ZTC
2006-09-15 15:13:55 UTC
September 14, 2006
Music Review
Fending Off That Great Gig in the Sky
By SIA MICHEL
The idea of an album may seem increasingly hoary in a singles-oriented,
downloading age, but the sellout crowd for Roger Waters at Madison
Square Garden on Tuesday night paid a lot of money to hear his band
recreate a record - in sequence, in its entirety. Granted, the record
was "The Dark Side of the Moon," the 1973 rock masterpiece by Pink
Floyd, Mr. Waters's old band. It lingered on the Billboard 200 chart
for almost 15 years and has sold about 34 million copies worldwide. And
as long as there are potheads, water beds and freshman philosophy
majors, it will continue to sell thousands of copies every month.
Part of the eternal appeal of the album is its trippy, vague
seriousness. It seems to be a concept album about the difficulties of
staying sane in a corrupt modern world. It seems to encourage people to
rebel. It seems to encourage people to maintain a childlike state of
purity. It seems to address issues like mortality ("Time"), greed
("Money"), war ("Us and Them") and madness ("Brain
Damage"). In short, it sounds really deep when one is zonked out on
drugs at 3 a.m. "The Dark Side of the Moon" helped create the
template for what a Great Album is conventionally supposed to be: a
thematic, sonically adventurous social critique with brain-frying cover
art.
The show drew a wildly diverse crowd, ranging from graying men in suits
to entire families, including a fivesome in matching Pink Floyd
T-shirts. Such was the reverence for the record that even the ringing
bells that opened "Time" received a standing, cheering ovation.
Mr. Waters, the bassist and self-proclaimed "creative genius of Pink
Floyd," credited with the lyrics to "Dark Side," performed with a
backing band that included Nick Mason of Pink Floyd on drums and a
guitarist-singer who expertly imitated David Gilmour, the Floyd member
who retained the legal rights to the band's name after it split
acrimoniously in the 1980's.
Mr. Waters took the stage in a roving spotlight, pumping his fist as if
he had just won a prizefight. Before he plunged into the album, he
played many Pink Floyd classics, including "Shine On You Crazy
Diamond," a tribute to his eccentric, reclusive former bandmate Syd
Barrett. When the face of Mr. Barrett, who died this summer, appeared
on the giant video screens, the crowd saluted him with raised lighters
and cellphones and the loudest singalong of the evening, which is
saying a lot: some die-hards even mimicked the ka-ching of cash
registers during "Money".
As "Sheep" closed the intro, one of Pink Floyd's trademark
inflatable pigs flew about the arena, with "Impeach Bush Now"
scrawled on its backside. On the main video screen, Mr. Waters offered
antiwar commentary throughout the show and compared Tony Blair to
Genghis Khan and the Son of Sam during his awkward new song, "Leaving
Beirut." His agitprop alternated with retro kitsch visuals like
squiggly amoebas, human brains, floating pills, space rocks and,
naturally, Mother Earth.
As dated as many "Dark Side" lyrics seem now ("And everything
under the sun is in tune/but the sun is eclipsed by the moon"), there
were plenty of chill-inducing quadraphonic-sound moments, and a
disturbing reminder that one day we will all head off to "The Great
Gig in the Sky." During "Time," as Mr. Waters sang, "Shorter of
breath and one day closer to death," a close-up of his wrinkled face
appeared on the video screens. Later, as the album's final song,
"Eclipse," ended, the arena filled with the sound of a beating
heart. That's some pretty heavy stuff for a Tuesday night.
Music Review
Fending Off That Great Gig in the Sky
By SIA MICHEL
The idea of an album may seem increasingly hoary in a singles-oriented,
downloading age, but the sellout crowd for Roger Waters at Madison
Square Garden on Tuesday night paid a lot of money to hear his band
recreate a record - in sequence, in its entirety. Granted, the record
was "The Dark Side of the Moon," the 1973 rock masterpiece by Pink
Floyd, Mr. Waters's old band. It lingered on the Billboard 200 chart
for almost 15 years and has sold about 34 million copies worldwide. And
as long as there are potheads, water beds and freshman philosophy
majors, it will continue to sell thousands of copies every month.
Part of the eternal appeal of the album is its trippy, vague
seriousness. It seems to be a concept album about the difficulties of
staying sane in a corrupt modern world. It seems to encourage people to
rebel. It seems to encourage people to maintain a childlike state of
purity. It seems to address issues like mortality ("Time"), greed
("Money"), war ("Us and Them") and madness ("Brain
Damage"). In short, it sounds really deep when one is zonked out on
drugs at 3 a.m. "The Dark Side of the Moon" helped create the
template for what a Great Album is conventionally supposed to be: a
thematic, sonically adventurous social critique with brain-frying cover
art.
The show drew a wildly diverse crowd, ranging from graying men in suits
to entire families, including a fivesome in matching Pink Floyd
T-shirts. Such was the reverence for the record that even the ringing
bells that opened "Time" received a standing, cheering ovation.
Mr. Waters, the bassist and self-proclaimed "creative genius of Pink
Floyd," credited with the lyrics to "Dark Side," performed with a
backing band that included Nick Mason of Pink Floyd on drums and a
guitarist-singer who expertly imitated David Gilmour, the Floyd member
who retained the legal rights to the band's name after it split
acrimoniously in the 1980's.
Mr. Waters took the stage in a roving spotlight, pumping his fist as if
he had just won a prizefight. Before he plunged into the album, he
played many Pink Floyd classics, including "Shine On You Crazy
Diamond," a tribute to his eccentric, reclusive former bandmate Syd
Barrett. When the face of Mr. Barrett, who died this summer, appeared
on the giant video screens, the crowd saluted him with raised lighters
and cellphones and the loudest singalong of the evening, which is
saying a lot: some die-hards even mimicked the ka-ching of cash
registers during "Money".
As "Sheep" closed the intro, one of Pink Floyd's trademark
inflatable pigs flew about the arena, with "Impeach Bush Now"
scrawled on its backside. On the main video screen, Mr. Waters offered
antiwar commentary throughout the show and compared Tony Blair to
Genghis Khan and the Son of Sam during his awkward new song, "Leaving
Beirut." His agitprop alternated with retro kitsch visuals like
squiggly amoebas, human brains, floating pills, space rocks and,
naturally, Mother Earth.
As dated as many "Dark Side" lyrics seem now ("And everything
under the sun is in tune/but the sun is eclipsed by the moon"), there
were plenty of chill-inducing quadraphonic-sound moments, and a
disturbing reminder that one day we will all head off to "The Great
Gig in the Sky." During "Time," as Mr. Waters sang, "Shorter of
breath and one day closer to death," a close-up of his wrinkled face
appeared on the video screens. Later, as the album's final song,
"Eclipse," ended, the arena filled with the sound of a beating
heart. That's some pretty heavy stuff for a Tuesday night.