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The Wall Live (2010–2013)

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The Wall Live
Tour by Roger Waters
Legs2
No. of showsNorth America: 56
Europe: 60
Total: 116
Roger Waters concert chronology

The Wall Live is a worldwide[1] concert tour by Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd.[2][3] This tour is the first time the Pink Floyd album The Wall has been performed in its entirety by the band, or any of its former members since Waters performed the album live in Berlin 21 July 1990. According to Cole Moreton of the Daily Mail, "The touring version of Pink Floyd's The Wall is one of the most ambitious and complex rock shows ever staged."[4] It is estimated that the tour cost £37 million ($60M) to stage.[4]

The tour opened 15 September 2010 in Toronto, and will move through North America before ending the first leg of the tour in Mexico City, 21 December 2010. The world tour will include Europe, starting 21 March 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal, and tentatively ending 7 July 2011, in Milan, Italy.[5] Waters has expressed wishes to visit other areas with the show after the European leg, but as of yet nothing has been announced.

Waters has incorporated an increased emphasis on the show's anti-war message, and he has requested that fans send in pictures of loved ones who have died as a result of wars.[6] Waters has published on his Facebook page, many of the pictures of projections made onto building's walls in urban areas, of a speech Dwight D. Eisenhower held before the American Society of Newspaper Editors 16 April 1953:

Every gun that is made,
every warship launched,
every rocket fired,
signifies,
in the final sense,
a theft
from those who hunger
and are not fed,
those who are cold
and not clothed.

Snowy White[7] and Dave Kilminster[8] were the first musicians confirmed to be in Waters' touring band. Kipp Lennon, Mark Lennon and Michael Lennon of the band Venice were confirmed for backing vocal duties, [9] but Michael Lennon withdrew from the band due to rehearsal difficulties. He was replaced by cousin Pat Lennon, also of Venice. On 23 April, the full band line-up was announced on Roger Waters' Facebook page. Following a charity gig Waters performed with his former Pink Floyd bandmate on 10 July 2010,[10] he confirmed that David Gilmour will guest on "Comfortably Numb" on an as yet undecided show. Waters has said that this tour might be his last.[1]

On 24 August 2010, The Times Leader newspaper of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, reported that Waters and company were in town rehearsing for the tour at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. This venue previously hosted pre-tour rehearsals and pre-tour concerts for such performers as Elton John, the Simon & Garfunkel "Old Friends" Reunion Tour in 2003 and AC/DC rehearsals in 2008 before the band's world tour.[11]There were no rehearsals or performances; the crew used the occasion to work out technical details. On 12 September 2010, there was a rehearsal performance at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey for invited guests. [12]

Musicians

The Roger Waters Band, Kansas City, 30 October 2010 (from left to right, Kilminster, White, Joyce, Pat Lennon, Mark Lennon, Kip Lennon, Wyckoff, Roger Waters, Smith, Harry Waters, Carin, Broad

[13]

Concert overview

Pre-Show

The schoolmaster puppet in Kansas City, 30 October 2010

During the pre-show, a man who appears to be homeless pushes a shopping cart around the aisles around the floor seats. He wears a flannel jacket and a cowboy hat, and makes small talk with the fans as he makes his way around the floor. His cart is full of empty soda cans and rubbish and a sign that reads, "No thought control" on one side and, "Homeless people need money for booze and hookers" on the other. His cart also contains the original stuffed "Pink" doll from 1979. In order, the music that plays during the pre-show are Mother by John Lennon, Masters of War by Bob Dylan, A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, Imagine by John Lennon, Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday, and People Get Ready by the Impressions. The walk-in audio has differed from city to city ranging from Neil Young tracks to George Carlin comedy routines.

The Show

During the Homeless man's tour through the crowd, the pre-show music stops and the sounds of channel surfing can be heard. When the homeless man reaches the stage, the climax of the movie Spartacus is played. A spotlight shines on the him and his cart as the sounds of the slaves each claiming to be Spartacus are heard. After which, the man throws "Pink" onto the stage. As he does this, the audio transitions to a trumpet (later revealed to be Roger Waters) playing the melody of "Outside the Wall". The trumpet playing lingers unaccompanied for about a minute, until the band bursts into "In the Flesh?" with no warning. Fireworks explode across the stage during the opening chords and stage hands with arm bands and flags bearing the marching hammers emblems rise up above the band on lifts hidden in the stage floor. At about mid-song, Waters emerges from the back of the stage, dressed in black. At some venues, during the climax of the song, a scaled down Stuka Dive Bomber, suspended by a guide wire, flies into the wall and explodes in a fiery ball. At others, a film is shown of the crash instead. During "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" there is a giant inflated puppet schoolmaster, an icon from the original show, which plunges up and down and appears to walk via suspending guide wires. Local school children are brought out onto the stage to lip-sync and dance. Before the song "Mother", Waters greets the crowd and then sings along with a video of him playing the song from the original 1980 tour. He refers to the video as "Miserable litte Roger." A giant mother blow-up designed on the look of the animated version is featured as well. The song has more of a political message than before, the words "Big Brother Is Watching You" are written on the wall, with the "Br" crossed off and replaced with an "M". After the line "Mother, should I trust the government?" the words "No fucking way" are written on the wall.

The initial projections shown during "Goodbye Blue Sky" caused some controversy. During the song aeroplanes are shown dropping bombs shaped like Latin crosses, hammer and sickles, dollar signs, star and crescents, Stars of David, the Shell logo, and the Mercedes-Benz logo. The plane dropping dollar signs appeared directly after the plane dropping the Star of David. Although Waters said in Rolling Stone that there was no relevance to the order of the bombs, he changed the order after Abraham Foxman, president of the Anti-Defamation League, complained.[14] Waters stated, "Contrary to Mr Foxman's assertion, there are no hidden meanings in the order or juxtaposition of these symbols."[15] These visuals were changed at Waters' request for all future shows, to avoid any sensitive juxtapositions of the symbols used in the video. During the song "Don't Leave Me Now" the production features a giant wife puppet similar in design and execution as the Schoolmaster. During the first half on the show, The Wall is slowly built up brick by brick and at the end of "Goodbye Cruel World", the last brick put in place and the wall is completed across the stage. An intermission follows with photos and short bios of people lost in conflicts are projected on the wall.

Waters performing in front of The Wall during the guitar solo to "Comfortably Numb"

The second act begins with "Hey You" and is played with minimal visuals on the wall. The band performs, now hidden from the audience's view, from behind the wall. For the acoustic guitar solo piece "Is There Anybody Out There?" a brick is removed so that guitarists Dave Kilminster and G.E. Smith are visible. As "Nobody Home" begins, a section folds out of the wall revealing a small mock hotel room complete with a television, chair, lamp and unmade bed. During "Vera" images of Vera Lynn are displayed on the wall, along with videos of young children being reunited with their veteran fathers. "Bring the Boys Back Home" features Dwight D. Eisenhower's American Society of Newspaper Editors speech. During "Comfortably Numb", Robbie Wyckoff and Dave Kilminster stand on top of the wall as David Gilmour did in the original tour. At the end of the song, the projection of the wall explodes and cinematic pillars rise.

The band plays "The Show Must Go On" dressed in black fascist attire complete with the Marching Hammers armbands. Waters' trademarked inflatable pig is released during "In the Flesh". Spotlights shine on the audience as Waters interrogates them, pointing out the "riff raff" in the room. During "Run Like Hell", images are displayed on the wall parodying the iPod lowercase "i" fad. Pictures of pigs are shown next to the words "iLead", dogs next to "iProtect", sheep next to "iFollow", George Bush and other leaders next to "iBelieve", Hitler next to "iPaint", children next to "iLearn", and gravestones next to "iPay" among others. In all of the pictures, the subjects are wearing iPods. Gerald Scarfe's animated sequence is displayed during "The Trial". As the song reaches is steady climax and with the crowd shouting "Tear down the Wall", the wall crumbles violently from the top down amid smoke while a flurry of red paper confetti (in the shape of the bomb symbols from earlier in the show) drops on to the audience. The band emerges from behind the rubble and plays "Outside the Wall" with a variety of acoustic instruments. Waters introduces the band to the crowd, they bow and then exit the stage.

Critical reception

Kevin Coffey of the Omaha World-Herald writes:

Roger Waters and a cast of supporting musicians ... perform[ed] from start to finish one of the most commercially successful, beloved and ambitious art-rock albums in history ... as the show begins, the famous and enormous white wall is erected on stage, brick by brick, until it obscures the band and becomes a screen upon which a dazzling array of videos and visuals are projected. Technically, this was a nearly flawless show. The sound was clean and true. The original album and tour was about isolation. This time around, it was more anti-war, anti-capitalism and anti-poverty than about any kind of psychological issue. In addition to wild and slightly creepy animations from Gerald Scarfe, projections on the wall and video screens showed images of poverty, soldiers and others who died in conflicts as well as video of planes bombing areas with crosses, dollar signs, Shell Oil logos and others.[16]

Steve Pick of stltoday.com writes:

"Roger Waters did not put on just an ordinary concert Friday night at the Scottrade Center — he created a huge, technologically complex and metaphorically dense theatrical spectacle."[17] Timothy Fin of the Kansas City Star has this to say about the show, " ... Waters accordingly turned the performance into a[n] epic, gaudy and extravagant piece of theater — an onslaught of sights, sounds and socio-political themes. Some of it was poignant, some of it was bombastic, some of it was viscerally thrilling, like a great rock show ought to be. But all of it was entertaining."[18]

Kevin Stevens of The Setonian, writes:

A hail of firework explosions, hundreds of large rectangular bricks, crashing planes, enormous puppets, 3D effects. Surely, this is not your average concert. Roger Waters' tour of his seminal album, "The Wall," lavishes in this Broadway-esque pomp, but never compromises its music for theatrics. This is a rock concert, one that succeeds in transforming Pink Floyd's brilliant 1979 opus into a compelling aesthetic and auditory experience.[19]

A.D. Amorosi of the Philadelphia City Paper writes:

"If epic paranoia over monster themes such as megalomania, mother fixation, loneliness, television, the warring industrial complex and the uselessness of fans and celebrity, accompanied by the sounds of unsettling bombast, is what you seek as entertainment, there’s a bridge I can sell you. Or rather, a wall — The Wall, Roger Waters’ semi-autobiographical 1979 magnum opus ... [20]

According to Matt DeMarco of The Hofstra Chronicle online:

Pyrotechnics were used throughout the show, as were massive marionette puppets, representative of several of the opera's supporting characters. The technological aspect of this show was astounding. Musically, the show was just as phenomenal. Waters brought an impressive touring band with him, including lead guitarist Dave Kilminster, who was just spectacular. The solo he delivered during "Comfortably Numb" was absolutely mind-blowing. Waters, himself, proved that rock ‘n roll has no age limit. At 67 years old, the rock icon played a flawless show, hitting notes that he was hitting 30 years ago. His energy was visibly present; he was truly excited to be performing this album for a live crowd again.[21]

Image gallery

Setlist

The Wall album is played in its entirety, as well as two songs not in the original release – What Shall We Do Now? and The Last Few Bricks[22] – both of which were also played at every concert during The Wall Tour in 1980–1981, and documented on the album Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81, released in 2000.

Set one

  1. In The Flesh?
  2. The Thin Ice
  3. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1
  4. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
  5. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2
  6. Mother
  7. Goodbye Blue Sky
  8. Empty Spaces
  9. What Shall We Do Now?
  10. Young Lust
  11. One Of My Turns
  12. Don't Leave Me Now
  13. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3
  14. The Last Few Bricks
  15. Goodbye Cruel World

Set two

  1. Hey You
  2. Is There Anybody Out There?
  3. Nobody Home
  4. Vera
  5. Bring The Boys Back Home
  6. Comfortably Numb
  7. The Show Must Go On
  8. In The Flesh
  9. Run Like Hell
  10. Waiting For The Worms
  11. Stop
  12. The Trial
  13. Outside The Wall

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue

Leg 1: North America

15 September 2010 Canada Toronto, ON Canada Air Canada Centre
16 September 2010 Canada Toronto, ON Canada Air Canada Centre
18 September 2010 Canada Toronto, ON Canada Air Canada Centre
20 September 2010 United States Chicago, IL United States United Center
21 September 2010 United States Chicago, IL United States United Center
23 September 2010 United States Chicago, IL United States United Center
24 September 2010 United States Chicago, IL United States United Center
26 September 2010 United States Pittsburgh, PA United States Consol Energy Center
28 September 2010 United States Cleveland, OH United States Quicken Loans Arena
30 September 2010 United States Boston, MA United States TD Garden
1 October 2010 United States Boston, MA United States TD Garden
3 October 2010 United States Boston, MA United States TD Garden
5 October 2010 United States New York, NY United States Madison Square Garden
6 October 2010 United States New York, NY United States Madison Square Garden
8 October 2010 United States Buffalo, NY United States HSBC Arena
10 October 2010 United States Washington, DC United States Verizon Center
12 October 2010 United States Uniondale, NY United States Nassau Coliseum
13 October 2010 United States Uniondale, NY United States Nassau Coliseum
15 October 2010 United States Hartford, CT United States XL Center
17 October 2010 Canada Ottawa, ON Canada Scotiabank Place
19 October 2010 Canada Montreal, QC Canada Bell Centre
20 October 2010 Canada Montreal, QC Canada Bell Centre
22 October 2010 United States Columbus, OH United States Schottenstein Center
24 October 2010 United States Detroit, MI United States Palace of Auburn Hills
26 October 2010 United States Omaha, NE United States Qwest Center
27 October 2010 United States St. Paul, MN United States Xcel Energy Center
29 October 2010 United States St. Louis, MO United States Scottrade Center
30 October 2010 United States Kansas City, MO United States Sprint Center
3 November 2010 United States East Rutherford, NJ United States Izod Center
4 November 2010 United States East Rutherford, NJ United States Izod Center
6 November 2010 United States New York, NY United States Madison Square Garden
8 November 2010 United States Philadelphia, PA United States Wells Fargo Center
9 November 2010 United States Philadelphia, PA United States Wells Fargo Center
11 November 2010 United States Philadelphia, PA United States Wells Fargo Center
13 November 2010 United States Ft. Lauderdale, FL United States Bank Atlantic Center
14 November 2010 United States Ft. Lauderdale, FL United States Bank Atlantic Center
16 November 2010 United States Tampa, FL United States St. Pete Times Forum
18 November 2010 United States Atlanta, GA United States Philips Arena
20 November 2010 United States Houston, TX United States Toyota Center
21 November 2010 United States Dallas, TX United States American Airlines Center
23 November 2010 United States Denver, CO United States Pepsi Center
26 November 2010 United States Las Vegas, NV United States MGM Grand Garden Arena
27 November 2010 United States Phoenix, AZ United States US Airways Center
29 November 2010 United States Los Angeles, CA United States Staples Center
30 November 2010 United States Los Angeles, CA United States Staples Center
3 December 2010 United States Oakland, CA United States Oracle Arena
5 December 2010 United States Los Angeles, CA United States Staples Center
7 December 2010 United States San Jose, CA United States HP Pavilion
8 December 2010 United States San Jose, CA United States HP Pavilion
10 December 2010 Canada Vancouver, BC Canada Rogers Arena
11 December 2010 United States Tacoma, WA United States Tacoma Dome
13 December 2010 United States Anaheim, CA United States Honda Center
14 December 2010 United States Anaheim, CA United States Honda Center
18 December 2010 Mexico Mexico City Mexico Palacio de los Deportes
19 December 2010 Mexico Mexico City Mexico Palacio de los Deportes
21 December 2010 Mexico Mexico City Mexico Palacio de los Deportes

Leg 2: Europe

21 March 2011 Portugal Lisbon Portugal Pavilhão Atlântico
22 March 2011 Portugal Lisbon Portugal Pavilhão Atlântico
25 March 2011 Spain Madrid Spain Palacio de Deportes
26 March 2011 Spain Madrid Spain Palacio de Deportes
29 March 2011 Spain Barcelona Spain Palau Sant Jordi
30 March 2011 Spain Barcelona Spain Palau Sant Jordi
1 April 2011 Italy Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum
2 April 2011 Italy Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum
4 April 2011 Italy Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum
5 April 2011 Italy Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum
8 April 2011 Netherlands Arnhem Netherlands Gelredome
9 April 2011 Netherlands Arnhem Netherlands Gelredome
11 April 2011 Netherlands Arnhem Netherlands Gelredome
13 April 2011 Croatia Zagreb Croatia Arena Zagreb
15 April 2011 Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic O2 Arena
16 April 2011 Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic O2 Arena
18 April 2011 Poland Łódź Poland Arena Łódź
19 April 2011 Poland Łódź Poland Arena Łódź
23 April 2011 Russia Moscow Russia Olympic Stadium
25 April 2011 Russia St. Petersburg Russia Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex
27 April 2011 Finland Helsinki Finland Hartwall Areena
28 April 2011 Finland Helsinki Finland Hartwall Areena
30 April 2011 Norway Oslo Norway Telenor Arena
1 May 2011 Norway Oslo Norway Telenor Arena
4 May 2011 Sweden Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe
5 May 2011 Sweden Stockholm Sweden Ericsson Globe
7 May 2011 Denmark Copenhagen Denmark Parken Stadium
11 May 2011 United Kingdom London United Kingdom O2 Arena
12 May 2011 United Kingdom London United Kingdom O2 Arena
14 May 2011 United Kingdom London United Kingdom O2 Arena
15 May 2011 United Kingdom London United Kingdom O2 Arena
17 May 2011 United Kingdom London United Kingdom O2 Arena
18 May 2011 United Kingdom London United Kingdom O2 Arena
20 May 2011 United Kingdom Manchester United Kingdom Manchester Evening News Arena
21 May 2011 United Kingdom Manchester United Kingdom Manchester Evening News Arena
23 May 2011 Republic of Ireland Dublin Ireland The O2
24 May 2011 Republic of Ireland Dublin Ireland The O2
27 May 2011 Belgium Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis
28 May 2011 Belgium Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis
30 May 2011 France Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
31 May 2011 France Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
3 June 2011 Germany Mannheim Germany SAP Arena
4 June 2011 Germany Mannheim Germany SAP Arena
6 June 2011 Switzerland Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
7 June 2011 Switzerland Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
10 June 2011 Germany Hamburg Germany O2 World Hamburg
11 June 2011 Germany Hamburg Germany O2 World Hamburg
13 June 2011 Denmark Herning Denmark MCH Multiarena Herning
15 June 2011 Germany Berlin Germany O2 World
16 June 2011 Germany Berlin Germany O2 World
18 June 2011 Germany Düsseldorf Germany Esprit Arena
20 June 2011 Germany Munich Germany Olympiahalle
22 June 2011 Hungary Budapest Hungary Papp László Budapest Sportaréna
24 June 2011 Switzerland Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
25 June 2011 Switzerland Zürich Switzerland Hallenstadion
27 June 2011 United Kingdom Birmingham United Kingdom National Indoor Arena
28 June 2011 United Kingdom Manchester United Kingdom Manchester Evening News Arena
30 June 2011 France Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
6 July 2011 Italy Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum
7 July 2011 Italy Milan Italy Mediolanum Forum

References

  1. ^ a b "Roger Waters to Restage "The Wall" on 2010 Tour". CBS News. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  2. ^ "Pink Floyd's Roger Waters to tour 'The Wall' in North America". NME News. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  3. ^ "Roger Waters To Play The Whole Of The Wall". Classic Rock. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  4. ^ a b Moreton, Cole (7 November 2010). "Backstage with Roger Waters as he prepares for The Wall spectacular $60 million live show". Daily Mail. Retrieved 7 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Roger Waters The Wall Live". Roger Waters. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  6. ^ Gardner, Elysa (4 December 2010). "Roger Waters gives 'The Wall' a new, 'more political' edge for tour". USA Today. Retrieved 5 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Latest news from Snowy White ..." Snowy White. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  8. ^ "The Wall tour dates!!!". Dave Kilminster. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Venice News". Venice. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  10. ^ Youngs, Ian (15 October 2010). "Pink Floyd may get back together for charity". BBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  11. ^ Mocarsky, Steve (24 August 2010). "We are another brick in the wall / Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters rehearsing for solo tour at Mohegan Sun Arena". The Times Leader. Wilkes-Barre. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  12. ^ http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/2010-wall-tour/september-12th-izod-center-east-rutherford-nj-usa-dress-rehea.html
  13. ^ http://www.facebook.com/notes/roger-waters-the-wall/the-band/121454631202329
  14. ^ "ADL Says Bomb Imagery In Roger Waters' "The Wall" Tour Calls Up Anti-Semitic Stereotypes". ADL. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  15. ^ Greene, Andy (7 October 2010). "Roger Waters Changes Controversial 'Wall' Video: The Anti-Defamation League had protested the juxtaposition of the Star of David and dollar signs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Coffey, Kevin (27 October 2010). "Waters does well with 'The Wall'". Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  17. ^ Pick, Steve (31 October 2010). "Roger Waters in a visually stunning concert at Scottrade". stltoday.com. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  18. ^ Fin, Timothy (31 October 2010). "Roger Waters show is sensory overload — in a good way". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved 7 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); line feed character in |publisher= at position 23 (help)
  19. ^ Stevens, Kevin (8 November 2010). "Powerful performance of "The Wall"". The Setonian. Retrieved 8 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ Amorosi, A.D. (9 November 2010). "ICE CUBE: Roger Waters' The Wall @ Wells Fargo Center, 11/8". Philadelphia City Paper. Retrieved 11 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ De Marco, Matt (11 November 2010). "Roger Waters still rockin' strong". The Hofstra Chronicle online. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  22. ^ http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/2010-wall-tour/september-20th-united-center-chicago-il-usa.html