I was introduced to The Wall in Mrs Pengilly’s year nine English class. We were learning about the poems of Robert Frost, and she decided that Pink Floyd’s trippy rock opera had parallels to his “Mending Wall.” I still think it was a bit of a stretch, but I’m thrilled that she helped me discover such an incredible body of work.
I held The Wall very closely for the next few years. In my darkest teenage moments it made me feel less isolated and misunderstood. As I listen back to it now it’s a little frightening to think how much I identified with Pink Floyd’s concept album, but there’s still something about those two discs and the accompanying film that resonates with me.
And it was that something that took me to Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Wednesday night to witness Roger Waters performing the piece in the flesh, so to speak. As I looked at the T-shirts of the faithful fans gathered outside the venue I realised nine years has passed since I last caught his act. However the years have not wearied him.
I’m not someone who typically sees those big spectacle shows. Give me a few guys with guitars and I’m a happy woman. But this production blew my mind. I expected a lot. Pink Floyd set the standard for this kind of thing all those years ago. But I wasn’t prepared for exactly how thrilling this show was. It was a visual feast, with exploding airplanes, flying pigs, oversized puppets, pyrotechnics, and of course, that wall. The projections beamed onto those bricks were like nothing I’ve ever seen.
While the production was slick, it wasn’t all about the gloss. Roger Waters clearly still believes in this piece, and he performed it with everything he had. He inhabited his Pink role, only breaking the fourth wall now and again to remind us how grateful he was for our attendance and love. His voice is still superb, and his band matched him. Replicating David Gilmour’s guitar solo in “Comfortably Numb” is a feat, but the appointed guitarist came close. Seeing present day Roger accompanying his 1980-self on “Mother” was breathtaking. I also loved seeing those personal favourites like “One Of My Turns” and “Nobody Home,” the tracks I’d never hear at an ordinary Pink Floyd or Roger Waters show. Closing the show with “Waltzing Matilda” once those bricks had toppled might have been corny, but it was still a lot of fun.
The show was the perfect marriage of music and theatre. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s early days yet, but it just may prove to be the concert of the year.
Image source: own photos