A Wall and Some Heroes
Oct. 31st, 2010 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drpaisleyStarted Saturday earlier than I wanted to, in part by not being sleepy enough to make going to bed worthwhile until 3a. Got back up at 9, and helped Dragonet deliver a table to Kalimeg. In the afternoon, we all went out to the ConTraception 22 meeting. I nearly overdosed on the schadenfreude as Ralphie and I watched Nebraska put 24 points on his beloved Tigers in the first quarter. He'd done a complete Kübler-Ross by the time the second quarter had started. Fascinating to witness.
After stopping to check on some friends' cats (the friends were in DC, the bums), Rohanna and I headed out for dinner (at Sabor y Sol, nummy as always), and then to the Sprint Center to see Roger Waters and associates perform "The Wall." Rather than spend $15 for parking, I dropped Ro off and drove to my workplace and parked there. A brisk six-block walk later I made my way through the masses queued up for the obligatory security check (metal detector, but no wands this time) and made it to my seat well before the show began.
From the opening burst of pyro it was one hell of a ride, complete with a Spitfire "flying" (ok, gliding) across the arena to crash into a corner of the Wall. A huge (tall as the first two levels of the arena) puppet schoolmaster with glowing eyes danced around during "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)," while a group of local kids did a choreographed routine of military salutes and movements until the end of the song, when they freelanced a bit (one girl broke out her step-dancing skills and Riverdanced across the stage quite well). The videos played constantly throughout the set, and as the Wall continued to go up, more and more of them became visible. Particularly effective was a clip of bombers dropping loads of dollar signs, crosses, stars of David, sickles, and various corporate logos, as well as an earlier montage of photos and bios of people who had died in various wars, from WWI to the present, including Shabnam Sohrabi, who was killed during the protests following Iran's faux elections in 2009. The Wall was also as tall as the top of the second deck of the arena, and quite impressive. They did a great job of building most of it while the audience's attention was directed elsewhere, so I kept looking back up and going "Shit! When did they do that?" At the end of the first half, the final piece was dropped in as Roger sang "Goodbye, Cruel World."
As the second act opened with "Hey You," I briefly thought that the band could still be on break, and a recording could be playing. As if to dispel that notion, a couple of bricks were removed briefly so we could see the instrumental portion of "Is There Anybody Out There?" being performed. Later, a cleverly designed piece of wall dropped like a drawbridge to reveal Waters sitting in an easy chair in a living room for "Nobody Home." Waters seemed to be having a great time, and paused between songs several times to talk to the audience.
And the moment I had been waiting for: "Comfortably Numb." Waters sang from the front of the stage, and the two guys who were taking the place of David Gilmour appeared at the top of the Wall, one on either side. Robbie Wyckoff did a fine job with the chorus, and his spot went out as guitarist Dave Kilminster began playing one of the most famous solos in rock. It was not a sterile, note-for-note recreation, but neither did he take off into uncharted territory. It was, in the end, a fine interpretation of Gilmour's work, summoning all the emotions of the original while adding some individual touches.
The show moved on to the finale, scenes from the film played on the Wall during "The Trial." As the audience screamed "Tear Down the Wall!" we watched and waited. Then, in an ever-quickening cascade, down came the Wall*. Amidst cheering and applause, the 11-member band slowly picked their way through the rubble to the front of the stage, and perfomed the finale, "Outside the Wall," on a variety of instruments, including banjo, mandolin and accordian. Waters himself played a creditable trumpet. And then they were gone.
*I do hope I didn't need a /spoilers tag there.
I left Ro to use the facilities and make her way to the street at her leisure, and went to get the van, thence to pick her up. As I was walking along 13th Street I noticed a group of people in superhero costumes coming towards me. Most of them were standard-issue outfits: Superman, Bat-Man, Wolverine, the usual. But the two at the front of the group were the ones that caught my eye. It was none other than the Ambiguously Gay Duo! I cracked up, and made my way to their side of the street to offer my applause and congratulations. They seemed pleased I had recognized them.
All in all, a wonderful night an a great show. If you have a chance to see it, I urge you do do so. I just wish I could take a week and see all the shows in London, as that is the most likely place for David Gilmour to make his promised appearance to perform on "Comfortably Numb." Lucky bastards.
After stopping to check on some friends' cats (the friends were in DC, the bums), Rohanna and I headed out for dinner (at Sabor y Sol, nummy as always), and then to the Sprint Center to see Roger Waters and associates perform "The Wall." Rather than spend $15 for parking, I dropped Ro off and drove to my workplace and parked there. A brisk six-block walk later I made my way through the masses queued up for the obligatory security check (metal detector, but no wands this time) and made it to my seat well before the show began.
From the opening burst of pyro it was one hell of a ride, complete with a Spitfire "flying" (ok, gliding) across the arena to crash into a corner of the Wall. A huge (tall as the first two levels of the arena) puppet schoolmaster with glowing eyes danced around during "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)," while a group of local kids did a choreographed routine of military salutes and movements until the end of the song, when they freelanced a bit (one girl broke out her step-dancing skills and Riverdanced across the stage quite well). The videos played constantly throughout the set, and as the Wall continued to go up, more and more of them became visible. Particularly effective was a clip of bombers dropping loads of dollar signs, crosses, stars of David, sickles, and various corporate logos, as well as an earlier montage of photos and bios of people who had died in various wars, from WWI to the present, including Shabnam Sohrabi, who was killed during the protests following Iran's faux elections in 2009. The Wall was also as tall as the top of the second deck of the arena, and quite impressive. They did a great job of building most of it while the audience's attention was directed elsewhere, so I kept looking back up and going "Shit! When did they do that?" At the end of the first half, the final piece was dropped in as Roger sang "Goodbye, Cruel World."
As the second act opened with "Hey You," I briefly thought that the band could still be on break, and a recording could be playing. As if to dispel that notion, a couple of bricks were removed briefly so we could see the instrumental portion of "Is There Anybody Out There?" being performed. Later, a cleverly designed piece of wall dropped like a drawbridge to reveal Waters sitting in an easy chair in a living room for "Nobody Home." Waters seemed to be having a great time, and paused between songs several times to talk to the audience.
And the moment I had been waiting for: "Comfortably Numb." Waters sang from the front of the stage, and the two guys who were taking the place of David Gilmour appeared at the top of the Wall, one on either side. Robbie Wyckoff did a fine job with the chorus, and his spot went out as guitarist Dave Kilminster began playing one of the most famous solos in rock. It was not a sterile, note-for-note recreation, but neither did he take off into uncharted territory. It was, in the end, a fine interpretation of Gilmour's work, summoning all the emotions of the original while adding some individual touches.
The show moved on to the finale, scenes from the film played on the Wall during "The Trial." As the audience screamed "Tear Down the Wall!" we watched and waited. Then, in an ever-quickening cascade, down came the Wall*. Amidst cheering and applause, the 11-member band slowly picked their way through the rubble to the front of the stage, and perfomed the finale, "Outside the Wall," on a variety of instruments, including banjo, mandolin and accordian. Waters himself played a creditable trumpet. And then they were gone.
*I do hope I didn't need a /spoilers tag there.
I left Ro to use the facilities and make her way to the street at her leisure, and went to get the van, thence to pick her up. As I was walking along 13th Street I noticed a group of people in superhero costumes coming towards me. Most of them were standard-issue outfits: Superman, Bat-Man, Wolverine, the usual. But the two at the front of the group were the ones that caught my eye. It was none other than the Ambiguously Gay Duo! I cracked up, and made my way to their side of the street to offer my applause and congratulations. They seemed pleased I had recognized them.
All in all, a wonderful night an a great show. If you have a chance to see it, I urge you do do so. I just wish I could take a week and see all the shows in London, as that is the most likely place for David Gilmour to make his promised appearance to perform on "Comfortably Numb." Lucky bastards.