They kicked in with a powerful rendition of In the flesh. Nothing much to say about it, really. The real deal, rock. First highlight was – of course – Dogs, on which Harry Waters did a truly amazing job. What Harry did that evening (never mind on which song) was pretty mind-blowing whenever he had the chance to play a solo. He’s _much_ more than just a replacement for Jon Carin. Set the controls was good to finally hear live. Pure bliss. When Roger started his bass slapping at the beginning of Shine on 6-9, I just for one moment was reminded of One of these days and hoped they’d play that, which of course they didn’t.

I was pretty stunned at how energized they played the Amused to Death material. Also, I was stunned at how many from the audience recognized Perfect sense and It’s a miracle from their very first bits of sound. Probably the best performances of the night, really. But now I come to think of it – Brain damage and Eclipse were absolutely awesome as well. They sounded really vast and yet compact, mind-blowing.

Flickering Flame – the chorus, sung by the girls, somehow reminds me of the chorus of Your possible pasts from TFC. Anyways, I like it much much better than Each small candle (despite the fact that the backdrop image to Flickering Flame was kind of kitsch).

The band –

What Graham Broad did on Time yesterday was much, much better than what you can hear on the live CD. In contrast to what other have said about him, I don’t think his style compares too bad to Nick Mason’s particular rather-behind-the-beat style on the Floyd pieces.

Having seen a TV broadcast of one of Roger’s US-shows, I dare say that Chester Kamen is in every way superior to Doyle Bramhal II (whom he replaced on the International leg of the tour, just for those who don’t know). His guitar style sounds so light-handed and flowing. He got much closer to Gilmour whenever necessary and did have a style of his own that I’d prefer over DB II’s any time.

Also, Chester’s voice suits the songs so much better. Especially on ComfyNumb, Doyle Bramhal II’s voice really gets on my nerves whenever I listen to the In the Flesh CD. I’d very much like to have a recording with Chester singing it instead…

And last but not least, Chester Kamen’s clothing is not even remotely as embarrassing/ridiculous as Doyle Bramhal II’s. Yeah, right, nothing to do with the music, but still, I needed to mention that.

Nothing to say about the others that hasn’t been said already. One thing, perhaps – I would have loved to hear Andy Fairweather-Low do more than just his one lead solo on Money (which was truly awesome – could’ve gone on for hours if you ask me).

Roger’s voice was in excellent shape.

All in all a great, great, great and marvellous gig. [Especially as I’d got a little nervous having read the less-than flattering reviews for Rotterdam and Cologne.]

Side notes:

30 EUR for a simple black or white tour t-shirt / girlie-shirt is simply outrageous! Not to mention the polo shirt, priced at, if I remember correctly, 40 EUR or even more. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but for 40 EUR, you can even get a Lacoste brand polo shirt.

Also, I found it quite interesting that some of those guys selling the semi-to-non-official merchandise (t-shirts and posters, both also available in a The Division Bell design…) outside the venue after the concert had official “Roger Waters – crew” passes dangling round their necks.

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1st Set

In the flesh
The happiest days of our lives
Another brick in the wall part 2
Mother
Get your filthy hands off my desert
Southampton Dock
Pigs on the wing, part 1
Dogs
Set the controls for the heart of the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond (1-5)
Welcome to the machine
Wish you were here
Shine on you crazy diamond (6-9)

2nd Set

Breathe (in the air)
Time
Money
Every stranger’s eyes
Perfect Sense 1 & 2
The bravery of being out of range
It’s a miracle
Amused to death
Brain damage
Eclipse
Comfortably numb
Flickering Flame

Many thanks to A. Fromme

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