A Watery Weekend - Part II
Water. Giver of life. Salvation in a desert. Cleansing. Purifying. Requisite for all things living on earth.
Roger Waters. One of the founding members of Pink Floyd.
The coolest thing about a Roger Waters show, of course, is that it’s not simply a concert, it’s an event and to really grasp the event, it’s best to participate in the event. There is a band, and they play on stage, but the event itself is part of what happens both on the stage and off. Over. Around.
Waters has the video screen backdrop. Yawn. Music is going on in the background. Big whoop. Hey, I see smoke rising up there, I think it’s video. Well, interesting.
Whoa! Did I see that right? Yeah, I sure did.
The single coolest feature of a Waters show is that everything - absolutely every detail - is choreographed to the absolute finest detail. Everything has been thought through and plays literally right on cue. He’s a master showman, a performer in every sense while on stage, and giant of grace and style in the spotlight. He is the Steve Jobs of the rock world, and I’m not talking the black turtleneck. Or is that the other way around?
The best way to enjoy Waters is to immerse yourself in the show. Get tickets on the floor. While the crepe paper twirls and the pig soars overhead, remember that your job is to reach upward. Grasp, gasp and soar. {Or if you’re the moron in front of us, “Duuuude, take some pictures. He’s got, like, colours on the screen again. Let’s make sure we get a shot of every single detail so we can be sure to look at the photos later and see what we forgot to experience..”}
I found “Wish You Were Here” very poignant. I don’t believe that’s my imagination.
The single worst feature of a Waters show is also that absolutely every detail is choreographed to the absolute finest detail. There is little crowd interaction as the show grinds out unceasingly. The band finishes Dark Side of the Moon and the show “ends” - but the band has not been introduced, they’ve not played “Another Brick in the Wall.“ What a silly little pretense we make, no? The crowd will stay and demand more for as long as you’re able. We don’t need the phony curtain call any longer, really.
Still, it’s damned fun to sing:
We don’t need no edumacation.
We don’t need no volleyball.
No faulty condoms in the bathroom.
Hey, teacher, sit me in the hall.
Your parody lyrics may differ, depending upon your upbringing, of course.
With the CD and a really good sound system, you could likely replicate the audio experience of the concert. They’re amazingly adept at recreating the studio sound and living Waters’ imagination on stage. But there’s no way you can replicate the experience of a Waters concert at home. I don’t have the lights, the pyro, the props or - well - the second hand pot smoke to make it turn out the same. Maybe it’s best we went to the Saddledome instead…