For Pink Floyd fans that were too young or geographically
challenged to ever witness the band live, Roger Waters’ “The Wall Live” (or his
“Dark Side of the Moon” performance from a few years ago) is likely the closest
you can get. But even for non-fans experiencing “The Wall Live” is remarkable,
sometimes chilling, though occasionally thematically inconsistent (the
juxtaposition of war crimes with Waters leading the crowd in
feel-good/we’re-all-in-this-together handclaps during a roof raiser like “Run
Like Hell” is a bit odd).
Water’s show Tuesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena began
with goosebump-inducing fireworks from above and below the stage as Waters
appeared in black with white low top Converse Chuck Taylors before quickly
stepping into a long leather military style jacket for the opening of “In the
Flesh.”
During “Thin Ice” faces of those killed during wars and by
terrorists - from World War II to 9-11 to Iraq and Afghanistan - were projected
on “the wall” that was half erected at the start of the show as well as on the
giant circular screen above the stage. It was through these faces that Waters
began to draw parallels between the original concept of the film and the
current state of the world. In fact the
appearance of those photographs as well as birth and death information about
each on the fully erected wall during intermission served as one of the most
stirring parts of the show (as did footage of children greeting deployed
parents later during “Vera”). I could hear the fans around me reading the dead’s
short biographies out loud.
There were also parts of the show that were joyful. Early on,
Waters beamed when a local children’s choir wearing “Fear Builds Walls”
t-shirts marched on stage to sing the famous lines from “Another Brick in the
Wall Part 2” while an inflatable two-story version of the monster/teacher
figure from the film sort of danced on the side of the stage. Those children
were more animated in their choreography than some others I’d watched on
YouTube. Waters later said the students only had a 20-minute rehearsal a few
hours earlier.
A few more inflatable figures from the film found their way
on stage during the set, but the actual wall was slowly pieced together by
stage hands as Waters and his 10-piece band recreated the songs from the double
album. Eventually the band was hidden entirely.
The towering wall created a sort of claustrophobic feeling
for those closest to the stage, while it served as a stage-wide projection
screen for those toward the back during “Hey You,” which opened the second
portion of the show.
Waters was soon back at center stage trading verses with
Robbie Wyckoff, who sang David Gilmour’s parts. Wyckoff and the band eventually
joined Waters dressed in military wear in front of the wall where they
performed the last few songs of the set with Waters in similar garb firing a
fake machine gun at the audience (yes, that was a bit disturbing) and
maniacally singing songs like “Run.”
With the audience chanting “Tear Down the Wall” it finally
fell in a quick crumble with blocks cluttering the front of the stage. That
made way for one of the most interesting performances of the night as Waters
and the band reappeared in street clothes armed with acoustic instruments like
mandolin, banjo, and accordion (with Waters on trumpet) for “Outside the Wall.”
As he introduced the stellar band - which included his son Harry, Snowy White
(who performed on the original “Wall” shows with Pink Floyd in 1980), and G. E.
Smith of “Saturday Night Live” fame - it was as if the wall of the lavish
production had also crumbled.
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