Concert Review: Roger Water Revives the Wall At Staples Cente

Here is a guest review from my amiga Sophie Pennes, who was fortunate enough to have been at the November 30th show of 'The Wall' at Staples Center:

It was last Spring when I was anxiously sitting in the Milken library, waiting for the clock to turn to exactly 10 AM so I could be the first to purchase presale tickets for Roger Waters next Winter at the Staples Center. The first few years of my high school career were filled with teenage angst and what I thought to be super intelligent philosophical ideologies, but nevertheless, it was also the period of my greatest admiration for Pink Floyd in all of its beauty. So, I had been dreaming of seeing Roger Waters perform for years, and after foolishly passing up the chance to see him at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007, and then being unable to see him at Coachella in 2008, I knew I had to be at this concert. Though this edition of The Wall wouldn’t include former Floyd members, Gilmour, Barrett, Mason or Wright-Waters carried on the show fabulously, accompanied by a live band. As Waters said, it had been exactly, “30 years, 9 months, and 17 days” since he had last preformed The Wall in Los Angeles. Someone from the audience then shouted “Thanks!” to which he graciously replied, “No, thank you.”  

            The Wall, released in 1979, is centered on Waters’ difficult childhood, relationship with his father and the corruption of war and government on humanity. However, although there were a few references to his father in the performance, this touring of The Wall is based on complete anarchy. Through the video projection, Waters referenced historical communist leaders, civilians who were murdered in war, and even George Orwell’s 1984. The performance opened with In the Flesh? and proceeded with The Thin Ice and Another Brick in the Wall, for which he had children come on stage (wearing shirts saying “FEAR BUILDS WALLS”) yelling at a giant figure meant to be a school-teacher. The stage was constructed with a sort of wire cage so that faux bricks could be moved in and out, as the given song required. On the encompassing brick wall, images and movies were constantly being projected, at one point saying, “iBelieve” or “iTrust”- mocking Apple and American consumerism. He continued the show projecting a video of himself singing Mother when he was much younger, to which he now accompanied. When he came to the point in the song that goes, “Mother, should we trust the government?” the words projected onto the brick wall said “No. F*cking. Way.” The audience became ecstatic in noise and applause. Next came Goodbye Blue Sky, and videos of planes dropping bombs were now cast on the wall. However, the bombs were portrayed as symbols such as the cross, the Jewish star, Shell Gasoline, and even Ford or Chevy- yet again another commentary, this time on destructive forces in our society. Following Goodbye Blue Sky, he played Young Lust, as videos of naked women in rather provocative situations were exhibited, becoming a bit too pornographic at one point. The first act ended with Goodbye Cruel World which came to an abrupt and rather cliché but thematic ending.

            Despite Waters overarching theme of the corruption major corporations and the government have on our lives, intermission was full of mass-consumption of overly priced tank tops and commercialized pizza sold at 9 bucks a pop. The irony…

The second act began with Hey You followed by Is There Anybody Out There? Eventually, he got to Bring the Boys Back Home, a song so extremely pertinent to Americans today, concerning our country’s current contention over the issue. While he sang, I, along with most of the audience, was in tears watching the emotional videos of children reuniting with their parents who had finally returned from war overseas. Waters also had his famous giant pig floating around the audience with the slogan “Everything will be okay. Just keep consuming.” He continued in ridiculing consumerism and American naivety as logos were flashed on the screen, as well as videos of Barack Obama and then George Bush, comparing him to infamous world leaders such as Mao and Stalin. After the continuous songs of anarchy and destruction, he played Comfortably Numb- obviously a very nostalgic crowd favorite.

During the time of The Wall’s inception, Waters poked fun at his fans and their dedication to celebrities, himself included. He commented on this at the end of the performance, saying that although he didn’t appreciate his fame and following as a younger man, he does now. Reading another review of the night, I came across a quote saying that, “There’s something about the sheer spectacle of a bloody great brick wall collapsing before your very eyes that immediately justifies whatever bullshit you had to put up with in order to get one of the expensive tickets.” There is no question in my mind that every single person in the audience felt the exact same way. The evening was absolutely spectacular and it was worth every struggle along the way- even tirelessly waiting next to my computer and refreshing the webpage, to purchase these tickets almost half a year ago. Honestly, the performance deserves a 20/10. Absolutely incredible.

Set List

Act 1

1. In The Flesh? 
2. The Thin Ice
3. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1
4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives
5. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2
6. Mother
7. Goodbye Blue Sky 
8. Empty Spaces 
9. What Shall We Do Now?   
10. Young Lust 
11. One Of My Turns   
12. Don't Leave Me Now   
13. Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3   
14. The Last Few Bricks   
15. Goodbye Cruel World   

Act 2

16. Hey You   
17. Is There Anybody Out There?   
18. Nobody Home   
19. Vera   
20. Bring the Boys Back Home   
21. Comfortably Numb   
22. The Show Must Go On   
23. In The Flesh   
24. Run Like Hell   
25. Waiting For The Worms   
26. Stop   
27. The Trial 
28. Outside The Wall