10/15/2006 - ROGER WATERS AT KEY ARENA, SEATTLE
Well, as expected, the Roger Waters concert at Seattle's Key Arena on Oct. 12, 2006 did not disappoint! The setlist was incredible, particularly the part of the concert (after a much-needed intermission) where he played the entire "Dark Side of the Moon" release from start to finish. This is the third time I've seen Roger Waters perform live and it was just as good as when I saw him do the "Pros and Cons" and "Radio KAOS" tours. There was one big disappointment, however - his political messages. But, I'd researched his current tour online before attending and I knew when to walk out of the concert to get a beer.
In his song, "Leaving Beirut," Waters made a political statement against the war on terror, against Bush, against Tony Blair, etc. I had already heard the new song (thanks to peer-to-peer networks) and already knew I did not like it. Not just for the political message but also for the song itself - more of a half-assed attempt to get something new on the market and to make a statement.
When the inflatable pig soared over the enthusiastic crowd in a spectacular barrage of dropped confetti, we all were thrilled. But, unexpectedly, the pig was spray-painted with derogatory anti-US messages, including an "Impeach Bush" message painted conveniently over the rear end of the pig.
It struck me as odd that someone who is not a US citizen and has no real ties here (outside of the millions of dollars he sucks out of our economy) could be so blatant about our domestic affairs. Sadly, he's another who doesn't get the fact that the Muslim extremists would just as soon kill us as look at us. And by the length of this posting, you can imagine how offended I was with his political overtones.
But he's not the first to do it. Lots of so-called "celebrities" seem to get so high and mighty that they think they can influence world opinion just by walking in the door. George Carlin is a case in point - once a very funny guy, he's become an angry, bitter old man, a glimmer of his former self. And that's too bad - I was a huge Carlin fan.
George, don't mess with Reagan. Roger, don't muck around in my head or with my patriotism. Just play your music, entertain me and let me go home with warm feelings of the concert. At $125 a ticket, I paid a high price to have an old (but still very good!) rocker try to integrate a political message into what should have been top-notch entertainment.
Outside of that, the concert was great. I'll write more about it later.
Were you there? Did you catch the tour in another location? Share your thoughts.
Comments
I was there, for the first time seeing Roger Waters. I took my 16-year old son to his first "major" concert and we were both blown away. It was an amazing 3-hour show and we both loved hearing all of the old Floyd stuff, especially timeless classics like "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and others.
The pig and anti-Bush sentiment were not unexpected. I was actually prepared for a little more ranting on Roger's part after reading some reviews of earlier shows in the tour. I understand that he even made pro-Mid-Eastern statements on 9/12 in Madison Square Garden (the day after the 5-year anniversary of the WTC tragedy) and got booed.
But, as you know, it seems Roger has never gotten over the death of his father in WWII even though he has written and sung about it many times. That does not excuse any callous outbursts to pissed off New Yorkers, just offers an understanding of why Mr. Waters makes the statements he does.
Good seeing you there too Jimmy!
Posted by: Eric | October 21, 2006 9:36 AM