Subject: Comments on the Tweeter Center show
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1999 16:32:48 EDT
From: Scalz2@aol.com
To: cpforbes@hopper.unh.edu

Roger Waters, Tweeter Center, August 4, 1999
I write this review as a person who first knew of Pink Floyd through my older
brothers. I was too young to see the group in the glory days and was too
disgusted to see the "Momentary Lapse of Reason"/"Pulse" tours of recent
years. When I hung up the phone after ordering my tickets to this show I
really could not believe that I was going to see Roger Waters live.

No musical stone was left unturned by Roger and his band at their show at the
Tweeter Center on August 4th. The show lighting was top notch, but the sparse
staging and projections made one thing clear. This night was about the music.
The band was great. Shrug off all that insulting gossip about Roger's
musicianship. He was the bass player in this band, his parts only doubled by
Andy Fairweather-Low during the double bass section of "Shine On". Roger also
led the group on acoustic guitar through the "Southhampton Dock" - "Pigs on
the Wing" section of  the show. Finally, he joined the boys on electric
guitar during the encore, "Comfortably Numb". He was in excellent voice
throughout, reclaiming "Wish You Were Here", "Shine On", "Brain Damage" and
"Eclipse" as his own. There really is something to hearing the author sing
his own words.

I liked Graham Broad's sound on "The Wall, Live From Berlin" and he continues
to impress. His solo at the beginning of "Time" brought a roar from the
crowd. And everyone was on their feet when his drumming punctuated the tempo
of "Welcome to the Machine". How many percussionists does Uncle Dave tour
with? By the way, we now know how Roger wanted "Perfect Sense" to begin. The
irony was as thick as the humid summer air as the maniacal voice of HAL, from
Stanley Kubrick's "2001" introduced the song. "Dave. Stop Dave... will you
stop, Dave." And then, "My mind is going, I can feel it." A great connection
to Rog's own computer voiced, Billy on "Radio Kaos". I also noticed a shot of
HAL's red, glowing electronic eye on the tv on stage which was broadcasting
images throughout the show. I was hoping Rog would do "Nobody Home" ala
Berlin with Snowy's bluesy solo. Maybe they're saving it for later in the
tour. How about "Nobody Home/Vera/Bring The Boys Back Home/Comfortably
Numb"?? Or "Hey You/Is There Anybody Out There/Nobody Home"?

Other highlights included Jon Carin's lap steel guitar on "Shine On" and his
lead acoustic guitar and vocal on "Dogs". He sure gets a workout during this
set. Snowy White rocked, matching Jeff Beck's sound well on the "Amused to
Death" tunes which all were faithfully and impressively recreated on stage.
Roger's sometimes soft vocals came through nicely. The backup singers
completed the sound. I don't know their names but if they're not the ladies
from the "Amused to Death" album, they sound just like them. The singer who
did the solo part on "Perfect Sense" was incredible. Why not let her have a
crack at "Great Gig", Rog?

Roger's faithfulness to the music shone through during the entire set.
Opening with all of side one of "The Wall" through "Mother" was extremely
cool. The "Dark Side" and "Wish You Were Here" tunes were great. The
thousands of people in the lawn seats made their presence known as Roger
informed the rest of the audience that, of course, "the lunatics are on the
grass." A moment lost on those who only play arenas. "Shine On" was humbly
introduced by its author and welcomed by the crowd like a long lost friend.
"Its a Miracle" had an epic air and a stunning creshendo of a conclusion. It
also had humor.

Roger: "They had sex in Pennsylvania."

Audience: (A roar of approval)

Roger: "A Brazilian (chuckles) grew a tree."

Believe it or not, for me the highlight of the show was "Dogs". It was so
awesome and unexpected. I always wondered what people saw in that album. This
night showed me what great music it is. This band just worked that song. They
were aggressive and accurate. Not a note was out of place and it didn't even
matter who was singing. At times I just closed my eyes and listened.

My interest in Pink Floyd has always centered around the dispute between its
members. I tried to ignore the glossy allure of Mr. Gilmour's dog and pony
show, but I had started to empathize with him. Poor guy, all that talent in
his hands but no audience without the name: "Pink Floyd" outside on the
marquee. Well, last night confirmed my alleigence to the man who wrote the
words, put the soul into my favorite music. As Roger, I and a few thousand of
my friends sang the chorus of "Wish You Were Here" I knew it. The race is
over. You've won, Roger.