn our flag in contempt if Ronald Reagan were president?
Concerned Citizen: Well, it might work!
Hostage: We as a group do most importantly want to beseech President Reagan
and
our fellow Americans to refrain from any form of military or violent means as
an attempt, no matter how noble or heroic, to secure our freedom.

Concerned Citizen: Sure! Only it's going to be mighty dangerous for you,
Cassidy

Hoppy's faithful sidekick: guess you don't know Hopalong Cassidy, Mister.
Adventure's his bread, excitement's his butter and danger, why to him that's
like strawberry jam to top it off.

Jim: This is some live rock and roll at KAOS, where rock and roll comes out of
chaos and a song called "The Powers that Be"...


The Powers That Be


The powers that be
They like a tough game
No rules
Some you win, some you lose
Competition's good for you
They're dying to be free
They're the powers that be
They like a bomb proof cadillac
Air conditioned, gold taps,
Back seat gun rack, platinum hub caps
They pick horses for courses
They're the market forces
Nice car Jack
They like order, make-up, lime light power
Game shows, rodeos, star wars, TV
They're the powers that be
If you see them come,
You better run - run
You better run on home

Sisters of mercy better join your brothers
Put a stop to the soap opera right now
They say the toothless get ruthless
You better run on home

You better run - run
You better run on home

The powers that be
They like treats, tricks, carrots and sticks
They like fear and loathing, they like sheep's clothing
And blacked-out vans

Blacked-out vans, contingency plans
They like death or glory, they love a good story
They love a good story

Sisters of mercy better join with your brothers
Put a stop to the soap opera state
They say the toothless get ruthless
Run home before its too late
You better run - run
You better run on home

Billy: Goodnight, Jim.
Jim: Goodnight, Billy.
Uncle David's Great Dane: Woof, woof, woof!


The canyon - daytime. Billy plays with Great Uncle David's Great Dane.
Paraquat Kelly: Bull heads, three red snapper, one pink snapper and your
Pacific coastal trench hosemonster fish.
Cynthia Fox: Ohhh! At Sky David's juke joint of joy reports, forty under the
console giggle stick ling cod, twenty-three purple perches four
sledgehammerhead sharks, and what a surprise, eightyfour crabs, and no red
snappers.
Paraquat Kelly: Hey, and that'll do for the triumphant return of the fish
report with a beat.
Jim: We think of it as mainstreet, but to the rest of the country it's Sunset
Strip. You're listening to KAOS in Los Angeles.

Sunset Strip


I like staying with my Uncle Dave
And I like playing with his great dane
But I don't fit
I feel alien and strange Kinda outa range

I like riding in my Uncle's car
Down to the beach where the pretty girls all parade
And movie stars and paparazzi play
The Charles Atlas kicking sand in the face game

And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea
There's a blood red dragon on a field of green
Calling me back

Back to the Black Hills again
Ooh, ooh, Billy come home

Billy is searching for his native land
Flicking through the stations with the dial in his head
Picking up -------------- and
A male voice choir on the short wave band

Billy taps out Jim's number on the 'phone
Sits shaking as he waits for Jim's answering tone
Come on my friend, speak to me please
The land of my fathers is calling to me
And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea
There's a blood red dragon on a field of green
Calling me back, back to the Black Hills again
Ooh, ooh, Billy come home

Come on home
He sits in the canyon with his back to the sea
Sees a blood red dragon on a field of green
He hears a male voice choir singing Billy come home
Billy, Billy, come home
Come on home

Californian Weirdo: I don't like fish.
Jim: You are listening to KAOS here in Los Angeles.
Californian Weirdo: I don't like fish.
Jim: Yes, we've established that. Ah! Do you have a request?
Californian Weirdo: Shell fish, guppy, salmon, shrimp and crab and lobster,
flounder.I hate fish, but I think most of all I hate fresh fish, like trout. I
hate fresh trout. My least-hated, favourite fish would be sole. That way you
don't have to see the eyes.
Sole has no eyes.
Jim: Oh no!
I'd like to be home with my monkey and my dog
Jim: Thankyou.
I'd like to be home with my monkey and my dog
I'd like to be home with my monkey and my dog
I'd like to be home with my monkey ...
Jim: They don't care. Shut up. Play the record.

Home


Jim: Oh, God!
Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes.
Could be Jerusalem, or it could be Cairo
Could be Berlin, or it could be Prague
Could be Moscow, could be New York
Could be Llanelli, and it could be Warrington
Could be Warsaw, and it could be Moose Jaw
Could be Rome
Everybody got somewhere they call home
When they overrun the defences
A minor invasion put down to expenses
Will you go down to the airport lounge
Will you accept your second class status
A nation of waitresses and waiters
Will you mix their martinis
Will you stand still for it
Or will you take to the hills

It could be clay and it could be sand
Could be desert
Could be a tract of arable land
Could be a house, could be a corner shop
Could be a cabin by a bend in the river
Could be something your old man handed down
Could be something you built on your own
Everybody got something he calls home

When the cowboys and Arabs draw down
On each other at noon
In the cool dusty air of the city boardroom
Will you stand by a passive spectator
Of the market dictators
Will you discreetly withdraw
With your ear pressed to the boardroom door
Will you hear when the lion within you roars
Will you take to the hills

Will you stand, will you stand for it
Will you hear, ohhhh! ohhh! when the lion within
you roars

Could be your father and it could be your mother
Could be your sister, could be your brother
Could be a foreigner, could be a Turk
Could be a cyclist out looking for work. Norman
Could be a king, could be the Aga khan
Could be a Vietnam vet with no arms and no legs
Could be a saint, could be a sinner
Could be a loser or it could be a winner
Could be a banker, could be a baker
Could be a Laker, could be Kareem Abdul Jabar
Could be a male voice choir
Could be a lover, could be a fighter
Could be a super heavyweight, or it could be
something lighter
Could be a cripple, could be a freak
Could be a wop, gook, geek
Could be a cop, could be a thief
Could be a family of ten living in one room on relief
Could be our leaders in their concrete tombs
With their tinned food and their silver spoons
Could be the pilot with God on his side
Could be the kid in the middle of the bomb sight
Could be a fanatic, could be a terrorist
Could be a dentist, could be a psychiatrist
Could be humble, could be proud
Could be a face in the crowd
Could be the soldier in the white cravat
Who turns the key in spite of the fact
That this is the end of the cat and mouse
Who dwelt in the house
Where the laughter rang and the tears were spilt
The house that Jack built
Where the laughter rang and the tears were spilt
The house that Jack built
Bang, bang, shoot, shoot
White gloved thumb, Lord thy will be done
He was always a good boy his mother said
He'll do his duty when he's grown, yeah
Everybody's got someone they call home


Four Minutes 


Billy: Four minutes and counting.
Jim: O.K.
Billy: They pressed the button, Jim.
Jim: They pressed the button Billy, what button?
Billy: The big red one.
Jim: You mean THE button?
Billy: Goodbye, Jim.
Jim: Goodbye! Oh yes. This ain't au revoir,
it's goodbye! Ha! Ha!
Jim: This is KAOS. It's a beautiful, balmy, Southern California summer day.
It's 80 degrees ... I said balmy ... I could say bomby ... Ha! Ha! ...O.K.
I'm Jim and this is Radio KAOS and with only four minutes left to us, let's use
this as wisely as possible.
Molly: Everybody got someone they call home.
Jim: Out at Dodger Stadium.
It's the bottom of the seventh, the Dodgers are leading
Three to nothing over the Giants, and for those of you who are looking to go
surfing tomorrow, too bad.
'Phone rings.
Jim: I'm kinda lost in here to tell you the truth ...
O.K. good. Ladies and gentlemen, if the reports that we are getting are
correct, this could be it. Billy, if you're listening to me, please call now.

After a near miss on the plane
You swear you'll never fly again
After the first kiss when you make up
You swear you'll never break up again
And when you've just run a red light
Sit shaking under the street light
You swear to yourself you'll never drink and drive again
Sometimes I feel like going home
You swear you'll never let things go by again.
Sometimes I miss the rain and snow
And you'll never toe the party line again
And when the east wind blows
Sometimes I feel like going home

Jim: Billy, if you are listening, please call.
Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes.
Molly: Goodbye little spy in the sky.
They say that cameras don't lie.
Am I happy, am I sad, am I good, am I bad?
Jim: Billy, if you're listening, please call.
Californian Weirdo: Sole has no eyes, sole has no eyes
Billy: Ten, nine, eight, seven
Margaret Thatcher: Our own independent nuclear deterrent has helped to keep the
peace.
Billy: Six, five four, three,
Ordinary Person: ...you've go a job...
Billy: Two, one,
Margaret Thatcher: For nearly forty years
Jim: Goodbye Billy.

The Tide is Turning (After Live Aid)


I used to think the world was flat
Rarely threw my hat into the crowd
I felt I had used up my quota of yearning
Used to look in on the children at night
In the glow of their Donald Duck light
And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning

Satellite buzzing through the endless night
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning
Who is the strongest, who is the best
Who holds the aces, the East or the West
This is the crap our children are learning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

Now the satellite's confused
'Cos on Saturday night
The airwaves were full of compassion and light
And his silicon heart warmed
To the sight of a billion candles burning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Billy

I'm not saying that the battle is won
But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun
Wrested technology's sword from the hand of the
War Lords
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Sylvester

The tide is turning.

2012/05/09

Review: Roger Waters' 'The Wall Live' rages against the establishment - Tulsa World


By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
Published: 5/6/2012  2:24 AM




A sold-out crowd filled the BOK Center on Saturday for one of the biggest rock 'n' roll productions in the history of the genre.

Roger Waters welcomed fans with arms spread wide, Christ-like, as war erupted around him. Pyrotechnic blasts of gunfire brought down a fighter plane as the sad story of lead character Pink erupted. In this version, however, the crowd became Pink and the wall erected trapped us all.

"Roger Waters' The Wall Live" presented the absurd and surreal, cemented in all-too-real allegories of acceptance and rejection, co-mingled with rabid nationalism, sexism, religion, egotism ... -isms compelled by fear and greed.

"Should we ever trust everything the government tells us?" Waters shouted. Projected on the wall behind him, the answer read "No f------ way!" as the audience came to its feet.

Screens projected images of families and today's wars and names of servicemen as heavy guitars walked on "The Thin Ice," then melted into elastic chords of "Another Brick in the Wall Part 1," the first bricks of the 250-foot-wide wall turned into a projection screen.

"The Wall" is the axis upon which so many things in rock music so successfully revolve. It's theater, it's flight of fancy, its a potent anti-establishment message projected to a global audience.

So much of this timeless album are classic radio hits - "Comfortably Numb," "Is There Anybody Out There?," "Hey You," "Another Brick in the Wall" - and to return them to their original context was nearly overpowering. There was a chilling dichotomy between the lead character Pink's isolation and the sold-out audience's collective witness to his (our) descent, as fans pulled together to share Pink's pain and loneliness.

Slowly, the ragged wall became more complete, bricks added one at a time through the show, 25 feet tall and spanning the width of the arena. Nearly 175 surround speakers and spotlights pounded the thump-thump-thump of helicopters as Gerald Scarfe's rich animation came to life in a stories-tall puppet teacher with glowing red laser eyes.

"Hey, teacher! Leave those kids alone!" yelled a chorus of children who pointed at the daunting figure. "All in all, you're just another brick in the wall!"

The performance was updated for today, including a song about the brutal shooting of Brazilian man Jean Charles de Menezes, killed by London police in 2005 in a controversial case of alleged mistaken identity.

Next, a young Waters joined the elder Waters for a duo via vintage film and sang "Mother" together. Scarfe's cartoon mother came to life, too, head shaking, arms folded, 20 feet of scowl, updated to represent the all-watchful eye of big government, as an oversized surveillance camera swept the audience as Waters performed.

Slowly, the wall closed in around the stage. The band continued behind it, the projections on its front became more explicit, sexual and violent during "Young Lust" and "One of My Turns."

Brick by physical brick, Waters erected a barrier between fans and the stage. He walked out in front of it, raised a fist to the heavens and sang. Parts were performed fully behind the wall.

People screamed and cried, tears streamed down their faces as they sang in unison, "Together we stand, divided we fall." Slowly, Waters asks, "Is There Anybody Out There?" as two bricks come down. He plays a solo. Cracks are seen in the wall. "Nobody Home" was his reply. Its larger message was clear and obvious: We numb ourselves to keep ourselves moving. Every weapon and bomb made is a theft from those who need food, clothes ... And humanity.

Pink puts himself - and us - on trial.

Waters' vision, and execution of that vision, was chilling and pitch-perfect today as it was three decades ago. "Run like hell," he sang, as images bomb-throwing revolutionaries, teachers and children were projected on the wall behind him. "You better run!"

Scarfe's animation returned, 2 1/2 stories tall, as the crowd chanted "tear down the wall!" became a deafening roar, Waters pumping his fists. Bricks tumbled and crashed.

The three-hour, state-of-the-art performance was more than 30 years in the making, and technology has finally caught up with Waters' Orwellian vision, spawned by Pink Floyd's 1979 album, "The Wall," which became the band's top-selling record.

Waters' message is more potent today than it's ever been.


Set list

Set 1

(Outside the Wall)

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

Set 2

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

The Trial

Outside the Wall


Original Print Headline: Waters' 'The Wall' rages against the establishment

From: tulsaworld.com



2012/05/07

Waters Brings The Wall Back To North America - ultimateGuitar.com


Roger Waters launched his 2012 North American tour of Pink Floyd’s "The Wall" in Houston on Tuesday.

"The Wall Live" tour had previously toured the continent in the fall of 2010; this year’s edition will play almost 40 shows across the continent by the time in wraps up July 14 in Philadelphia.

Chris Gray of the Houston Press reports the performance of the iconic 1979 Pink Floyd masterpiece was "expertly played by [Roger’s] 11-piece ensemble (including former Saturday Night Live bandleader G.E. Smith), "while “the songs amounted to almost two hours of music."

Gray writes that "some of the moral, social and political undercurrents of this version of "The Wall" - everything from a photo collage of soldiers and civilians killed in various armed conflicts to the ad slogans and anticapitalist graffiti scrawled on the inflatable pigs floating overhead during the second act - were even heavier than the music. And we're talking about a show that includes such towering, sinister symphonic-rock creations as "Empty Spaces" and "Bring the Boys Back Home."

He adds, "several moments Tuesday - the sweeping, tender "Comfortably Numb" most of all, but also "Hey You," "Mother" and "One of My Turns" - radiated such an acute loneliness that the music's alienation and despair was almost palpable."

Waters' first reinvented his iconic stage production of "The Wall" in 2010, utilizing modern day technological advances and special effects which have been embraced by audiences around the globe. "The Wall" remains one of the most influential albums in the history of recorded music with a profound effect on pop culture, resonating with multiple generations of music fans.

The 1980 original production of the "The Wall" had been performed live-in-its-entirety just 29 times during Pink Floyd's 1980 tour in support of the album, and once in Berlin, in celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall.


From: ultimate-guitar.com


2012/05/04

Exhorta a reconocer a las víctimas de la violencia - Milenio, 2 MAYO 2012



¡HEY! • 2 MAYO 2012 - 10:25AM — AP

Roger Waters envía una misiva al Movimiento por la Paz tras la reunión que tuvo en México con integrantes del Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad




México • Tras la reunión que Roger Waters tuvo en México con integrantes del Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad, el músico británico exhortó al gobierno mexicano a reconocer a las víctimas de la violencia desatada por la llamada Guerra del narco y dar voz a sus familias.
El ex líder de Pink Floyd escribió una carta al movimiento que agrupa a familiares de víctimas de la violencia intensificada en México para refrendar su apoyo a la Ley General de Víctimas, aprobada el lunes por la Cámara de Diputados y que pretende proteger a las víctimas del delito, independientemente de si son o no presuntos miembros de la delincuencia.

“Las víctimas de la violencia en México y sus familias necesitan una voz. Necesitan ser reconocidas por la ley. Si la ley para proteger a las víctimas y ayudar a sus familias en su búsqueda de la verdad y la justicia no existe, nosotros debemos exigirla”, escribió Waters en una carta escrita a mano en inglés que fue difundida el lunes por el Movimiento por la Paz en su sitio oficial.

“El gobierno no puede ignorar la muerte y la desaparición de las víctimas de la llamada guerra de la drogas ni la matanza de niñas y mujeres inocentes en Ciudad Juárez, donde no rige la ley. La gente exige la ley”, agregó el rockero en el documento.

Waters se reunió el viernes pasado con el Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad, encabezado por el poeta Javier Sicilia, previo al primero de dos conciertos que ofreció en el Foro Sol.

                                         From www.milenio.com
                 


Roger Waters apoya el Movimiento por la paz - Milenio, 1 MAYO 2012



HEY! • 1 MAYO 2012 - 2:18PM — AP

En su concierto del pasado viernes en México, el músico tuvo un encuentro con los integrantes del movimiento, el cual apoya a través de una carta




Ciudad de México • Tras la reunión que Roger Waters tuvo en México con integrantes del Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad, el músico británico exhortó al gobierno mexicano a reconocer a las víctimas de la violencia desatada por la llamada "Guerra del Narco" y dar voz a sus familias.

El ex líder de Pink Floyd escribió una carta al movimiento que agrupa a familiares de víctimas de la violencia intensificada en México para refrendar su apoyo a la Ley General de Víctimas, aprobada el lunes por la Cámara de Diputados y que pretende proteger a las víctimas del delito, independientemente de si son o no presuntos miembros de la delincuencia.

"Las víctimas de la violencia en México y sus familias necesitan una voz. Necesitan ser reconocidas por la ley. Si la ley para proteger a las víctimas y ayudar a sus familias en su búsqueda de la verdad y la justicia no existe, nosotros debemos exigirla", escribió Waters en una carta escrita a mano en inglés que fue difundida el lunes por el Movimiento por la Paz en su sitio oficial.

"El gobierno no puede ignorar la muerte y la desaparición de las víctimas de la llamada guerra de la drogas ni la matanza de niñas y mujeres inocentes en Ciudad Juárez, donde no rige la ley. La gente exige la ley", agregó el rockero en el documento.

Waters se reunió el viernes pasado con el Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad, encabezado por el poeta Javier Sicilia, previo al primero de dos conciertos que ofreció en el Foro Sol de la capital mexicana. En esa ocasión los miembros de la organización le entregaron una carta de agradecimiento por ayudarlos a diseminar su mensaje.

Durante el encuentro, el músico accedió a tomarse una fotografía con un letrero que decía, "Sí a la ley general de víctimas" en apoyo al proyecto de ley aprobado el lunes.
Dicha legislación también señala que entre las medidas de satisfacción se encuentra la realización de actos que conmemoren el honor, la dignidad, el sufrimiento y la humanidad de las víctimas, tanto vivas como muertas.

La ley fue un reclamo por meses del Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad, que reúne a familiares de víctimas del crimen organizado y ha sido encabezado por el poeta Javier Sicilia, tras el asesinato de su hijo Juan Francisco, el 28 de marzo de 2011 presuntamente a manos de narcotraficantes.

                                                 From www.milenio.com

                           


2012/05/01

El rock tiene memoria - Milenio, 29 Abril 2012



EL ÁNGEL EXTERMINADOR • 29 ABRIL 2012 - 6:11AM — MIRIAM K. NALES

Muchos no creían en su pronto retorno, pero el ex vocalista de Pink Floyd volvió a México después de un año y medio para presentar una vez más su añeja, histórica —y muy redituable— gira del disco "The Wall" con nuevas imágenes, efectos especiales y los súbditos a sus pies.



México • Han transcurrido 33 años del lanzamiento del álbum, 30 de la película, y casi 22 del concierto dedicado a la caída del Muro de Berlín… y aun así hay paredes y barreras que continúan sin derribarse; en cada momento y país se construyen nuevas, más altas y sólidas, México lo ha demostrado y Waters lo sabe. Por ello, su presentación del viernes en el Foro Sol fue dedicada a los niños, a las víctimas del narcotráfico, a las muertas de Juárez y a los desparecidos. En su muro se leían consignas como “No más sangre”, “2 de octubre no se olvida” y “Ni una más”. El rock tiene memoria.

Aunque para otros representó una especie de reunión familiar, como para José, un hombre que a sus 50 años es fan de Pink Floyd desde los 19, gracias a sus hermanas mayores, acudió esa noche con sus dos hijos adolescentes para seguir la tradición ataviados de playeras y collares del cerdo volador. Otros asistentes fueron sobrepasados por la euforia y el consumo de sustancias que los hizo mantenerse cabizbajos, nauseabundos y fuera de sí, las drogas que hicieron época pues. Unos más alzaban sus cervezas con júbilo y alegría brindando frente a uno de los miembros de la realeza británica del rock.

Ver The Wall live es como presenciar una obra de teatro fastuosa llena de pirotecnia, rayos láser, aviones y cerdos voladores, pero queda la sensación de que falta algo más que no llenan los efectos visuales. No se trata de Cyndi Lauper, Sinead O’ Connor o Bryan Adams quienes acompañaron a Waters en el concierto de Berlín de1990, sino de los miembros restantes de la banda como David Gilmour, Nick Mason y el recientemente fallecido tecladista Richard Wright, ¿y por qué no?, también su primer líder Syd Barrett atrapado en la nebulosa del LSD y la locura hasta la muerte. Las reminiscencias de la psicodelia y experimentación de los setenta son sustituidas por la parafernalia multimedia de la nueva era. Si tres décadas atrás resultaba costoso montar la escenografía que limitaba la gira mundial de este disco, Waters ha sabido aprovechar inteligentemente los avances de la tecnología para renovar su espectáculo y hacer como un chicle mascado mil veces pueda conservar su sabor dulce, un lujo logístico sólo comparable con un show del “Super bowl”, mencionaban algunos en las redes sociales. Otros más se quejaron del excesivo precio de los boletos, con la diferencia que en esta ocasión incluyeron 12 mil sillas para los asistentes de las primeras filas, pero no hubo un abarrotamiento en la sección de las gradas y algunos huecos fueron evidentes.

No faltaron asistentes con complejo de Edipo quienes en canciones como “Thin ice” y “Mother”, aprovecharon para llamar por celular a sus madres y enviarles una dedicatoria. Quizá nunca sepamos a ciencia cierta quien arrojará la bomba o si deberíamos confiar en el gobierno, pero algo es verdad: sí nos gusta la canción y las madres aman a sus hijos…y sus padres también.

Nostalgia pura o mero oportunismo económico, Waters ha promocionado en giras mundiales algunos de los discos más célebres de Pink Floyd, como “In the flesh” (2002) “Dark side of the moon” (2007) y “The Wall” desde 2010 después de las desavenencias y demandas con sus ex compañeros por los derechos de las canciones y el uso del nombre de la banda. Aunque no deja de resultar una buena oportunidad para que generaciones dominadas por el aifon y las redes sociales tengan un acercamiento con la música que quedó en los viniles empolvados de sus padres, mientras que otras etapas como Atom heart mother (1970), Wish you were here (1975) y Animals (1977), menos conocidas a nivel comercial y por mencionar sólo algunas, parecen haber quedado en el olvido.

A diferencia de conciertos anteriores, las impetuosas e impredecibles lluvias de abril no causaron estragos como sucedió con Radiohead y Caribou un par de semanas atrás, el calor primaveral y las nubes dispersas presentaron una mejor ocasión para que el espectáculo multimedia se proyectara adecuadamente en la enorme pared instalada en el Foro Sol, así como el avión que zurcó todo el tiempo en sus alrededores y hasta el globo del cerdo anticapitalista con consignas en español que terminó desinflado en las manos de los asistentes de la sección “General B”. “¡Di no al puerco!” Gritaban los de las gradas superiores.

De las canciones más coreadas como “Another brick in the wall” parte 1 y 2, Waters se hizo acompañar de un coro de niños con edad para ser sus nietos, se trataba de los colectivos Marabunta y Barrio Activo quienes quedaron bajo la mirada acechante del personaje del profesor caracterizado en un enorme muñeco inflable,. Esta vez no hubo “mañanitas”, pero al menos el cantante aprovechó para hablar en español y hacer hincapié en los conflictos sociales en el país a manera de concientización. Previamente algunos miembros del “Movimiento por la paz con Justicia y Dignidad” de Javier Sicilia se habían reunido con él para entregar una carta, entablar lazos y mostrar fotografías de sus familiares desaparecidos que fueron proyectadas en la pared de 400 ladrillos a la par de las imágenes lisérgicas del ilustrador inglés Gerald Scarfe, creador de la portada del disco y sus animaciones.

Aunque en la esencia de la película “The Wall” consistía en sumirse en la vida y las pesadillas del ficticio cantante Pink, interpretado por Bob Geldof, el concierto adquirió tintes contestatarios y protestas contra el capitalismo que no tuvo U2 en su concierto del año pasado. Waters aprovechó su visita en un plano social, en vez de reunirse directamente con Felipe Calderón como lo hizo Bono.

En “Comfortably Numb” las emociones fluyeron y algunas lágrimas resbalaron. De nueva cuenta se extrañó la imagen de Pink quien nunca apareció en la pared en sus momentos de delirio poseído por las drogas, sus alucinaciones y sus demonios para luego cerrar con la secuencia de “The trial”, en que el personaje es juzgado por la corte, su madre, su esposa y su estricto profesor para terminar el concierto derribando los ladrillos y Waters y su banda despidiéndose jubilosamente con “Outside of the wall”.

Al final del concierto muchos asistentes esbozaban una enorme sonrisa, los jóvenes acompañados de sus padres, los maduros nostálgicos con canas y arrugas, los que habían emprendido un largo camino desde Guadalajara, Aguascalientes o Torreón sin saber que transporte tomar por la enorme Chilangolandia para llegar a su destino. El mensaje de Waters había quedado plasmado en la mente y el corazón de muchos, a manera de conciencia social o mero espectáculo.

…mientras tanto me despedí de don José y sus hijos. Mi vecino nauseabundo del otro lado de las gradas jamás despertó de su sopor alucinógeno. Se perdió de todo el concierto. La pared se había cerrado para él.