Roger Waters - Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, 8/9/2022

  by Philamonjaro

published: 26 / 11 / 2022

intro

Philamonjaro finds Roger Waters’ twice rescheduled 'This Is Not A Drill' North American tour to be an immense spectacle which delivers memorable music and a salient message.

Synced to large text on multi-LED screens, Roger Waters’ voice carried throughout the arena. Not to be ignored. “If you are one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people, you might as well f**k off to the bar right now. Thank you.” The crowd erupted into cheers. A loud thunder clap and lightning flash revealed on screens duo-tone, slow-motion, urban fly-thought imagery. A blue and white post-apocalyptic, dystopian landscape. The atmospheric droning keyboard chords of 'Comfortably Numb' enveloped the arena. “Hello? Is there anybody in there?”. The die was cast for the night. A two hour ride through the world Waters’ sees as lurching toward extinction. Eighty percent of the set were Pink Floyd songs with the remaining Waters’ solo work, all threading together his 'This Is Not A Drill' concept. An urgent call to act. Not the time to be complacent. This tour, as Waters stated in his promo tour video, "is about the fact that this is our life ending. We are the precipice and it needs a slight nudge and we will all be yesterday’s news. It is me shouting it from my rooftop and hoping that you all will shout it from your rooftop so we will start acting as one. And put an end to this madness.”. Waters performs to inform and activate, not solely entertain. Waters is known as unapologetically controversial both in the news (e.g. the now famously contentious Michael Smerconish CNN interview), and on stage. At 78 years old, grey and weathered, his convictions are as loud as ever. As they say, if you are not outraged, you are not paying attention. He’s certainly paying attention. The video, animations and graphics ranged from Julian Assange, Lakota Sioux water protectors, nuclear holocaust, familiar darkside and wall iconography. It was a relentless visual assault of protests, the downtrodden masses, consumer products, politics, hypocrisy, fighting, pollution, killing, brutality, religion, greed, irony, protests all interspersed with live-feed video of Waters and his musicians. And don’t forget the inflatable flying pig flying through the arena. During 'The Powers That Be', large-scale text of human rights victim names’ scrolled with their location, crime and punishment: George Floyd, Sean Rigg and others. Lest we forget. This segued to an eerie red and black duo tone clip of Ronald Reagan talking before Waters and his band performing 'The Bravery of Being Out of Range;. The second set kicked off with 'In the Flesh' as Waters donned an authoritarian-style black trench coat and dark sunglasses, as a crossed-hammers-in-a-circle logo draped on banners across the stage. Then he ended the song firing a machine gun towards the crowd while flanked by black-uniformed goons on guard. One cannot understate this production. There was a huge crucifix-shaped, tiered stage on the main floor where Waters and his ensemble ambled around in all four directions playing to each side of the venue. This offered fans a closer view than otherwise possible. Sound reinforcement was clear from sightlines. Finally, a superstructure of huge, LED displays loomed over the stage. As the configuration was the same cross shape as the stage, the imagery travelled from one to another seamlessly. Each of the four directions displayed the same images so as not to be missed from any vantage point. Security staff at the dock claimed twenty four semi-rig payloads were hauled in. At the end of the concert Waters thanked his production crew of a hundred and forty staff. There must be a world record somewhere in all this? In addition to playing bass and singing lead vocals, Waters played piano and guitar backed by a complement of musical talent. His ensemble is composed of Dave Kilminster and Jonathan Wilso on guitars, Gus Seyffert on guitar and bass, Jon Carin on keyboards and guitar, Robert Walter on organ, Seamus Blake on saxophone, Joey Waronker on drums with Amanda Belair and Shanay Johnson on back up vocals. As if decompressing from his evening-long clarion call, Waters ended the concert with his ensemble gathered around the piano. He played a reprise of 'The Bar', his lock-down composition. The bar-like setting was used as a metaphoric place where we encourage each other while also acknowledging that everything is a mess. It was reminiscent of gathering around the parlour to share in song. Then Waters and ensemble walked off the stage in a processional playing 'Outside The Wal'l with their acoustic instruments. A ceremonial departure to a march cadence that was musically inspiring, uplifting us to carry on together and collectively stop our society's self-inflicting insanity. Set List: Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd) The Happiest Days of Our Lives (Pink Floyd) Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 (Pink Floyd) Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3 (Pink Floyd) The Powers That Be (Waters Solo) The Bravery of Being Out of Range (Waters Solo) The Bar (Waters Solo) Have a Cigar (Pink Floyd) Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX) (Pink Floyd) Sheep (Pink Floyd) In the Flesh (Pink Floyd) Run Like Hell (Pink Floyd) Déjà Vu (Waters Solo) Déjà Vu (Reprise) Is This the Life We Really Want? (Waters Solo) Money (Pink Floyd) Us and Them (Pink Floyd) Any Colour You Like (Pink Floyd) Brain Damage (Pink Floyd) Eclipse (Pink Floyd) Two Suns in the Sunset (Pink Floyd) The Bar (Reprise) Outside the Wall (Pink Floyd)

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