Pics thanks to Chris Piekarewicz sailor2413

23 years and 9 days later, I returned to Madison Square Garden, the “world’s most famous arena” (as it says on the sign), to hear some great Floyd tunes. Last night’s show at MSG was great on many levels. The band was in top notch form and the sound (ESPECIALLY the surround effects) were near perfect. Even the projectors lined up properly for most of the show with little registration problems.

I sure hope that the Portland show was this good, because they still seem to be improving and adding various subtleties to the performance.

Everything was right on the Money….and speaking of $$$, I still can’t believe how much I have grown to anticipate hearing this song. I know that it’s been written before (by myself and others), but it IS exciting to hear again, especially with the guest sax player (last night’s was the same guy who played Chicago….who looked VERY similar to one Mel Collins) and AFL’s blistering solo. Last night he vaulted to the front of the stage and attacked that 1st note like he was shot out of a cannon! And, his guitar must have been turned up to 11 because it was the loudest past of the evening….almost as loud as the ovation that he got when he finished : )

Another highlight, and this is significantly different than the other performances that I’ve heard from the tour, was Snowy’s 1st guitar solo of Shine On. He REALLY took his time playing this. Streching out the notes and pausing between phrases. In the past it seemed like he rushed through this part a bit, but last night he played it in slo-mo!

The crowd was pretty well behaved (way to go New Yawkers) and really showed Roger their appreciation. A similar ovation to the one that Chicago gave on Saturday followed Shine On, and once again Roger milked it for what it was worth. As much as he was “playing” to the crowd, he still must have been touched by the reception.

The blooper of the night was that the house lights turned up full after Comfortably Numb, which lead the crowd into the expected “booing” session. Realizing the mistake, the house lights dimmed again after about a minute, leading the crowd into a massive frenzy. It didn’t take the band long to return and perform Each Small Candle….still getting better.

Once again Roger actually refered to PINK FLOYD in his “magic is back” speech, and introduced Snowy White along with a plug for his gig at BB King’s club (tonight). Wish I could have made that one too ; )

Thanks to Ron Toon

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