Thanks Dave McCray
Set List
First Set: In the Flesh / The Happiest Days of Our Lives / Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) / Mother / Get You Filthy Hands Off My Desert / Southampton Dock / Pigs On the Wing / Dogs / Welcome to the Machine / Wish You Were Here / Shine On
Second Set: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun / Speak to Me / Breathe / Time / Breathe (reprise) / Money / Every Strangers Eyes / Perfect Sense (Part 1) / Perfect Sense (Part 2) / The Bravery of Being Out of Range / It’s a Miracle / Amused to Death / Brain Damage/Eclipse / Comfortably Numb
Encore: Each Small Candle
Set The Controls (With Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns on trumpet!) Thanks to Buddy Duke
The Nashville show was great, for many reasons. Roger and Company performed beautifully…..you know what? I don’t care if Rog WAS lip syncing! (sp?…you stay up 23.5 hours at this point and drink a bunch of beer and try to spell!)…it was a great show…..Doyle blew a guitar string during the CN stuff….I don’t think he even noticed until it got in his way…he just grinned, moved it out of his way and played on….when he had the chance, he just kept grinning and pulled it off and tossed it down to the lower stage. I couldn’t tell that it phased him at all and it SURE didn’t hurt his performance in the slightest. I made a crack during the Atlanta show last year that Snowy and Doyle were good, but they were no David Gilmour….I take it back! These boys have been practicing and they are excellent. Each Small Candle (a beautiful song that has certainly developed some since it’s Kansas debut)? Tonight, the lights went down and Roger held up his lighter….so did the majority of the people I saw…..it was VERY nice to see. It made me wish I still smoked so I would have had my trusty Zippo to hold up! All in all, Roger seemed to be in pretty good spirits…he even thanked the crowd ‘for listening’…(I could argue this one….damned whistling Americans! 😉 )
Thanks to Buddy Duke
After arriving by bus (about a 20 hour ride) in Nashville, I lay down for some rest in the hotel. I guess Keith S and his wife Tammy had come by, as I found a message on the phone when I woke up. Sure enough, they came back and we decided to run out to the venue (AmSouth Amphitheater) and have a look-see. We waltzed right in like we owned the place and Keith was grinning from ear to ear. We checked out our seats and just generally scoped the place out. There was no evidence that Roger or company had been there. We located the ticket window (closed) and a door around behind it (open) so we stuck our heads in and asked, “Is anybody in there?” I think we startled one of the ladies out of her shoes. We asked about the window hours the day of show and were told it would be 10:00 am. Keith, Tammy, and I all had tickets, and fairly decent ones at that, but we decided to come back at 10 the next day to see if any REALLY good ones opened up. After a bite to eat, we went to Nashville (the venue is several miles outside of Nashville) and were the first customers of what turned out to be a great place…the Bourbon Street Blues Club! We situated ourselves directly in front of the stage and proceeded to celebrate the fact that in 24 hours, we’d be sitting in front of Roger.
The band, who’s name I don’t remember, were from New York and proclaimed that they had a funktified brand of blues and would turn us on to it. The were very entertaining and the first set was some great music in a comfortable and energized atmosphere. At the first break, I heard someone behind me yell my name, and upon turning around, discovered Mark S and Rusty had been sitting behind me for nearly the whole first set! Those guys are sneaky!
We closed the bar down and headed out to Denny’s for a 3 am snack before heading back to the hotels. We agreed that the 10 am ticket window time we had agreed on previously was out of the question, so we got there at 12:30 pm. Mark and Rusty were there and let us know that the 3rd row just opened up and that they had picked up some 2nd row center seats. RUNNING to the ticket window, we picked up 3 3rd row seats, just left of center.
We went into the venue to watch them set up the stage a bit, being careful to stay out of their way. No sign of any band members, of course. AGAIN, Keith had the biggest grin on his face! I suspect I did too! We then left to celebrate a bit and had some drinks at the Red Lobster, where we were presented with coasters for our glassware that read “WISH YOU WERE HERE”! When the waitress returned with our drinks, she was stupefied that the coasters she thought she put on the table were nowhere to be found. So she put some more down on the table. Those quickly disappeared as well. The waitress returned with water and again was stumped that those coasters had disappeared! She gave us ANOTHER set!!! These were later given away as party favours to those who made it to the post-show gathering.
Believe it or not we actually did make it to the show, with plenty of time to spare. Keith was able to unload his lesser tickets at a major loss. Mine was destined to be a keep-sake, as I found no one even interested. Too bad… One of those lunatics on the lawn could have been sitting next to the sound board for almost nothing! Inside, I spotted Buddy D, wearing a familiar shirt, and yelled “echoes”, which quickly got his attention. I also got the ear of Dave and his wife Kelly with the same tactic. And it worked for Jason and Matt too! Just like trained Dogs (jus’ kiddin’, guys). Scott donkyFliP J and his wife spotted us near our seats and the 3 of us proved ourselves as well-trained as anyone.
The set list was the same as West Palm Beach, dropping What God Wants, apparently for the rest of the tour. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the sound up close was no less incredible than at other parts of the venues I had previously seen Roger. It was, however, different. We could hear virtually none of the quad f/x, and the sax on Money was almost undetectable. I really enjoyed getting the full force of the guitar work, straight from the stage amps! It had a different, but no less enjoyable sound than the other performances.
Both Snowy and Doyle are performing much better than last year. It seems that they have now contented themselves with playing in their own style, rather than trying to “be Dave”. I especially appreciated this during Shine On and Comfortably Numb. The solo work on those two songs at this show was the best either of them has ever done anywhere, IMHO! One could easily tell that Doyle felt very much at ease and was thoroughly enjoying his solo on Shine On. Scott J made a comment later that I thought was quite appropriate,,, that these two are now complementing each other rather than competing with each other,,, and they are enjoying it! There’s no question about it!
There was an empty seat to my right throughout the first set. At the start of the 2nd set, a seat-jumper made his way into it and proceeded to talk loudly with the folks to his right. He was a young whipper-snapper, loving the fact that he was there, but unfortunately, didn’t seem to have a clue… but he got one that night. After having enough of his noise (during Money), I tapped him on the shoulder and said, “hey man, this is GOOD, please be quiet and listen”. He quickly looked forward and started appreciating his position more fully and didn’t say a word until it was over! I think he may now be a new solo-Roger convert! (I love that)
I had previously built up for Keith, how great StCftHoTS was going to be, and when I saw a trumpet player (as opposed to the soprano sax that had been used the previous nights), I was a bit concerned. This guy amazingly pulled it off! It was fantastic, and a big credit to Roger for trying something like this! I still prefer the soprano sax, but this was a very interesting and enjoyable alternative.
The tenor sax used for Money was almost undetectable, where I was sitting. If I hadn’t seen him on stage, I could have easily believed he wasn’t there at all. I don’t know if he was good or not, but he did get some great applause, so I guess the PA system projected him well to the folks behind me.
The rest of the set, Roger’s solo stuff up until CN, was all performed nearly flawlessly and produced goose-bumps for every song! CN was included as part of the 2nd set, like in WPB (not in the encore, as in Tampa). This was the best performance of CN I’ve heard out of these guys also. (refer to previous statements).
For the encore, Roger dropped most of his pre-song intro, and basically said that they were going to play a new song, Each Small Candle. As before, it was presented with the lyrics projected onto the backdrop in blood red, with the occasional barbed wire across it. And he finished by lighting a lighter and holding it high, as did the audience. Me – I held mine in front of my “familiar” T-shirt to display it proudly!
One more note about this T-shirt… I think it was during Perfect Sense, part 2… I happened to look at Snowy, who was not playing at the time, and noticed that he was looking right at me. Not at my eyes, but at the T-shirt! Suddenly, we made eye contact, and he looked away! Now, it’s possible I imagined this whole thing, but I really don’t think so. The bright white shirt with the striking black logo, which must have looked vaguely familiar to him, surely caught his eye. At any rate, I really enjoy the thought of it.
But who should appear at the end of the show, walking by our section… none other than the lunatic on the bluegrass, Jerry W himself! Jerry was wearing a VINTAGE echoes shirt that I rather liked.
I hope more people get to see the show on this tour, as I think it has improved enormously and was thoroughly enjoyable. I also had a great time at the post-show gathering and many thanks are due to Buddy D for helping us find a place to refresh ourselves. We made a toast to BEAR with the first drink! Thanks to Keith and Tammy as well, for providing my area transport and great company, and for the party favours they handed out. Echoesians are some of the greatest folks I have ever encountered!
Fond Regards,
Will
Thanks to Will Taber
First of all let me start off by saying that in my 29 years I’ve seen TONS of shows and there are several that stick out in my mind, but seeing Roger perform his heart out in Nashville bordered on religion. It seemed to me that he was happy to be there performing the old favorites, as well as his solo material despite the fact that the majority of the crowd was a bunch of rednecks that looked like they’d rather be at a Garth Brooks show. Actually I was pleasantly surprised that the crowd was so good. (there were a few exceptions that I’ll mention later) Here are a few notes on the stage set up. When my wife and I got there we took a good look at the stage trying to soak in all the tiny details. There was a round table that was used to play cards on during Dogs, a few chairs, lamps, and two small sofas. The back portion of the stage had a small door that was used for members of the band to come in and out of to include the sax and trumpet players. Behind that was an elevated section of the stage that reminded me of the platform used during the Berlin show. It was basically the same just not quite as high. Prior to the show starting there was a giant projection of the pink pig and something that resembled yellow grid squares.
At 8:07 there was an announcement that the show would start in five minutes, and could we please take our seats. To tell you the truth it almost sounded like the beginning of the live disc set of, “Is there anybody out there” I half expected the band to start playing but since the house lights were still on and no one was on the stage I quickly let that notion go.
8:12 the lights go out and the crowd is going wild. I instantly had a smile on my face. One by one the band members came out and I asked my wife, “Where’s the big man? Do you see him?” Just as I asked her he emerged on the platform above the stage and in his booming voice he counted in German just as he does during Waiting for the worms. For a second I thought they might play that but IN THE FLESH started and the sound was incredible. You can read this and try to imagine as I’ve done with other reviews but until you HEAR it it isn’t the same. During the song the back up singers did a great job of pulling off the choir parts as they held up the hammer symbol with their arms. The audience was encouraged to do the same by Roger and they other band members. It was incredible.
As another side note I’d like to mention that IN THE FLESH was played not IN THE FLESH? I know that 99% of the REAL fans know this but there are some people that don’t realize that there are two versions. It was the second one that appears on THE WALL.
At the end of the song we were treated to a slight tease of a little bit of the baby crying that leads into THE THIN ICE, however that sound clip faded into the LOUD helicopter that leads into THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES. I read someone else’s review of this show and they mentioned that the quad sound wasn’t working. Well, I’m sorry that you didn’t get the full effect because from where I was seated (standing, I never sat down once) The sound was zooming from left to right and all over the venue. It was intense. After the happiest days it went right into ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL part 2. Now this is a great song, but I was a little annoyed by all of the teeny bopper “fans” that seemed to not know any other song but this one. Oh well, I half expected it but I never let it bother me. This song was great and the band seemed to have a great time playing it. During what seemed like THE WALL portion of the show there was images on the three screens from the Berlin show that really played up THE WALL theme. I was loving every second of it.
Next on the agenda was a terrific version of MOTHER led by Roger on guitar. It seems as if he could have pulled it off all alone. Of course, when Roger sang,”Mother do you think they’ll like this song?” The crowd went nuts. After the line,” Mother will they put me in the firing line?” Doyle hit a monster chord that floored the audience. While this happened a white spot light was on him that slowly faded as his chord did.
After MOTHER the lights went down and then the LOUDEST explosion boomed through the theater that came from GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY DESERT. Which led into SOUTH HAMPTON DOCK. This was another great song led by Roger on guitar. What can I say? It was another great moment. I felt such mixed emotions when he sang the line,”In the bottom of our hearts we felt the final cut,” and played the melody of it on the guitar. For a split second I though we were going to be treated with THE FINAL CUT but it was not meant to be. In ll honesty I was happy just to have him sing the line.
After SHD we were led into PIGS ON THE WING and a kick ass version of DOGS led by Jon Carin on guitar and lead vocals. WOW!!! What can I say? I was literally floored by hearing DOGS for the first and probably last time live. This was a religious experience for me. It was just SO intense from the first note to the last. Doyle and Snowy played the dual guitar parts flawlessly and sent chills down my spine and made my eyes well up with tears. For those of you that know the song and have seen the show you know exactly what I’m talking about. During the long keyboard part in the middle of the song the entire band with the exception of Jon and Graham sat down at the table and played a game of cards. It seemed almost surreal. There was a close up of them on the screen and watching them live felt really odd. For a few minutes
I felt like I was in a dream. After the song began to pick up each member picked up their instruments and began to get back into it. The last vocal part was handled by Roger, and he seemed to put every bit of himself into the last few lines of the song. This was a highlight for me without question, but it comes second to what was played during the second set.
After DOGS we got a WISH YOU WERE HERE set. It started off with WELCOME TO THE MACHINE. It seemed a little short, and it only had stills from the video that I’ve seen before. Nonetheless it was played really well. It almost seemed to be modernized. I can’t really describe it. Some of the chords seemed a little more heavy and choppy. I think it was pretty cool to tell you the truth.
After MACHINE came WISH YOU WERE HERE. It started off with the sound clips of the TV sounds and the coughing. Then came the guitar that sounds as if its being played through a tin can or an old radio. As you can imagine the crowd really got into this and the ones that sat on their asses during DOGS seemed to come to life again. Once again Roger played guitar on this.
The next one was SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND. During the song there was all kinds of crazy looking swirly colors on the screen that looked like they were being made as we saw them. It looked like someone dropped water and food coloring all over the projector. It gave it a life like feel. SHINE ON…was performed flawlessly.
After SHINE ON… Roger said they were going to take a short break and I thought to myself,” damn it’s half way over,” little did I know I was in store for the highlight of the evening.
The first set ended at 9:20.
At 9:46 the second set began with an incredible version of SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN. WOW. This song sent chills down my spine once again. Who could have dreamed that we would ever hear this song? It was great. I can’t say any more about it. I loved it.
After SET THE CONTROLS, came the familiar sounds of SPEAK TO ME to include the scream that led into a beautiful version of BREATHE. Another great performance.
Next was TIME, and brother let me tell you that Graham earned his money on the drum intro. This song was booming as he played the roto-toms standing up during the intro. It seemed to go on forever and I didn’t care one bit. I was elated. As he sat down to hit the drums into what was the main body of the song and the first lines were sang…”Ticking away/The moments that make up a dull day” I found myself singing along with every word. The guitar solo was performed beautifully. As the line was sang,”Thought I’d something more to say” BREATHE (REPRISE) was played. Man, it was great.
Next came MONEY. Now, for what ever reason, MONEY has never really been a favorite song of mine. I guess it reminds me too much of a pop song that always seemed out of character for The Floyd, but the band seemed to really enjoy playing it, and the solos was great. Every one seemed to be really digging it in the audience.
Now we were venturing into what was the highlight(s) of the show for me. It was time to test drive Rogers solo material.
There was an image on the backdrop of an 18-wheeler and the old familiar sounds of a woman asking,”Would you like a cup of coffee?” When I heard that I was grinning from ear to ear. EVERY STRANGERS EYES was so beautiful. I had tears in my eyes as I knew I would. This is one of those songs that really does it for me no matter how many times I hear it. When Roger sang,”And now…FROM WHERE I STAND” His voice BOOMED through the theater and I heard my wife say,”WOW.” I knew she was loving it. I was almost afraid to look at her for fear of breaking down in tears. It was that intense. I could have lived that moment for the rest of my life. Thank You Roger.
OK, here we go. This was it. I thought EVERY STRANGERS EYES was the highlight. Nope. PERFECT SENSE parts 1 and 2 were. There was a long intro for PS part1 and the back drop had the image of the monkey and the TV. Rogers voice was perfect as he sang it, and I believe it was PP Arnold that sang with him. I’m fairly sure anyway. She’s credited on the AMUSED TO DEATH album The only flaw on this song which gave it that LIVE feel was during the,”And the Germans kill the Jews/and the Jews kill the Arabs/and the Arabs kill the hostages and that is the news” She ran out of breath. I actually thought it was kind of funny. She did a great job covering it up.
Next came the best part of the night. The band went right into PERFECT SENSE part2 and I was floored. I heard the old familiar voice of Marv Albert and I knew we were in store for a great time. During the commentary Roger brought down a mock periscope and help up two fingers as he “blew up” the oil rigs. It was awesome. He had the whole audience singing along,” Can’t you see/It all makes perfect sense/expressed in dollars and sense/pounds shillings and pense/Can’t you see it all makes perfect sense.” My God it was so incredible!! I had tears in my eyes as Roger held up his hands and encouraged the audience to sing(shout) along. During this part the cameras were on the crowd and you could see literally thousands of people singing along with their arms in the air. How could you not? It would have been criminal. I briefly glanced at my wife and saw her hands up as well. It made me feel so happy to have her there with me to share that moment. Once again, thank you Roger.
We next went into THE BRAVERY OF BEING OUT OF RANGE. This was another great song. By this time I was in a state that I can’t explain. I was just happy to be there.
Another highlight for me came next. IT’S A MIRACLE. This was awesome. Everything was perfect. I can remember Roger walking around the stage to get a little closer to the audience. He seemed to be having a good time for this was the first time he got really close to his fans. As he sang the line,”And the piano lid comes down and breaks his fucking fingers” he seemed to be really into the audience. His voice sounded great during this song.
AMUSED TO DEATH came next and this was another great one. I thought the back up singers did a good job singing along. When Amused came to the end I had a feeling it was almost over and I was right. The last two songs of the second set were, BRAIN DAMAGE and ECLIPSE. During the line about the lunatics being on the grass everyone in the lawn seats went nuts. I had to look over my shoulder to see this though. I was standing next to my hundred dollar seats and it was worth every penny.
After those two songs came what seemed like and encore although the band didn’t leave the stage. Roger said something to the effect of,” Here is a song that is about what we’re felling right now. COMFORTABLY NUMB. It was incredible. The only thing that pissed me off was all the Joe college assholes that got out of their seats for what seemed like the first time since ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL PART 2. I heard this loser couple behind me trying to sing along and botching up the lyrics. It really made me angry. I hate “fans” like this.
Allow me to rant and explain something that was happening around my location for a minute. Then again if you’ve been reading this far along you won’t mind a few more lines!! There was this dude sitting(standing) two rows behind my wife and me. He seemed like a really cool dude. Back when I was younger my brothers and I called them “Stoner Buds” He had long hair, seemed to be in his mid-30’s, had the whole biker image going on and meant it. He was no faker. This guy was having a GREAT TIME. He was singing along to every single word the entire night and he made me and my wife smile. It was obvious he was a MASSIVE Floyd and Roger fan just like myself. I was happy that he was so happy. Anyway, all these loser fucks kept telling him to shut the f*ck up and it was really pissing me off. It’s a concert. You’re supposed to have a good time and shout and yell, and sing along right? Maybe I’m a little out of date and not with the times. At one point this huge jocko-f*ck got right into stoner buds face literally an inch away and told him to shut the f*ck up. I was in shock. Ole’ Stoner bud didn’t say a word he just let old jocko go back to his seat. He then proceeded to yell and sing, etc, etc. I thought to myself,”Good for you bro.” Anyway, security ended up throwing this guy out and I felt really bad for him. he was just having a good time. If you’re reading this…Bro, I’m with you. You keep rockin’. And the other f*ckers that got him thrown out. F*CK YOU GO SEE A BOY BAND OR SOME OTHER LOSER SHIT IF YOU WANT PEACE AND QUIET. BETTER YET GO SEE KENNY F*CKING G.
Anyway. COMFORTABLY NUMB was intense and Doyle and Snowy did a hell of a job during the solos. During the solo Doyle broke a string and just kind of smiled. It never through him off he just pulled it off of his guitar and kept playing.
After CN the band left the stage and then came back out for one last song. Roger said something to the effect of thanks for listening and that he loved us. I suppose he was responding to someone that yelled that he loved him. He seemed genuinely touched and moved by the standing ovation he was getting from the crowd. I was clapping and whistling for all I was worth.
He next introduced the last song of the evening EACH SMALL CANDLE. I was really impressed with this tune. I can’t wait for the new album. During the song the lyrics were up on the screen as well as barbed wire and the Amnesty International symbol. Hence the candle. As the song came to an end Roger held up a lighter and that was the only light on the stage but the entire audience was illuminated by thousands upon thousands of bics and zippos. Roger held his flame for what seemed and eternity and let it go out. Afterwards he said good night and that was it. The house lights came on and I knew it was over. The show was a little over two and a half hours long.
All in all it was truly a night that will live with me forever. I had such a good time and I can’t seem to get Rogers tapes and CD’s out of my home and car stereo! I’m trying to hold on to the memory for as long as I can. It gave me renewed love for his music, and it reminded me why I love his solo work so much.
If you get the chance to see the master at work I highly recommend it. It was truly a sight to see. For those of you that are only going to hear the Floyd tunes just remember that Roger Waters IS PINK FLOYD and without him THE WALL and the other great records would have never been written. I heard someone say,” I wish David was here.” Well, you know what? Pink Floyd no longer exists. It stopped existing after THE FINAL CUT. Rogers solo material is just as fantastic as any Floyd record. What we now know as PF is nothing more than David riding on the coat tails of Roger Waters. I take nothing away from DG’s ability to play the guitar for he is one of the best out there, however Roger Waters writes concept albums with such heart and conviction that he takes you on a journey as he tells you a story that we can all relate to. Once again I thank him for what he has given me.
One last thing. Thanks Tracy for getting me the tickets. I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoyed myself that night. I’ll never forget it.
Thanks for reading my ranting and raving. I enjoyed writing this.
Thanks to Frank Carrio
This is my review of our mini vacation! really really enjoyed it! “It was the greatest show on earth, then it was over”-Roger Waters Nashville, TN June 6th, 2000
The opening words, “so ya thought ya, might like to go to the show,” cast the inevitable thrill of confusion. A cool summer evening, June 6th marked the first time in my life to have the privilege of seeing the greatest musician/lyricist in the world, in live performance! The band was phenomenal, carrying the support for Roger, as well as the boys of Pink Floyd ever did! Snowy White took the stage very admirably and rocked the house! Roger also took the controls during several songs, and showed to the world, that yes, he can make that guitar scream too! The days of having Syd Barrett tune his bass, are long gone, Roger Waters is a very accomplished musician today!
“In the flesh,” at 8 o’clock sharp sent chills down my spine! It was real; Roger and his band fit the scene perfectly! All dressed in black, the stage was primarily black and the bright metal hues from the instruments. It had the appearance of being a classic phenomenon in the making! The sound system was excellent and turned up to the max from the beginning. “The Happiest Days of our Lives,” which was preformed as flawlessly as the rest of the concert! The projection screen was full of vivid animations, and psychedelic colour.
“Another Brick in the Wall (pt. 2),” got the placid crowd, on their feet and singing along! The crowd was disappointing and consisted mostly of older folks! The back-up singers were excellent; Along with the entire presentation for that matter. During this song, some really awesome new animations were shown. A very wild looking metallic monster, and many hidden faces with in the projection. Two video screens offered views of the musicians.
“Mother,” was preformed brilliantly with very familiar animations from the Wall, and some great new stuff! The songs from the Final Cut were astounding, and defiantly beckon listening to that recording a few more time!
“Dogs,” was wonderful Snowy White and Roger Waters fit together perfectly! The dogs echoed around the amphitheatre magically!
“WYWH & Shine On,” offered some classic shots of Syd Barrett and memories to the band, Pink Floyd! And shots of the MIR Space station, with the Pink Floyd WYWH music being played aboard.
Having dropped the KAOS excerpt from ’99’s show the Second Set was opened with a lovely cut from Saucerful of Secrets. Absolutely astounding! This performance was better than studio! SO, SO loud! Flawless!
The cuts from Dark Side of the Moon, were filled with awesome projections of the prism and colors! This was just the extreme of what Roger has written over the years. The moon was hanging in the sky the entire show, and you could actually see the dark-side of the moon, as the bright side was obscured in to a small fingernail shape! It was quiet fitting.
“Every Strangers Eyes,” was absolutely lovely! Roger offered a tribute to the American Indian on the projection screen and pictured three American Indians on three horses! The song really made you feel like Roger cared, for his fans!
?and we know?it all makes perfect sense!
The Amused to Death songs were the highlight of the show in a way! The showed the pure power of rock! And the excellent style of Roger, to create music for the mind! Roger seemed to really enjoy the performance, and was dynamic in the production. During Amused to Death he squatted on stage looking at people right up front!
At the end of the Second Set, Roger offered “thanks for listening, it really does make a difference!” And the band joined hands and bowed for the crowd. (Who were undeserving in my opinion) But it was much appreciated!
The band left the stage and headed off, but the call of the crowd came, and the encore of “Comfortably Numb” was preformed and spectacular! They faked a move, and headed off stage again, but the screams could be heard, And Roger came out and preformed “a new one” “Each Small Candle” Blow away, we went back to the campsite and continued to listen to the recordings! My wife and I, had the pleasure of attending the concert with a group of 4 guys and 1 girl all from New England. We had to be the most excited about being there, in the flesh! Much celebration commenced! They had all attended at least 3 shows last year, (a privilege I did not have due to a back bone crushing experience!)
Absolutely Spectacular! Flawless musically! Truly, “the greatest show on earth”.
Thanks Simon Hyatt
Roger Waters – In the Flesh 2000 AM South Amphitheater
Nashville, Tennessee
June 6, 2000
Reviewed by: Scott “donkyFliP” Johnston
It was a little after 8:00 when the announcement was made: Please take your seats the show will begin in 5 minutes. Over the next few minutes, machines filled the air with plumes of smoke. At about 8:15, the band began to emerge from behind the curtains that covered the back of the stage and the overhead lighting went dark… The feeling was electric as Roger and the band started the show with In the Flesh.
From there the band progressed into Happiest Days and Another Brick part 2. Happiest Days was accompanied by the same background visuals as during the 1999 tour; images of the teacher being abused by his wife and the teacher abusing the students. The crowd, naturally was highly receptive to hearing “that education song.” However, the real highlight was getting to see and hear Andy Fairweather Low play guitar. Andy’s guitar work really made this song come to life. After Another Brick, Roger thanked the audience and welcomed them to the show. Roger concluded The Wall portion of the show by playing Mother. In the past, I have not been very impressed with this song, but tonight the band performed it very well. To me, it seemed the Roger was really putting himself into the song and singing it with real emotion. It was truly one of the best performances of the song that I have ever heard or seen.
The surround sound sound-effects were in full force as a distance voice called out “HEY! Get your filthy hands off my dessert” which was quickly followed by the sounds of a jet coming from the right of the stage and ripping through the sky towards the left. After that short piece, the band proceeded into Southampton Dock, just like in previous tours, with Graham Broad ratta-tat-tat-ing on his drum kit. Behind the band, the words “Bring The Boys Back Home” were boldly projected.
The audience fell quiet as the first few cords of Pigs of the Wing Part 1 were played. As soon as Roger started singing, the audience cheered. Next, the band made a smooth transition into Dogs. Jon Carin’s voice sounded a little bit rough, but he was still reached for the higher notes and got them. It was during Pigs and Dogs that Snowy White and Jon Carin made their guitar presence known. Oh and how sweet it was. Often times the camera personnel would focus in on Snowy and his guitar, projecting his talented fingers at work on the gigantic screens that flanked each side of the stage. Just like during the 1999 tour, Jon was left alone playing Dogs while Roger, Snowy, Doyle and Andy all took a seat around a table near the backs of the stage and began playing cards. The camera crew followed along and the cards were dealt out. [As reported by Vernon Fitch after talking with Roger, the card game that they are playing is called Trumps.] I noticed that on one side of the table there was a partially consumed bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch. While talking to some people who were at the first two shows, it seems that the bottle has gotten a little less full at each show. Besides the stage antics, the performance of Dogs was awesome. Again, the surround sound was in full effect; dogs barking off to the right, and then off to the left, while synthesized keyboards swirled all around. I closed my eyes for a while and let the music move all around me.
Roger and the band then moved into the Wish You Were Here portion of the show, playing Welcome to the Machine (WttM), Wish You Were Here (WYWH), and Shine On You Crazy Diamond (SOYCD). The band was just fantastic, that is really what I think , but WttM lacked the enthusiasm that the other songs had had up to that point. However, WYWH made up for it. Roger seemed very pleased with the band as he walked around the stage with a huge smile on his face. A treat during this song was still shots from the Arnold Layne video that were projected behind the band. There were also several photos of Syd. At the end of the song Roger stated: “How we wish they were here” and then introduced SOYCD by saying “This next song is for one of those who we wish were here.” Again, more photos of Syd Barrett were projected on the backdrop during SOYCD. To me, this song has really taken on a haunting quality. Roger’s aging voice adds to the believability of the longing for a long lost friend. At the end of the song, a mirror cover disc slowly rose out from behind the stage, shining crazy little diamonds all over the audience.
That concluded the first set.
The second set started with Roger announcing: “O.K. Here we go, back into the midst of time.” as the familiar chords of Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun tolled. Graham Broad’s drums thumping and bumping set the tempo of the song. Then, came the sounds of a trumpet; yes a trumpet! A couple minutes later, the trumpet sounds returned again and went on during the musicalinterlude in the middle of the song. It was a very eerie sound which sent shivers up and down my spine as the song clamored to a climax. Roger announced that the trumpet was played by Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns. I was happy that Roger decided to bring back this song back into the setlist and thrilled to be able to see him perform it live.
Thump, thump, thump, whaaaaaaa … Breathe, breathe in the air. An all too familiar sound and song but we all love to hear it. Some people criticize Doyle for trying to be like David Gilmour, others put him down for not being more like David – however, I love what he adds to the songs. Doyle has a strong background in Texas-style blues which comes through in both his guitar sound and his vocals. Yes, Doyle in not David Gilmour, but that is what makes it so good. I enjoyed his bluesy rendition of Breathe. There was also a television up on the stage. It was playing a video with images that I believe were meant to represent the dawn of time. There were man-like apes engaged in various activities which become more sophisticated as the song progressed. Graham Broad’s impressive drumming was prevalent throughout Time. Although Roger sang Time, it was Doyle who came back and wrapped things up with Breathe Reprise and carried on into Money. Then, up steps a saxophone player (Andrew Love, also from the Memphis Horns). He was no Dick Parry but he was still able to blow everyone away. After the sax, Doyle jumps in with his shiny red guitar strapped on and jammed. I stood there is amazement of his ability to make that guitar talk.
The next part of the show focused on Roger’s solo material. The first song was Every Stranger’s Eyes. Obviously, being out on the road with Roger has brought this band together because they seemed very tight while playing this song (and most of the rest of Roer’s solo material). They proceeding on to Perfect Sense. The whole tempo of the show is slowed down during Part 1, then P. P. Arnold starts in with Part 2. This woman has such an amazing range in her voice. Her voice made the hairs on my arm stand on end even though her performance did not seem as emotionally charged as it did when I saw the show last year (Columbus, Ohio on Aug. 15, 1999). This might have been because she blew part of the lyrics, singing “the Germans kill the Jews, and the Jews kill the Germans, and the uh Germans kill the hostages and that is the news…” Oh well, I doubt I would get it right, night after night either.
Besides adding Set the Controls to the setlist, Roger also added The Bravery of Being Out of Range to the show. I cannot pinpoint why, but the song seemed out of place. Perhaps it was that by the end of Perfect Sense part 2 the whole audience is up and cheering along, and then Bravery changes the mood of the show to a much more mellow atmosphere. Or perhaps it was that the band just needs to work through this number a few more times. The band then went on to play It’s A Miracle and Amused to Death. At least some of the audience was familiar with Roger’s solo work as noted by their cheers at the end of both of there songs. Someone even shouted out “I love you, Roger” to which he replied: “Hey, I love you too. . . That’s the thing.”
Next, those familiar twangy guitar chords of Brain Damage could be heard and the audience cheered even louder. I am not sure if it was Jon Carin or Andy Wallace, but who ever was playing the keyboards had them set so that they sounded somewhat like a harpsichord. After playing Eclipse, Roger introduced the band. He then said “This next song is about something which, at this point in time, we…we… none of us are… here we go…” Badummmm…Hellooooo helloo, Is there anybody in there?” Due to the overkill that Comfortably Numb gets on the radio, I typically do not care much for this song. However, there is something magical about seeing and hearing it performed live. Doyle sings part of the lyrics and (again) adds his own Texas-blues sound to the song. He and Snowy alternate guitar lead during the end of the song as they walked towards each other across a platform back behind the drums. They each have their own sound that they bring to the song, and yet the seem to feed off of each other. It is a strange blend, but it works. Here again, the best thing to do is to just close your eyes and let the music take you away (that is, if you can tear your eyes away from watching this musicians play their instruments).
After a two to three minute break, the band returned to the stage for a final encore. After the last show of last year’s tour (and early reports from the first two shows) it was no big surprise that they played Each Small Candle. I turned and looked back across the audience and saw dozens of lighters being held high in the air. Roger came out and said: “Thank you for coming and thank you for listening. It really makes a difference to us, believe me. O.K., this is the last tune tonight and its a new song. I suppose it is about how we all matter. There’s a longer story to it, but I cannot go through it tonight. Anyway, it’s called Each Small Candle.” The stage, at this point was mostly dark, and behind the stage the lyrics to the song were projected with images of strands of barbed wire running across them. It was (is) a dark and somber song, but the audience seemed to like it all the same. At the end of the song, a stagehand came over and handed Roger a lighter. He lit is up and stood there letting it shine. In the background, the image of Amnesty International was projected. Later, as I was inching along in the post-show traffic, I continued to hear the echo in my head “each small candle, each small candle light a corner in the dark…”
Thanks Scott “donkyFliP” Johnston