THE WALL TOUR 2012
Article by Adriana Rubio
Roger Waters’ “The Wall Live” project-design to tour the world was headed by Mark Fisher working hand in hand with a number of prestigious names such as Jeremy Lloyd, Sean Evans, and Tyler Kisera of Tait Towers along with Andrew Zweck of “Sensible Events”, and Chris Kansy internationally known for his work with Van Morrison and Janet Jackson among others.
For young beginners into the music world and/or for those who are not yet familiar with the origins of “The Wall”, I’m putting together the most relevant elements to understand better the concept of this new “The Wall”, a memorable live tour that Roger Waters invites the world to join his venture and message.
The Wall is an opera rock which deeply explores human beings’ abandonment, suffering and isolation conditions. It is all represented by the figurative building of a huge wall. The double album songs and film storyline follow a number of events happening in the life of the main character Pink, a role mainly based on Roger Waters’ personal story. He grew up hoping his father would return back home. Waters’ father was killed during the World War II. The story continues with an oppressed Pink by his domineering mother plus he finds himself tormented at school by despotic-insulting teachers. The whole thing turns out into symbolic “bricks”. Pink grows up and turns out to be a successful rock star. But his personal life becomes a nightmare with the abandonment-infidelity of his wife, drug abuse and acts of rage toward others as his behavior turns unpredictable. This way, Pink finishes the building of his own wall and secluding himself from human contact. While Pink hides behind his own wall, his nervous system experiences a variety of behavioral crisis and ends up on an on-stage “hallucination” performance where he sees himself as a fascist dictator playing in front of a Neo-Nazi assembly. The guilt Pink feels is too big to handle so he puts himself on a court-trial where his own judge orders him to “Tear Down The Wall”.
The Alan Parker-directed film The Wall written by Roger Waters includes several reflections on Pink Floyd co-founder and former member guitarist-singer-visual artist Syd Barrett. Roger Waters shows the grief that Syd’s erratic behavior caused on him the day the guitarist appeared at Abbey Road Recording Studios in 1975 with his hair and eyebrows shaved off. The sad event is represented by the Pink character played by musician-actor Bob Geldof in a crucial scene where he shaves off his body hair and eyebrows after experiencing a mental breakdown.
The extraordinary new presentation of The Wall is by far the purest-honest masterpiece ever created. The feelings of loss, suffering and abandonment that were at the center of Roger Waters’ original “The Wall” storyline are still present. But the significance of it as a whole has now been extended to a more deep assertion on the consequences caused by religions, war, politics and business-trade. It also shows how all this together impacted on people’s lives for centuries. Corporate logos and religious symbols reveal most of the human kind conflicts. It doesn’t matter if you’re not familiar with the 1979 Pink Floyd double album or the Alan Parker-directed movie. The message is clear enough and is the kind of spectacle that you can’t miss. The Wall is more like a fine-arts-theatrical production than an average rock concert.
“The Wall Live” is divided into two 55 minutes long Acts approximately where this astonishing masterwork delights the audience not only musically but visually with the building of the huge wall with hundreds bricks together and making a total of about 500. During and after its full construction, the meaningful wall turns into some sort of huge screen where outstanding-colored-significant images are shown. Additionally the 10m-high inflatable puppets representing The Teacher, The Mother, and the famous flying pig make the audience feel that the whole thing is not of this planet.
The Wall is musically recreated by Roger Waters on bass guitar, acoustic guitar and vocals. Waters is accompanied by eleven accomplished musicians: guitar virtuoso Dave Kilminster who plays lead electric guitars during most of the show, acoustic-classical guitar on the song “Is there Anybody Out There?”; the banjo and also plays Waters’ bass Fender Precision on the song “Mother”. However the key moment for Kilminster is on the song “Comfortably Numb” which he plays so passionately note for note to please Floyd-Gilmour fans with a real high level of professionalism. Guitarists Snowy White and G.E Smith are truly amazing too, drummer Graham Broad, keyboardist Jon Carin, keyboardist-organist Harry Waters who is Roger Waters’ son and plays with him since 2002, vocalist Robbie Wyckoff and backing singers’ a.k.a The Pumpkin Launchers, Jon Joyce and The Lennons (Mark, Kipp and Pat).
After a number of sold-out and successful performances in Australia and New Zealand in February 2012, Roger Waters, musicians and crew prepare for the South America leg starting with two gigs in Santiago de Chile at The National Stadium on March 2nd and 3rd. They will be visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina for nine gigs at River Plate Stadium on March 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 18th and 20th. After completing these performances, The Wall will be in Brazil to play four gigs: Porto Allegre on March 25th, Rio de Janeiro on March 29th, Sao Pablo on April 1st and 2nd. The band will then take a couple weeks off before arriving in Mexico to play two gigs at Foro Sol Stadium on April 27th and 28th.
Roger Waters’ The Wall will continue touring in North America from May to August 2012.
THE WALL LIVE SET LIST:
FIRST ACT:
IN THE FLESH
THE THIN ICE
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL PART 1
THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL PART 2
MOTHER
GOOD BYE BLUE SKY
EMPTY SPACES
WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW?
YOUNG LUST
ONE OF MY TURNS
DON’T LEAVE ME NOW
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL PART 3
THE LAST FEW BRICKS
GOOD BYE CRUEL WORLD
SECOND ACT:
HEY YOU
IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?
NOBODY HOME
VERA
BRING THE BOYS BACK HOME
COMFORTABLY NUMB
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
IN THE FLESH
RUN LIKE HELL
WAITING FOR THE WORMS
STOP
THE TRIAL
OUTSIDE THE WALL
For more information please visit Roger Waters' official site at:
