Wow!!!!

Never thought I’d see the shows get any better but jeez the show last night was un freakin believable!!

First, the biggest and only dissapointment, The Crowd!!! Damn, i know people are layed back in LA but come on, any more layed back and theyd not be breathing! Ther were still people coming in and taking thier seats an hour after the show started at 8pm, and then to say they were quiet and reserved was an understatement, the lack of applause and cheering made it a very strange atmosphere.

This show of course was in LA and was one of the three I’d been looking forward tonthe most over the last few weeks. We took our “garden” box seats and started to “star spot” , hey its LA!!! Sat only 5 feet away from us in the next box was the voice of KAOS, yep, Jim Ladd! Great guy and speant time chatting us. I’ve always been a fan of the US female singer Lisa Loeb and it was kind of a buzz for me to see her sat a couple of boxes on, she was more than happy to chat to me and when she heard my English accent she wouldn’t shut up!!!

The band came on at 8 and opened with In The Flesh, followed by the normal first half of the show. What was apparent from the start was the sound, it was incredible, not only due to the bowl bieng a natural outdoor ampitheatre but the use of the quad sound was used far more than any previous gig. There was slight distortion in the right channel of the PA at times though, and for some reason this seemed to be highlighted more during the much talked about lip synching parts of tracks.

Few more pyros were used onstage {front and rear of the stage flames together as opposed to just one or the other at previous shows} plus the huge flamethrowers that were last seen at the Hyde Park show blasting high into the sky above the video screens during Sheep.

Spaceman and pig came out as normal and again the pig was released into the LA sky,cool to be able to see this again due to the open air venue.

Second set saw Roger introducing Nick onstage to a half empty venue as the laid back Californians shmoozed around drinking and kissing each other on the sides of the cheeks.

Dark Side set was flawless and nearly 2 hours into the set and I think the crowd were just about getting it!!!

A huge black prism was hoisted above the Hollywood bowls shell like stage, this lit up and changed colour to the music, then during Eclipse the effect of the white light in and the rainbow light out was created with some very effective lighting and smoke, I’m sure you’ll all see a few pictures around. This was very cleverly done and was only made possible due to the uniquness of the venue.

The standard encore was as good as ever and finished off with a few new pyros and fireworks being let off from the top of the stage just like when the Floyd played here in 1972.

I have to say apart from the crowd this has to have been the beenthe best gig of tour so far, especially the sound, the use of the quad sound really was incredible and I do have to wonder why it wasn’t used to this effect inall the venue.

Was great again to see the show with friends who really appreciate the show including an old school friend I hadn’t seen since the Wembley 2002 gig who’s been working out here for the last 18 months, looking forward to doing it all again tonight.

“The show was NOT filmed and there is no intention to record any of the shows on this leg of the tour, the cameras you see at all the venues are for the venues big screens only.”

Review thanks to Simon Wimpenny

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Flew in from Seattle to see a legend, and Roger did not disappoint. great performance, great band – this is definitely no surrogate band, great venue, great weather, and of course, great crowd. what can I say, I’m biased.

Nick played on the dark side of the moon portion of the show, and during encore. I think that the set list was modified a bit compared to previous shows. the pig floated and flew away towards the bright and almost full moon. if there are any boos from the crowd, I did not hear them.

I overheard from a gal on the way out after the show, she said, “I don’t think I can go to any other concerts after this one, it’ll be very hard to top this!” and I agree wholeheartedly.

Review thanks to Nelson

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Went to the 1st show at the Hollywood bowl last night. 32 years after the 1st time seeing Floyd do Dark Side of the Moon. Knowing that Nick was joining him made it special for me. Anticipation was almost too much. Then the show started.

I remember reading the reason Roger left his friends. They had just turned into a background band. Nobody wanted to listen to the music. Just party and say they went to a Pink Floyd show. I’ve had the honor of seeing Pink Floyd 8 times. 4 with Roger and 4 without. Always a class 1 show. Almost the entire row in front of me were taken up by a group of friends and family that weren’t probably alive when Dark Side came out. They couldn’t care less about the band or the people around them enjoying the aura of what should have been a premier experience. Doesn’t seem like anything has changed about the audience Roger.

Still, being able to share in the night was great. Until!!!! You decided to get on some kind of political soap box and blame the worlds problems on the very country thats offered you both open arms and a great bank account. Although the experience of hitchhiking thru Lebanon at 17 was enough of an experience to want to write a song about, the world was a great deal different back then. So when you suggest that we all just want to kill Arabs, and this is due to the christian right, then you’ve lost your sense of reality. Maybe you could write a song about the people who lost their lives on September 11th because of the people that want to kill us just because of who we are. Is it really going to come down to you losing a mate somewhere in the world before you realize that we weren’t the ones that started this whole thing. I don’t know if you are still in this country, the USA, but if you are, become a citizen and vote with the rest of us. We are not stupid. We can descern right from wrong. When to stand, and when to sit down. Do I like all that has transpired with this war? NO. But I still believe that the God, that you want to dishonor, is still in control. Please don’t come into my house and bad mouth me. Our fathers fought and died alongside your dad also. Something that we’re not proud of, but knew it was nessessary.

Bringing Nick to play at some of your shows was a nice gesture, but it really would have been special if your crew had turned on the kit mikes. The start of Time was the only time you could hear anything he did. Being a drummer, that just made me sad for the whole event. You can still screw your friends right in front of them and be alright. Congrats Roger. And for playing Dark Side again without the rest of your friends, well you’ve made it if all you wanted to accomplish was to be a great cover band. Maybe you could tour with the Australian Pink Floyd show. They are just as good!!! Pink Floyd to me will always include David, Richard, Nick, and Sid. Not just Roger. Even seeing David ealier this year, he talked of peace also. But did it with a lot of class and understanding. You certainly have lost the respect of this fan. Print this if you have the nerve.

Review thanks to Bob Marshall

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All above pictures thanks to Nelson

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Roger Waters in 1999 was my first Floydian concert experience. What I remember from then was the stunning sound quality. It was the best sounding concert I had ever heard, and the quad sound was incredible. Having finally seen David Gilmour and Richard Wright in April of this year, I had seen 3/4 of my favorite band and heard many great Floyd tunes and many great solo Roger Waters songs and David Gilmour’s entire new album.

The show naturally opened with sparks with In the Flesh. The show got off to a little bit of a slow start in terms of the band tightness but really started to come together beginning with Set the Controls. The Fletcher Memorial Home kicked of the political commentary on the current Bush Administration, and there was no sign of any booing as Bush’s picture appeared amongst the likes of Saddam, Osama, Stalin and others. In fact, there was no booing at all that I could hear as the commentary continued with Leaving Beirut. References to Bush were greeted with cheers if anything, and everyone seemed to love the giant pig making its appearance during Sheep to be let go into the Los Angeles sky. Impeach Bush was prominently displayed on the pig’s rear end. The first set concluded with enormous jets of fire appearing from on top of the famous Hollywood Bowl. It was a cold night, and the heat could be felt instantly as the jets were probably 30 feet high! Fantastic rendition of Sheep. Roger’s voice sounded excellent, and there was no evidence of syncing.

Nick Mason to thunderous applause joined for Dark Side. Breathe opened up with the incredibly multi-talented John Carin playing the slide parts (is there anything he doesn’t play?). The Quad system which had come in hard for Sheep continued with Dark Side. I absolutely love the quad sound system.

On the Run was simply stunning. I’ve never heard this live before, having only heard the quad version through an excellent DTS CD encoding from the original 1970’s quad mix. To hear this live…. Through that powerful system was absolutely stunning. No drugs required for this trip.

Most everything in Dark Side was virtual note-for-note reproduction of the album. The vocalist for the Great Gig was excellent. John Carin’s voice seemed a bit weak for Us and Them. Roger’s Voice was great in Brain Damage, as it adds a little lunacy to the song that is perhaps missed when listening to the PULSE version. Dark Side closed to thunderous applause.

The mini-wall set encore was a lot of fun. Comfortably numb I found to be disappointing however. Technically, both Snowy White and Dave Killminster and Andy Fairweather-Low are all fantastic guitar players. Snowy really shined in Set the Controls. In many songs they reproduced virtually note for note the album versions of Floyd tunes. But after hearing David perform Comfortably Numb back in April, this version left a lot to be desired. The tones created by these guitar players just wasn’t the same tone as Gilmour uses with his effects, and on several songs this stuck out to me, and it was disappointing. Dave’s telecaster contrasted significantly with Snowy’s Les Paul. The tone just wasn’t quite right in In the Flesh, Time, Money, and especially Any Colour You Like and Comfortably Numb.

All together, a great show and I’m looking forward to going back again tonight. If only Roger and David would get together and perform some of these songs, then the tone would be perfect.

And once again, aside from my guitar effects/tone criticism, it was the best sounding show I’ve ever been to.

Review thanks to Kurt Lawson

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Thanks to Saemus

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Set List

FIRST HALF: In The Flesh, Mother, Set The Controls For the Heart Of The Sun, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Have A Cigar, Wish You Were Here, Southampton Dock, The Fletcher Memorial Home, Perfect Sense parts 1 and 2, Leaving Beirut, Sheep.

SECOND HALF: Dark Side of the Moon.

ENCORE: The Happiest Days Of Our Lives, Another Brick In The Wall (Pt 2), Vera, Bring the Boys back Home, Comfortably Numb.

Pre Show

Nick Mason is confirmed to play on Dark Side Of The Moon at this concert.

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