Roger Water's The Wall Live

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   Roger Water's The Wall, arguably the best rock show ever produced.
Pink Floyd released their eleventh studio album on November of 1979. The Wall was the most ambitious album the band had ever released. It was an instant hit around the world producing the number one hit "Another Brick In The Wall Part II" and going Platinum within the first three months after its release. The ensuing tour was to be the grandest show ever produced for a rock concert. In fact, it ended up being so big and cumbersome that the band couldn't really set it up like a regular tour. Instead, the band opted to play the show for several nights at the time in a very few selected cities.

Despite of the lack of financial success, The Wall became the show from which all shows would be measured up against for years to come. It was, by all intent, a breakthrough in the presentation of rock concerts. It upped the ante regarding sight and sound with their state-of-the-art equipment and visual richness. It was however, the project that would end up rupturing the band's core. After The Wall, Pink Floyd would no longer consist of Roger Waters, Dave Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason. Rick, as a matter of fact, was fired during the session for the album and performed for the concerts as a hired hand (ironically and because of this, he was the only original member to make money out of the tour).

After Roger Waters walked away, the band decided to carry on as Pink Floyd. They even reinstated Wright as a member (although not officially until their last album "The Division Bell"). Waters tried to sue the band about the use of the name to no avail. The one thing he did managed to walk away with were the rights for The Wall. This, in turn, led to a huge production of "The Wall - Live in Berlin" in 1990. The event marked the falling of the Berlin wall and the unification of Germany. The concert had many guests musicians but not any of the Pink Floyd members other than Waters himself. He later released a double album of the concert which went platinum. There was, after all, still large interest on seeing the show by many who didn't have the opportunity to witness such an epic event.

Ironically, technology has more than caught up with the show's ambitions. So much more than the current production of The Wall makes the original production seem like a school rehearsal. I'm not just talking about a bigger wall here. The new projections are sharper and encompass the whole wall instead of repeating three times like the original show. There are also some amazing computer graphics that make the wall seem as if  it was moving at times. At one point, a subway train projects full-size across the bottom of the entire wall looking as if it was really there. Another highlight shows the wall rotating on a pivoting point or exploding into a colourful sunset from which a structure rises at Waters' command.

There is no doubt in my mind that The Wall is by far the best and most powerful rock show I have ever seen. Keeping in mind that I have seen Pink Floyd in four occasions as well as having seen Dave Gilmour on tour as well as Roger Waters on three different times. The Wall's power is not only created by the strength of the visuals but by symbiotic relationship between the music and all the elements surrounding it. It is truly one of those WOW! moments in one's life.

Read the full article with photos here:
http://leonblogaswords.blogspot.com/2011/11/roger-waters-wall-arguably-best-rock.html

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