June 6, 2012
Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Seats were in second tier, straight back from stage (Section 201, row F, seats 1 and 2)
After having read many rave reviews of the Roger Waters 2011 tour of "The Wall", I jumped at tickets when Grand Rapids managed to get a date on the 2012 tour. I wanted to get some in the "reasonable" price range (I'm told some went as high as $200!). Also, when it comes to the band Pink Floyd, I'm much more of a David Gilmour fan. But, the reports had made frequent mention of the spectacle of the show, and everyone said it was a "must see".
As an introduction, the performance is of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" release, which was also made into a film around 1982. The film starred Bob Geldof, before Bob became the founder of the whole "Live Aid" stuff. The Roger Waters performance was part recreation of the Pink Floyd 1980 tour, along with new technological enhancements, as well as including footage from the film. There are songs that were part of the original tour, which did not make it on the studio release. There is no opening act on this tour, and Roger does no play any other music in this performance.
June 6, 2012 arrives and we make our way to the arena. The venue appears to be almost full (I'm reading 10,000 was the attendance, in a typically 12,000 max facility). One of the first things I notice is that sound booth area is full of various technicians for both sound and video - not quite U2 scale, but close. The stage area has the "Wall" partially constructed on the left and right sides, with middle open showing the band area.
At about 8:15pm, lights go down and the performance starts with two of the "soldiers" dragging the "Pink" puppet to middle stage, while an audio clip from Spartacus plays. They then let the puppet fall on the stage, and leave to the sound of a trumpet playing a melody I'm told is from the song "Outside The Wall". The band then launches into the opening song "In The Flesh?" with massive lighting and fireworks, all climaxing in a large model airplane coming across the crowd and crashing into the right side of the wall, in a ball of fire. Roger Waters appears to take the lead vocal, while also playing part ring leader and part actor. Impressive opening, to say the least.
After the smoke settles, the band continues through the story with "Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2", which introduces the giant "Teacher" puppet. While the puppet does have an ominous look, it really doesn't do much during the song. Sure, it has lighted eyes and moves up and down, but I wanted to see it actually move across the stage. Roger had enlisted local children (I'm not sure how they were selected) to help act as school children to the teacher. The children also had some simple movements choreographed, and sang the school children parts of the song. It worked out fairly well.
After this, Roger welcomed us to the show and thanked the children for their help. He then explained a bit about the 1980 performance of "The Wall", and played "Big Brother Is Watching You" to a video clip from the 1980 show. The video is shown across the partially built wall, and also included the screen behind the band - the entire area was frequently treated as one large screen. For me, the visuals were more interesting than the song.
The visuals projected on the wall looked fantastic, but were all laced with Roger's particular political positions. Although some of this is expected, it did seem a bit "insincere" within the backdrop of this massive production.
During the song "Goodbye Blue Sky", Roger had video of animated planes dropping symbols of various political, religious, and corporate establishments. Although I'm sure this was meant to make some sort of anti-establishment statement, for me it was lost on the fact that Roger probably has more money than most of us (and probably owns a Mercedes Benz). Not to mention the concert ticket price and $40 T-Shirts for sale don't exactly make Roger look less capitalistic.
As the performance continues through the first act, the wall continues to be "built" by stage persons, block by block. There was a specific format to how it was assembled, leaving key spots open until the end. At this point, there was an intermission.
After intermission, the band performs "Hey You" from behind the wall - you could see the lighting being used as if the wall wasn't there, but they never removed a single brick - kind of a cool effect and something I'm sure has always been a highlight of this show. During the song "Nobody Home", a left section of the wall folds out showing a small hotel room with chair, TV, lamp, and windows. I'm told Roger is supposed to be in the "Pink" character here, while performing the song "Vera". Although it looked great, the performance seemed a bit lackluster. Following "Vera" was video of soldiers reunited with the children, which was another point that seemed disconnected from the rest of the story - when considering the previous visuals during the show, it left me confused about what Roger was trying to say with the "additional" video footage.
Moving on to "Comfortably Numb", Roger is in the middle of the stage in front of the wall, while another vocalist and lead guitar player emerge at the top of the wall for solo parts. This created more interesting visuals. I've read glowing reviews of the guitar player doing a good job with capturing the original David Gilmour solo, and he does come close - I still like Gilmour better.
After this, the entire band comes out in front of the wall, performing on a set that came up from under the stage. "The Show Must Go On" and "In The Flesh" are performed from this smaller setup in front of the wall, while Roger plays the role of Fascist dictator. We were also treated to the inflatable pig floating around (via remote control), with various symbols and images from earlier, painted on the pig.
During "Waiting For Worms", video sequences of the marching hammers (from "The Wall" film) are used to great effect. Visually, this was close to the most impressive part of the evening (for me). At the end of the piece, a sole red spotlight is at the top of the wall where the "Pink" puppet is sitting. It falls off the wall to the stage.
Next we have Roger performing "The Trial" lead vocal, while the animation from the film was projected. To me, this is the most "Broadway" part of the entire show, and creates a nice change in musical direction. Although Roger did a fine job vocally, I wasn't that impressed with his acting - not to mention, I wasn't sure if we were supposed to be watching Roger or the animation - I went with the animation.
This all came to a climax and Roger leaves the stage to the chant of "Tear down the wall". After a brief moment, the wall falls down starting from middle top. Smoke and light flashes add to the visuals, while a silhouette of a childish girl with her hands raised, appears in the back video screen. Here's video I shot of this moment:
After the "smoke" settles, the band comes back out in front of the fallen wall, and performs and acoustic song. I'm told it is "Outside The Wall". During the song, red confetti falls from the rafters on the stage and floor audience. Roger introduced the band afterward.
As sort of an overall summary, I'd say the show was visually stunning and the sound was incredibly clear - probably the best arena sound mix I've ever heard. The band was good and recreated the music fine. Roger comes across as a great idea man, but an average musician and vocalist. His musical performances were fine (although I hear a few songs are played in slightly lower keys), but his attempts at dramatic acting could use some improvement (or let someone else do that stuff). In my opinion, Roger isn't able to recreate the Pink Floyd experience on his own, but he sure did provide a feast for the eyes and ears.
On another note, I know that this tour is making arena stops as well as baseball stadium stops (the show was going to Chicago's Wrigley Field next). Having to squeeze all the show into the smaller Van Andel Arena probably had some negative impact on this massive show. I'm sure it feels a bit more "spread out" and not as "cramped", when in the larger stadiums - this is a show that would benefit from having a bit more room. But, I'm glad it came to Grand Rapids, and I thought it was worth the time and money.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Total time was about 2hrs with intermission.
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