Pigs On The Wing

When I was a lad I cut my musical teeth on a steady feeding of classic rock from my old man. My dad's favorite bands were the Doobie Brothers and the Beatles. I grew up with a healthy respect for both bands, but one of my dad's other favorites eventually won out: Pink Floyd.

My Pink Floyd fandom was really cultivated through the ages of 14-17. The first album that captivated me was Dark Side of the Moon. This is a standard album for all teenage boys, but it has remained my favorite album of all time.

When I was 17 I dragged my dad down to a midnight showing of the Dark Side of the Moon laser show at one of the local IMAX theaters. The laser show was predictable cheese, but the incredible sound system in the theater made the late showing worthwhile. I thought this was the closest I would ever get to seeing Pink Floyd in concert.

So when my buddy Matt called and told me about tickets to a Roger Waters show, I jumped right in.

For those who don't know, Pink Floyd, at their creative and musical best, consisted of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright. The band featured two geniuses: Waters and Gilmour. When I first listened to Pink Floyd, I distinctly heard two singers: one sounded like a kind of talk-singing and had no real melodic tone to it; the other was amazing. Roger Waters was the former, David Gilmour the latter. Gilmour also plays an incredible lead guitar, including three of the best solos of all time: "Time," "Comfortably Numb" and "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2." However, Waters was the thematic and lyrical foundation of the band. His concepts led to Dark Side, The Wall, Animals and Wish You Were Here (among others).

In 1985 Waters quit the band for a mixed-returns solo career and Gilmour and the rest fought to retain rights to the Pink Floyd name and catalog. The split and resulting legal battles meant that fans hoping for a full-on reunion would be disappointed. However, Pink Floyd and Roger Waters rejoined for a mini-set at Live 8 in 2005.

So there was a real fear that I was paying $83 for a Pink Floyd cover band featuring Roger Waters. Knowing that Pink Floyd has no plans to tour ever again, and seeing as Waters was only playing four total shows in the U.S., I drove to Dallas for the show. Another reason to see this show is that it is purportedly the last time Waters will perform Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety.

I'm so glad I went. The music was incredible (Waters had excellent musicians behind him) and Roger didn't try to sing all of Gilmour's parts himself. The one drawback to the show was Water's constant political ravings. The picture of one of his infamous pigs (which was released during the song "Sheep" features the phrase "All religion divides" (Waters has long been outspoken on his distaste for organized religion). The other side of the pig read "Obama" with a checked box after the name. Across the pig's naughty bits (drawn in (why?)) were written messages to VP Dick Cheney and a call to "Impeach Bush Now." Waters also had some choice words for the Religious Right and Texas education in a poorly conceived new(er) song called "Leaving Beirut."

The first set featured various classics and sundry solo cuts.
1. In the Flesh (awesome opener; from the Wall)
2. Mother (played solo)
3. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (Very cool early Floyd song)
4. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (not all the parts)
5. Have a Cigar (one of the highlights of the night)
6. Wish You Were Here (great acoustic solo on this one)
7. Southampton Dock
8. Fletcher Memorial Home (One of Waters' best sung songs; extreme political diatribe against political conservatism)
9. Perfect Sense 1&2 (This song features Marv Albert — no joke)
10. Leaving Beirut (the lowlight of the night)
11. Sheep (would have preferred the excellent "Dogs" from the same album)

Intermission — seriously; we all watched the pig fly away into the night

Dark Side of the Moon (stunning, great sound, excellent effects)

Encore
1. The Happiest Days of Our Lives
2. Vera/Bring the Boys Back Home
3. Comfortably Numb

As I was thinking about the band's influences, I decided Pink Floyd's real descendant is Radiohead. Maudlin lyrics, atmospheric sounds and neither band ever put out the same album (highly experimental).