Roger Waters -- Chicago, IL -- June 9th, 2007

[es156]

Tour: Dark Side Of The Moon Tour 2007
Headliner: Roger Waters
Support: None
Venue: United Center, Chicago, IL
Date: June 9th, 2007
==============================

When tickets to the Roger Waters show in Chicago went on sale I did not buy one because I thought that we were going to be out of town that weekend. About a week before the show, when I determined that I would be able to go, I started searching eBay for a decent ticket. After being outbid numerous times, I finally just bought a ticket through Ticket Master at about 2:00pm on the day of the show. I hit the road about an hour later for the 3 hour trip to Chicago, which turned into almost 4 hours thanks to traffic. But it would all be worth it.

Venue Report:
The United Center in Chicago is the arena where the Blackhawks and Bulls play their home games. Their web site claims that it is the largest arena in the U.S. and it really is huge. And it was packed on this night. I don’t think that it officially sold out but it had to be close. To hear that many people singing along with “Wish You Were Here” and “Another Brick In The Wall” was awesome. The sound overall was fairly clear and very loud, even in the upper deck.

Show Report:
This was my first time seeing Roger Waters, so I did not know exactly what to expect. I had seen set lists but I had not read much else. It was kind of funny looking at the stage before the show started because it was almost entirely filled with equipment and instruments. It did not look like there was even room to walk around except at the very front of the stage. Besides Roger there were 10 other musicians and backing vocalists on stage, so it seemed very crowded. Sometimes there seemed to be too much going on to the extent that some of the parts got lost in the mix. But for the most part the sound was excellent.

The show itself was really cool. There was an extremely large screen behind the stage that showed all kinds of videos and old clips. Of course, there were plenty of lights, lasers, and strobes. They used spotlights on the crowd during “In The Flesh” which stopped on random people during the “who let all of this riff-raff into the room” parts. They floated the pig around the arena during “Sheep.” During “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” they had a “pyramid” with lighted sides and a spectrum laser that dropped from the ceiling and rotated over the crowd.

I was somewhat surprised that Roger’s voice is still in pretty good condition. I thought he sounded very close to the original recordings and there were only a couple of times when it was obvious that he could no longer hit the required note. The backing musicians were all very good. I did miss Gilmour’s voice but the guitarists did an outstanding job on his solos. Graham Broad did a great intro to “Time.” The backing vocalists did a very good job and “The Great Gig In The Sky” was amazing. Almost the entire show was a highlight for me, but seeing “Dark Side Of The Moon” performed in full was unbelievable. I would definitely catch this show again.


Set List:
1. In The Flesh
2. Mother
3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
4. Shine On You Crazy Diamond
5. Have A Cigar
6. Wish You Were Here
7. Southampton Dock
8. The Fletcher Memorial Home
9. Perfect Sense
10. Leaving Beirut
11. Sheep

12. Speak to Me/Breathe
13. On the Run
14. Time
15. The Great Gig In The Sky
16. Money
17. Us And Them
18. Any Colour You Like
19. Brain Damage
20. Eclipse

21. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
22. Another Brick In The Wall, Part II
23. Vera
24. Bring The Boys Back Home
25. Comfortably Numb


Set Length:
First Set: 72min. (8.20-9.32)
Second Set: 43min. (9.50-10.33)
Encore: 20min. (10.37-10.57)

Lineup:
Bass/Vocals: Roger Waters
Guitar: Andy Fairweather Low
Guitar: Snowy White
Drums: Graham Broad
Guitar/Vocals: Dave Kilminster
Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals: Jon Carin
Hammond: Harry Waters
Saxophone: Ian Ritchie
Backing Vocals: Katie Kissoon
Backing Vocals: PP Arnold
Backing Vocals: Carol Kenyon

[DethMaiden]

Amazing setlist, even though he picked my least favorite of the three "real" songs on Animals to play live. I think I should get over my principled opinion that Gilmour=Floyd and Roger is a dick to go see him if I can.

I think it's a bit sad that David can play more than 75% of his setlist with solo material and sell out shows and Roger has to play 95% Floyd though.

[es156]

Originally Posted by DethMaiden

Amazing setlist, even though he picked my least favorite of the three "real" songs on Animals to play live. I think I should get over my principled opinion that Gilmour=Floyd and Roger is a dick to go see him if I can.

I think it's a bit sad that David can play more than 75% of his setlist with solo material and sell out shows and Roger has to play 95% Floyd though.

You should definitely see it if you can. I read that he played Dogs on the last tour and that is why he is playing Sheep this time around.

Gilmour sold out 5,000-seat theaters while Waters is selling out 15,000-seat arenas. And the Gilmour set was less than 50% solo material. The second set and the encore were all Floyd. (And don't get me wrong, for the most part I am with you in the Gilmour vs. Waters debate. But this show certainly affected my opinions.)

[DethMaiden]

Originally Posted by es156

You should definitely see it if you can. I read that he played Dogs on the last tour and that is why he is playing Sheep this time around.

Gilmour sold out 5,000-seat theaters while Waters is selling out 15,000-seat arenas. And the Gilmour set was less than 50% solo material. The second set and the encore were all Floyd. (And don't get me wrong, for the most part I am with you in the Gilmour vs. Waters debate. But this show certainly affected my opinions.)

Ah, fair enough. I think Dogs and Pigs are both stronger, but Sheep is still a great track.

He did all of On An Island, which is kind of what I was referring to. I'm glad that you got a great show. I think we can all agree, though, that Pink Floyd with both would be better than either of them solo.

[Fe Maiden]

Same set in Irvine last night and same as Hollywood last Oct.

Set List:
1. In The Flesh
2. Mother
3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
4. Shine On You Crazy Diamond
5. Have A Cigar
6. Wish You Were Here
7. Southampton Dock
8. The Fletcher Memorial Home
9. Perfect Sense
10. Leaving Beirut
11. Sheep

12. Speak to Me/Breathe
13. On the Run
14. Time
15. The Great Gig In The Sky
16. Money
17. Us And Them
18. Any Colour You Like
19. Brain Damage
20. Eclipse

21. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
22. Another Brick In The Wall, Part II
23. Vera
24. Bring The Boys Back Home
25. Comfortably Numb

Great show once again!

[ADD]

Mhmm, of course Waters gets a free pass for not changing up his setlist

[PowerMaiden]

saw him for the 3 rd time last week



Roger is DA Man !

Cheers !
PowerMaiden