The Roger Waters concert Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park was almost too spectacular to put into words. Fighter planes crashing into the stage and exploding, flying pigs, enormous hideous teachers towering over little children, Waters dressed as a Nazi and firing a machine gun into the audience, and a notable anti-corporate fascist state, anti-war theme. During the intermission literally hundreds of photos of humans killed in war since 1900 were projected onto the massive Wall with their birth date, death date and short biography. The pictures and stories were sent in by fans from all over the world. It was truly touching and personalized the human result of endless war.
Waters dedicated the show to Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian man shot in the head seven times at Stockwell tube station on the London Underground by the London Metropolitan police after he was misidentified as one of the fugitives involved in the previous day’s failed bombing attempts. These events took place two weeks after the London bombings of 7 July 2005, in which 52 people were killed. On the day of the shooting, the police were hunting four men believed to be involved in the failed bombing attempts the day before. Intelligence had linked the men to a block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London, the same building in which Menezes was living. Police put the communal entrance under surveillance, and on the morning of the shooting, saw Menezes leave the building. Plain clothes officers, armed with pistols, followed him as he took a bus to Brixton tube station, before boarding another to Stockwell tube station because the tube station at Brixton was closed. Specialist firearms officers were called to Stockwell. Just after Menezes entered a train, several officers wrestled him to the ground and fired seven bullets into his head at point blank range. The train was still at the platform with its doors open, having just been evacuated by officers.
NO ONE WAS EVER CHARGED OR HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS WRONGFUL DEATH.
The entire show was visually overwhelming and a powerful statement. Roger Waters is the ultimate showman. He said that he hated performing live in his youth. He seems to have grown into it. He plays the evil dictator with panash.
The band he assembled was stellar. David Gilmour is irreplaceable, but the combination of G.E. Smith, David Kilminster, and Snowy White on guitar and Robbie Wyckoff handling Gilmour’s vocals was just fine as you will see in the videos taken by my son Kevin. The stage and Wall was immense, taking up the entire outfield. The gates opened at 7:00 for the 8:45 show. We arrived at 7:15. I wanted to soak in as much as possible, plus I wanted a Tony Lukes cheesesteak before the show. We chowed down on fine Philly fare and then bought four overpriced concert shirts. I wore my BurningPlatform.com shirt to the show. I didn’t run into anyone else with a TBP shirt.
The show opens with Outside the Wall and I was immediately amused by the graphic on the wall. It said:
If at first you don’t succeed, call in an airstrike.
I knew I was going to like this show. While the show progresses the roadies are building the wall.
The local children brought on stage to perform Another Brick in the Wall with Waters and fight back against the 50 foot teacher were thanked by Waters in one of his more sedate moments.
http://youtu.be/NNBFKXM0hEw
The show is a combination of concert and movie. The visuals and symbolism are stunning.
The Wall becomes a canvas for Waters’ art and visionary view of the world.
Waters is able to get his anti-war message across through the use of music, images, film, quotes and cartoons. His use of film showing soldiers hugging their children, interspersed with the words of a general and pictures of starving children is powerful, as you can see.
“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 are not clothed.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Goodbye Blue Sky is a haunting song with visuals of birds flying and being replaced with thousands of bombers dropping blood red symbols like dollar signs, the hammer & sickle, Chinese star, Shell Oil sign, Mercedes sign, crosses and the Jewish star. The message was that our corporate fascist military state kills for profit.
One of the highlights of the concert for me was Waters performing a duet with himself from 1980 on the song Mother. As you can see from the video, people are losing faith in governments across the globe. The crowd was a mixture of old farts like myself, people in their 20’s and 30’s, and teens dragged to the concert by their old man. When Waters sings the line, “Do you trust the government?”, the stadium erupted with a thunderous NOOOOO!!!! See for yourself.
The guitar work by GE Smith on Comfortably Numb and Hey You is phenomenal. Waters doesn’t have much to do except strike the Wall near the end of this piece with the predictable outcome.
http://youtu.be/GGS63DEPAGo
The imposing fully built Wall stays in place for all of Act 2, which opens with Hey You.
http://youtu.be/Ct37LF6wgBY
At the end of the concert during the finale of Outside the Wall, the entire wall comes crashing down. The message I took away from the concert was that our civilization is under the control of corporate fascist warmongers. Profits at any human price is the mantra. The fact that Waters is still free to use his artistry to reaveal the truth to 40,000 people gives me hope. The fact that I can write about it and have thousands read the message gives me hope. The fact that my three Millenial sons get the message about government tyranny and corporate malfeasance gives me hope. If enough people see the light and begin to resist, we can tear down that wall.
Most of the videos and pictures were taken by my sons Kevin & Jimmy. Michael, my youngest, is now a Pink Floyd superfan.
Here is a link to the complete setlist, with accompanying videos:
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/roger-waters/2012/citizens-bank-park-philadelphia-pa-5bdcb77c.html
“The message I took away from the concert was that our civilization is under the control of corporate fascist warmongers.”
And you would be correct.
Hey you is probably my favorite rock song of all time. Whenever it comes on the radio I stop and soak it in. When I need a break from reality, I pop on this song sit back, and close my eyes. By the end of the song I’m in a much more stable state of mind.
I am so very very jealous. You suck.
That being said, how is it this Waters doesn’t see? How can he dislike government AND corporations, equating them in his view as one and the same? Senseless hippy. Obviously confused.
Gray Champion?
You’re excitement is infectious.
Must feel great to be filled with hope and I thank you so much for sharing your hope, inspiration and the experience with those of us that couldn’t see it.
And thanks (a lot) for raising fine young men, there aren’t enough of those being raised anymore. (Avalon too!)
@TeresaE – They are only fine based on his estimation. Anybody over the age of 40 worth their salt already knows everything they need to know about the Admin’s kids based on observations of your typical Mall-rat crowd.
Sorry, feeling bitter. Got lectured at by a career enlisted man the other day for being part of a useless generation so I’m feeling grumpy.
It probably pissed him off even more when he realized that my “useless” ass makes twice as much as he does and puts in 50% more hours as well. Those realizations didn’t cause him to back down or even admit he was wrong. Instead, just bitched about how we don’t respect our elders and thats another reason we “will never amount to shit.”
Had to leave the party early, was gonna clock that fucker in the jaw.
PC, you did prove it to him, he was just to freaking stupid (and should be feeling guilty because he helped create “your” generation, the hypocritical moron) to realize it.
Next time smile big (learned in sales and HR, bad news goes down better with a smile – and any witnesses will report that you were not threatening him, hell you were smiling! – and tell him that your not balling up his fist and punching him square in the mouth is living proof that he is wrong. You, and many more in your generation, DO respect their elders.
Then walk away.
People are idiots and you can only control how you react to them, not their idiocy.
Prove ’em wrong. Best revenge.
The guy was wrong, as wrong as any other stereotype, but, you’ve worked with kids younger than you, lots of what he believes isn’t wrong in many cases.
Present company excepted.
@TeresaE –
“but you’ve worked with kids younger than you, lots of what he believes isn’t wrong in many cases.”
Actually, my wife have noticed that exact same thing. I’ve been working on an idea for why that might be, and am thinking of trying to get it published just because I can.
I never was one to dive into the social sciences, but its easy to get papers published (lol wut data?) and the topics are as diverse as humanity itself so there is always room for more hypotheses.
Anyways, our particular generation is a study in contrasts. Those who are useless didn’t half-ass it; they are well and truly useless. Those who are hard workers have the benefit of a complete understanding of technology and the mental plasticity to pick up new trades and professions at the drop of a hat.
Unfortunately the second camp is much smaller than the former. Probably because its harder to be a badass than it is to be a fatass.
Damn, Admin, and here I thought you had been on a diet. ‘Sic him, AWD.
Lipoh
If he were a woman, I’d say he was 7 months pregnant.
And that haircut! I am surprised someone hasn’t come up and pulled a condom down over his head!
Insulting my haircut is a slap in Avalon’s face. She is my barber. Saves me $300 per year.
Gate security took it off him at the door. They thought he was trying to hide some twinkies in there.
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O Brother! Ignore them, Jim, you look very handsome. They are just jealous…..
Avalon’s glasses:
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Ugh oh, Avalon’s getting involved.
She loves Admin, he’s very intelligent, lots of brains in that there head of his.
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Admin getting all sexied up for Avalon:
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Admin ready for date night:
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U guys are bad…
jim is across the roomand wants me to tell you…….well, you already know what he wants to say…
Admin across the room, contemplating his next article:
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Amazing to see 30 plus years of technological improvement in the show. I saw the wall in London in 1981, and it was fantastic then, but no where near the spectacle it is now. I have to admit I do prefer the original Comfortably Numb in that show. From memory Waters was in a small hotel room at the top of the wall, and as the song finished the final part of the wall was put into place to seal off that hotel room with him in it.
Not sure if this links works, but here are a couple of photos from 1981 that I have just scanned in.
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/14410700/1/Pink%20Floyd?h=7ff148
I also saw Roger Waters perform the wall in 1990 on the old Berlin Wall. That was so surreal. A friend to get a better view climbed on a lamp post, which only 10 months before had run down the centre of the wall death strip.
Jim…….
This post was a tour de force. It took a lot of work on your part, and it showed your passion for writing and reporting skills at their highest level.
Normally, I would have jumped all over you for your taste in music, ya-da-ya-da-ya-dah. Usual TBP banter, just for fun. Not this time. You brought the reader into this concert and how you felt. What it was like to be there. You made me feel like I was there with you. I’m really, really good with that.
Please do not interpret this well deserved praise as some sort of suck-up comment. I’m confident that there will be other issues on which we can trade differences and insults.
But for the time being, well done.
SSS – and here I thought my and AWD’s well planned assault was the real winner in this thread. It takes time and effort to come up with those pictures, you know.
I too felt as if I had been there, and only the best writers can pull that off. Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience. What a great Dad! Your boys will always remember this.
The stars of david should have been a lot larger, imo.
Thanks to Jim and his son’s for this post, outstanding.
Actual picture of Llpoh after seeing one of his employees smoking and wearing a thumb ring.
He was already enraged by one of his 20 year employees calling in sick because of an emergency appendectomy that day. He called the guy a pussy and docked him a days pay.
Actual picture of AWD cruising for chicks
AWD with his first wife
Now you know why he has a fat obsession.
Llpoh’s claim to fame at Dartmouth. He was the mascot keggy. He liked it when the guys tapped him.
Admin it’s all about bad lighting making objects appear larger than they really are. You could try dropping your pants in the next photo and letting this distortion work to your advantage. Just a thought.
The flat, even illumination makes it hard for the camera to capture dimension, unlike in a photo shoot with flattering soft lights. Cast from an angle, light creates shadows that sculpt the face and body by hiding unwanted flesh. Softer lights can hide wrinkles and smooth out the skin for women, while harsher lights on male faces exaggerate lines for a chiseled look
sensetti
I knew you would understand.
Dropping my pants in a baseball stadium might also get me some time in a Phila jail cell with my friends from West Philly. They would see my website on the t-shirt and read my 30 Blocks series. That would make me some friends.
re: “Actual picture of Llpoh after seeing one of his employees smoking and wearing a thumb ring.”
A compliment, actually. Chief Wild Eagle and Sgt. O’Rourke were both shrewd businessmen. Of course they accomplished this long before the I.R.S. came into play.
I take that last sentence back, the I.R.S. did exist in the mid 1860’s (its infancy). My bad.
The milky way which is some 25,000 light years across also looks slim from a distance.
Anonymous gets my point. I’m glad to see reasonable people still exist.
“EVERYONE knows the camera adds 25 pounds.”
Especially after a few cheese steaks eh?
Going to the gym and cycling makes for awesome rippeditude
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AWD looking in the mirror
A young Drexel accounting student
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Glad you had a good time.
AWD what is that? I am sure you have made a posting violation of some kind.
I think it was Temple, not Drexel. Sooo sorry.
“Waters dedicated the show to Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian man shot in the head seven times at Stockwell tube station on the London Underground by the London Metropolitan police after he was misidentified as one of the fugitives involved in the previous day’s failed bombing attempts.”
Tragedy. You board a train, unaware you’re being followed by police, and before you know it you’re dead. Un-f&*&king-believable!!!!!
Message for AWD. Remember when AWD had to change his alias because he got tired of the proctologist jokes?
Admin’s on a diet, it’s just gonna take awhile to see the results…
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Message for AWD
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Green, I am GREEN with envy, I tell you.
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Do you think 1 person in 1000 in that audience got the fascist corporate-gov tie in?
Sigh, looks like a great time, Jimbo.
How I wish, how I wish, I was there…
AWD trying to impress the young chicks in his sports car. It’s tough to make a good impression with bugs in your teeth.
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Alright, enough with the diet jokes. Resorting to proctology, a sure sign of weakness.
I prefer gynecology myself…
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“Insulting my haircut is a slap in Avalon’s face. She is my barber. Saves me $300 per year.”
—-Admin
Lazy. You and I have the same hairline, which is slim to none. So who gives me my buzzcut? I do! Saves me $300 per year.
Avalon – I am sure you give a fine haircut. It is, however, impossible to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.
IIPOH
WTF is up with all those gay ass pics you posted??? It makes me wonder about you my friend. I wonder, did you have those pics saved on your harddrive or did you actually have to do a keyword search for them? If so, I hate to wonder what those “key words” were!!! Or maybe it was something you ran across on your daily gay sex porn site?
Damn! My first comments before I was distracted and made sick from those pics IIPOH posted, was
something along the lines of a few other posters! Damn I”M JEALOUS! This might have been the last time to get to see that show and I missed it when it came to S.F. Bullshit! But, thanks anyways Admin and Sons for the great vids.
Plato – you want some? Feeling froggy are you? Jump right in, the water’s fine. Just remember to watch out for the crocodile.
Llpoh says:
“SSS – and here I thought my and AWD’s well planned assault was the real winner in this thread. It takes time and effort to come up with those pictures, you know.”
Hell, if I had to come up with pictures like that, I’d be wearing Avalons glasses…….. IF I could still see! If these are the winners, I’d hate to see the heinous shit you must encounter when searching out “the good stuff”. Damn!
I_S
IS – I only post the classy stuff I find.
Lipoh
These people haven’t seen a low-down, in-the-mud, bare-knuckle fist-fight. There hasn’t been one in a long, long time. This was mild “ribbing’ on the admin. Maybe one of these days they can experience a real throw-down.
A sample, a taste, in picture form:
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AWD – no major 3 day brawls lately. A few hammerings of newbies, and a few pubes plucked from DaveL and Zara (I did take exception to some of SAH’s stupidity, but she has pulled her head in for the most part). Plato and co. are feeling like they can show a bit of teeth as a result. So soon they forget what can happen if they give the big dogs an itch to scratch. Some things can only be learned by experience. Yep, good idea to antagonize the big dogs. They better hope the chain holds.
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This just in. Avalon faxed me this actual photo of Admin before she took the buzzcut clippers to him.
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSNjotpok76I2nr0Gtfdopa42ssxRVClM81zDxXdsYcXaghak99fQ[/img]