Roger Waters – The Dark Side Of The Moon Tour 2007
June 23, 2007
I never got to see Pink Floyd in concert, so catching Roger Waters was the next best thing. Actually, I’m a huge fan of Waters.
His Roger Waters Dark Side of the Moon Tour came to Calgary and featured all the whistles and bells of a Floyd spectacle — an inflatable pig, a prism made from lasers and, of course, some of the best music of all time.
With the exception of Live 8 in 2005, the wildly successful British psychedelic rock band has ceased to exist. Rumours of them getting back together, while persistent, are likely just wishful thinking. So Floyd’s main songwriter, bass player and vocalist’s latest tour truly was a fan’s only option.
And based on the Dome show, it was a phenomenal one.
Bookended by songs from The Wall, the concert was divided into three sections: highlights from Pink Floyd and Waters’ solo career, The Dark Side of the Moon played in its entirety, and a lengthy encore.
In front of 12,000 fans and a haze of undeniable second-hand pot smoke, the 62-year-old Waters, along with his talented 10-piece band, kicked things off with In the Flesh? as images of hammers flashed across the big screen.
After “Mother” and a slow-burning “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” the band moved into an early highlight with Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
Soap bubbles rained from the ceiling while a photo of Floyd founding member Syd Barrett was projected above the stage as Waters, backed by three female vocalists, delivered the tune beautifully.
The rest of the first 70-minute set included an upbeat Have a Cigar and crowd favourite Wish You Were Here. Then, after a quick break, Waters returned to perform “The Dark Side of the Moon,” one of the best-selling albums of all time.
With the band in full swing — guitars wailing, keyboards soaring — the album’s haunting sound effects and political themes came alive. The entire set was both captivating and hypnotic, with the crowd belting out the lyrics as though they had been written just for them.
The only thing the concert slightly lacked was movement from Waters himself. When he wasn’t behind the mic, he spent much of his time off to the side playing bass. He seemed content to let the music speak for him.
With a catalogue of such enormity and influence, combined with a production of this quality, this was the kind of show people would be talking about for a long time.
Setlist:
First Set:
In The Flesh
Mother
Set The Controls For The Heart Of Sun
Shine On Your Crazy Diamond
Have A Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Southhampton Dock
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Perfect Sense
Leaving Beirut
Sheep
Second Set:
The Dark Side Of The Moon-the whole album
Encore:
The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2
Vera
Bring The Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb
Touring band:
Roger Waters, Snowy White, Dave Kilmister, Andy-Fairweather Low, Jon Carin, Harry Waters, Carol Kenyon, Katie Kissoon, PP Arnold, Ian Ritchie, Graham Broad
This was the only concert Roger Waters has ever performed in Calgary.
Pink Floyd performed a concert on October 8, 1970 at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary as part of the The Atom Heart Mother World Tour.
