Roger Waters: Embracing The Dark Side

Former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters is returning stateside this year for a second round of concerts billed as “The Dark Side of the Moon—The Return Engagement.” The tour kicks off May 18 in Florida and will run for two months. I caught the Los Angeles stop of the tour at the Hollywood Bowl last year, and I can tell you first hand, this is a concert that should not be missed.

According to a statement from a representative of Waters, the concert features "a full evening's worth of music—comprised of two sets plus encores—performed by Roger Waters and full band with state-of-the-art staging, lighting and sound. Set one provides a comprehensive overview of Waters' music including early Pink Floyd material; classic compositions from the masterpiece "The Wall"; beloved pieces from "Animals," "Wish You Were Here," and "The Final Cut" and songs from Waters' solo tour de force: "Amused To Death." Set two features a complete performance of the classic Pink Floyd album, "Dark Side Of The Moon."

I don't know, maybe it was the brownies taking effect, but I swear to God, I had never heard the acoustics at The Bowl sound better. The dude simply knows how to put on a show. As always with a Waters concert, they will utilize an elaborate "large-scale video projection and theatrical staging to underscore and accentuate the power of the music which is delivered via a state-of-the-art 360° quadraphonic sound system, immersing the audience in a 3-dimensional hyperworld."

Yeah, I read that last line too and thought that they kinda sounded like total claimers, but seriously, they back that shit up, yo.

Here are the announced tourdates:

MAY:
Friday 18th - West Palm Beach - Sound Advice Saturday 19th - Tampa – Ford Amphitheater Tuesday 22nd - Atlanta – Philips Thursday 24th - New Jersey - Continental Wednesday 30th - New York City MSG

JUNE:
Friday 1st - Philadelphia - Wachovia Monday 4th - Ottawa - Scotiabank Place Wednesday 6th - Quebec City – Colisee Arena Thursday 7th - Montreal - Bell Center Saturday 9th - Chicago - United Center Wednesday 13th - Hollywood Bowl Friday 15th - Irvine – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Saturday 16th - Las Vegas – MGM Grand Garden Arena Tuesday 19th - Oakland - Coliseum Thursday 21st - Vancouver - GM Place Saturday 23rd - Calgary – Saddle Dome Sunday 24th - Edmonton - Rexall Place Wednesday 27th - Winnipeg – MTS Center Friday 29th - Omaha - Civic Center Saturday 30th - St. Paul - Excel

JULY:
Monday 2nd - Milwaukee – Marcus Amphitheatre Summerfest Monday 9th - Boston – Fleet Center Friday 13th - Hartford – The Meadows Saturday 14th - Toronto - Roger's Center

Waters played all of the typical songs that you would expect to hear from his show, but one toward the end of the first act stood out to me because I was not as familiar with it as I was with the others. It was called "Leaving Beirut" and is currently only available as an import cd single. Never one back down from controversy, Water's polarizing track was written as a response to the invasion of Iraq. He sings about his firsthand experience meeting people from the area, and questions the purpose of the war. For your consideration, so that you'll be ready to hear it performed live, you can grab the song below. I've also added "To Kill The Child," which was also available on the single. Here is a sample from the lyrics which are directed toward President Bush:

Are these the people that we should bomb

Are we so sure they mean us harm
Is this our pleasure, punishment or crime
Is this a mountain that we really want to climb
The road is hard, hard and long
Put down that two by four
This man would never turn you from his door
Oh George! Oh George!
That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small

For Your Consideration:

Roger Waters - To Kill The Child Mp3
Roger Waters - Leaving Beirut Mp3