The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking: Roger Waters floors Joe Louis crowd with ambitious 'Wall'

2012/06/10

Roger Waters floors Joe Louis crowd with ambitious 'Wall' - The Detroit News, JUNE 6, 2012

Roger Waters floors Joe Louis crowd with ambitious 'Wall'

Roger Waters performs Pink Floyd's towering epic "The Wall" to a near-capacity crowd at Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday night. (Photo by Ricardo Thomas / The Detroit News)

Is there anybody out there?

There were plenty of people out there Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena as Roger Waters brought Pink Floyd's towering epic "The Wall" to full life for a near-capacity crowd, the second time he's brought the live staging of the 1979 classic to Metro Detroit.

The first time was a riveting show in October 2010 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Waters has presented "The Wall" more than 140 times since on three different continents, but it shows no signs of wear, and aside from an exasperated "ugh!" he let out mid-show, neither does Waters.

That's because "The Wall" touches on universal themes of alienation and mistrust of authority and takes an anti-government, anti-corporation stance that resonates just as deeply today as it did when "The Wall" was first released. And it's also because this presentation of "The Wall" is, quite simply, one of the most astounding rock spectacles that's ever been staged, an exquisite visual masterpiece that takes its cues from rock theater and is daring enough to capture "The Wall" in all its ambitious, over-the-top glory.

Here's the quickie version of the two-and-a-half hour show: A wall stretching the width of the arena gets built, images are projected on to it, the wall gets knocked down. In between there is a choir of local schoolchildren, some ghastly inflatable characters, an airborne pig and enough messages of anti-capitalism and anti-greed to make you never go to the store again. At one point Waters pulls out a tommy gun and mock-mows down the audience. Show's over, thanks everybody for coming out!

But the pinpoint timing of the show, the masterful lighting and the unbelievable staging make it an out-and-out event for the ages that everyone should experience at least once. And once it's gone, it's gone. Where is the next "The Wall" going to come from? Does Taylor Swift have something hidden up her sleeve, is Drake sitting on something big? "The Wall" is a big idea made even bigger by Waters' grand, exacting vision, and it takes a certain level of crazy to even attempt something on the level at which he's working. Even U2's gargantuan stadium epics don't touch the rich detail and grand sweep of "The Wall." So whomever is stepping up to the plate next has some pretty big shoes to fill. Let's just hope it's not all downhill from here.

"The Wall's" first act, where the wall is being built, is startling, but the second act is where it towers. "Run Like Hell" was a grand piece of showmanship, but the chilling "Comfortably Numb" remains the highlight, with Waters at the base of the wall while vocalist Robbie Wyckoff and guitarist Dave Kilminster fill in David Gilmour's parts from atop the structure. Tuesday night at the Joe, it rang out as one of the most electrifying songs I've ever heard in concert.

The messages and questions from "The Wall" still ring out: The show must go on; tear down the wall; is there anybody out there?

And fans know that thanks to Waters' masterful presentation, "The Wall" remains as strong as it ever was.

By ADAM GRAHAM

From www.detroitnews.com

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George Roger Waters

George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter and conceptual leader. The band subsequently achieved worldwide success in the 1970s with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. Although Waters' primary instrument in Pink Floyd was the bass guitar, he also experimented with synthesisers and tape loops and played rhythm guitars in recordings and in concerts. Amid creative differences within the group, Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and began a legal battle with the remaining members over their future use of the group's name and material. The dispute was settled out of court in 1987, and nearly eighteen years passed before he performed with Pink Floyd again. It is estimated that as of 2010, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million units sold in the United States.

Waters' solo career includes three studio albums: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking (1984), Radio K.A.O.S. (1987) and Amused to Death (1992). In 1986, he contributed songs and a score to the soundtrack of the animated movie When the Wind Blows based on the Raymond Briggs' book of the same name. In 1990, he staged one of the largest and most elaborate rock concerts in history, The Wall – Live in Berlin, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance. In 1996, he was inducted into the US and the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. He has toured extensively as a solo act since 1999 and played The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety for his world tours of 2006–2008. In 2005, he released Ça Ira, an opera in three acts translated from Étienne and Nadine Roda-Gils' libretto based on the early French Revolution. On 2 July 2005, he reunited with Pink Floyd bandmates Nick Mason, Richard Wright and David Gilmour for the Live 8 global awareness event; it was the group's first appearance with Waters in 24 years.

In 2010, he began The Wall Live, a worldwide tour that features a complete performance of The Wall. During this tour, at The O2 Arena in London on 12 May 2011, Gilmour and Mason once again appeared with Waters, Gilmour performing "Comfortably Numb", and Gilmour and Mason joining Waters for "Outside the Wall".

He has been married four times and has three children. In 2004 he became engaged to actress and filmmaker Laurie Durning; the duo married in 2012.