The Wall, 15.6.2011 in Berlin

Musically The Wall was never very interesting for me, but I wanted to go to the concert because I expected a big show. And I was right! What a show it was!

The audience was middle aged, 30+, and both sexes equally distributed. I sat next to a father with his preteen son, but that may be the exception. For students the ticket was probably too expensive. When I came in I was welcomed with John Lennon's Imagine and Billy Holiday's Strange Fruit, which created the right mood for what was about to come.

And then it started. I am used to flying pigs, and while I was looking for them, a fighter plane flew above my head and crashed into the wall that stood left and right of the stage. All with surround sound. Much light effects, helicopter sound, fireworks and cameras watching us created a tense atmosphere from the start. A big bomb squadron was headed towards us, but they neither dropped bombs nor candies, instead they dropped religion, political doctrines and company signs, which flooded the world. People patrolling in costumes under banners that resembles Nazi symbolism do not propagate Nazism but "Capitalism...trust us!” and "Consume... and everything will be ok!",  the new threats of today.

During the first half the wall (of fear) was gradually built up and obscured more and more of the stage. The wall served as a projection screen for an extensive multimedia show, which also included three-dimensional giant puppets and said fighter plane. Even the pigs were there, one flying pig at the end of the show, and a projected pink pig flying over a factory. There was so much happening that it was sometimes difficult to keep track or to see everything.

Roger Waters was always the center point during the show, acting and singing before and behind the wall. Although I was glad he did not try to speak German (like others, who I didn't understand because of their terrible accent) but stuck to English, I wished he would have talked a little bit slowly for the non-native speakers.

The first half ended with a suicide. After so much violence, and lots of pictures of people who were killed violently, it was time to say goodbye cruel world. By that time the whole stage and band was covered by the wall. After an intermission the question was, hey you, is there anybody out there? The audience cheered and the band played on behind the wall, not to be seen.
During Comfortably Numb I wished I would have seen David Gilmour standing on top of the wall, but no, it was another singer and another guitar player. However, the musicians did a really good job, playing the whole thing more or less like on the album. The sound was perfect, as always when I attended a concert in this location (02 World Berlin).
It ended with an extensive animated film and the claim to tear down the wall, which inevitably ended my thrill of the senses. It was worth watching and I am glad I was there. Oh, and I did not know that Roger Waters could play the trumpet.

This show had a clear political message. It could be summarized with the lines I heard in the song that greeted me in the beginning:

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace


The wall at the beginning where you can still see the stage


Big mbrother is watching you! The wall gets higher, only some holes to see the band.


First half is over. The wall covers everything.


The worms are there!


The Trial.

For some one it's just a dream come true to perform in front of huge audience.