Former Pink Floyd maestro Roger Waters is on the road again. We break down the show for you, Dullard-style:SITE AND TIME: Nissan Pavilion, about 25 miles outside our nation's capital, on a pleasant Saturday evening.
THE CROWD: Predominantly male, as indicated by long lines for the men's room but not for the women's room. Some children in attendance, some as young as 8. Two African-Americans and a smattering of Indians.
LENGTH OF SHOW: Nearly three hours, including a 15-minute intermission. There was no opening act.
PRICE OF BEER: $7.50.
THE SETLIST: Waters wisely emphasized the Floyd songbook over his solo material, opening with two tracks from "The Wall." He touched on the band's trippy origins with a feedback-filled take on "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun," and images of Syd Barrett accompanied "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." The nostalgia was tempered by the contemporary as a photo of President Bush was on screen during "The Fletcher Memorial Home," as Waters attempted to link his past anti-war statements to today's conflicts. He did so more explicitly with the one new song he played, "Leaving Beirut," an angry blast at Bush, Blair, et al.
THE BAND: Waters has assembled a formidable army of minions, including the obligatory trio of backup singers. They came in handy during "Mother," in which one of the women took on the vocal part sung on "The Wall" by David Gilmour. Speaking of the absent Floyd guitarist, he was replaced by two anonymous players who did their best to mimic the original. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't capture the Gilmour sound.
THE MAN HIMSELF: Waters, his graying mane offset by black pants and shirt, stalked the stage, inciting and exhorting the crowd. At 63, he's only touring now because he wants to, and he was cleary enjoying himself. His weary voice, singed by cigarettes and primal screams, isn't what it once was, but he still managed to bring depth and emotion to the material, both in quieter moments such as "Southampton Dock" and rave-ups such as "Have A Cigar."
THE STAGECRAFT: As noted here, a new version of the inflatable pig made an appearance during a thrashing version of "Sheep." For this show, the "Impeach Bush" message remained on the creature's rear end, with the more cryptic "Kafka Rules, OK" on the side. A similar inflatable, this one of an astronaut, floated above the stage during "Perfect Sense," although the meaning of its appearance was less obvious and effective.
THE GIMMICK: The show's main selling point is a performance of the entire "Dark Side of the Moon." Although it's nice that Waters would acknowledge the importance of this album, the practicality of performing it creates a serious obstacle for him: He doesn't sing much on that album, leaving those duties to erstwhile Floyd members Rick Wright and David Gilmour. For this show, Waters' backing musicians shouldered much of the vocal duty, and that created the impression of watching a talented tribute band playing and singing "Dark Side" with Waters sitting in on bass. Only on the concluding "Eclipse" — in which Waters took the mic — did this performance of "Dark Side" truly shine.
THE ENCORE: Waters went all-"Wall" for the closing numbers, including an extended "Another Brick in the Wall." The show ended with a stirring medley of "Vera" and "Bring the Boys Back Home" — another indication of Waters connecting his previous work to modern times. It worked pretty well, especially as a segue into the inevitable closer, "Comfortably Numb."
DULLARD RATING: Rocked.
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