Roger Waters
London Greenwich O2 Arena
11th May, 2011

Aside from David Gilmour and Nick Mason turning up the next night (doh!) and Roger delegating some vocals to a deputy, you couldn’t fault his revisitation of his flawless masterwork. From explosive start (pyros, tyrannical flags, crashing Messerschmitt) to the rain of confetti-crosses finish, he and his crack eight-man band (Snowy White, Dave Kilmister et al) and backing singers staged a spectacle with thought-provoking, emotional resonance. Playing the entire double-album, plus additions such as a Spartacus excerpt intro, the whole two-part, two-hour extravaganza commanded eye and ear to pay heed. Highlights included montages of war dead from recent conflicts during The Thin Ice, Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 1 shaking off the crowd sloth, and Roger’s cheer-raising aside during Mother, “will you trust the government? … No fucking way”. A children’s choir body-popping during Happiest Days Of Our Lives was jarringly sentimental, but Young Lust was pointedly updated, and inflatables and wall-building demanded attention throughout. Hey You, the looming Is There Anybody Out There? and emotive Bring The Boys Back Home raised the lachrymatory stakes, while Comfortably Numb played atop the Wall was riotously lauded. Pigs flew on In The Flesh, Run Like Hell had the masses as ein volk, and original Gerald Scarfe films built momentum before the denouement leading to the band Outside The Wall. If you missed it, you should be shot.