Saturday 21 May 2011

The real Wow factor (is there anybody out there?)

We're back in Lincoln after a couple of lovely days in Stockport. After last week's blog post bemoaning the overuse of that horrid cliche, the 'wow factor', D and I got to witness the real 'wow factor' at an unbelievable gig at the MEN arena. Roger Waters brought The Wall to Manchester and it was terrific. D had managed to get seats on the third row right in the middle. Here I am in my Yes t-shirt (you don't wear shirts of the band you are going to see - rock etiquette!) in front of the stage before it started. You can see Roger's long black coat in the background.


And here is a wee collection of photos from D's hands:

This is the wall at the interval. As the performance went on a huge wall made of white bricks was made to separate the band from the audience. In the interval they projected stories and pictures of folks killed as a result of war:


Over the years this album seems to have been transformed from something quite personal to something that makes a real political comment. It's political theatre at its best, in many ways. The projections were INCREDIBLE all the way through. In fact, they were probably the highlight for me, along with the amazing puppets...oh and the fireworks...oh and Rog playing up to the audience. But the projection was really special, particularly during 'Goodbye Blue Sky' and 'Comfortably Numb'

Here's Rog in his big black coat. I'm loving the iconography in this picture. It's a parody of a Nazi rally really, though it makes much more general comments on dictatorship, power and methods of control. D enjoyed being shot repeatedly with a machine gun:


And here's the great man again shouting at us. So, it was a somewhat unusual concert experience. Again, check on the amazing projection:


And after a great gig and the entire MEN arena shouting 'tear down the wall' at the top of their voices, the wall duly came down. As we were sitting on the third row, the backdraft created nearly blew me over. And this was the final projection:


So, what were my lingering memories of it all? Well, I appreciated the personal and the political messages of this piece. As usual with Rog's stuff he is ever concerned with the way we have 'amused ourselves to death' and the overwhelming feeling of futility that we can all sometimes experience. I love the way he is able to bring all this to his music, even if, by his own admission, he isn't quite as angry as he used to be. But I also really liked his analysis of contemporary politics, from American soldiers returning home from Iraq to the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in London. In an era where music is largely (in fact totally!) empty and facile, forcing-feeding kids a diet of rubbish four-chord music and impossibly fanciful (and dangerous) impressions of life, here was some real music to inspire and challenge. Looking round and seeing D and the rest of the Floyd posse singing 'Comfortably Numb' with their arms in the air, it was hard not to be moved by the whole atmosphere. It felt, like D said later, that we had been part of something monumental. I was rockin' out with the best of them.

In fact he had two monumental music nights in a row, going to the MEN on the Thursday night to watch Rush. They aren't my cup of tea but D loved it. It led to a car conversation about why some music is definitely 'boy music'!

D is currently watching our DVD on The Wall live in Berlin from 1990 and I have a cup of tea to drink so I'll be on my way. Hope you enjoyed the review.

CSW

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