REVIEW: Roger Waters at Arena Birmingham

ROCK and politics are often awkward bedfellows - unless you’re Bob Dylan circa 1963.

But now erstwhile Pink Floyd songwriter/vocalist/bassist (and, yes, true rock legend) Roger Waters has taken the whole ‘fight the man’ schtick to a whole new level at the ripe old age of 74.

Waters had a steaming Arena Birmingham crowd in the palm of his hand as he rolled out the most symphonic of Floyd classics, carefully selected to illustrate his modern take on today’s explosive political landscape.

With an awe-inspiring graphics backdrop - complete with gigantic Battersea Power station over our heads - Waters and his impressive 10-strong band gave Pink Floyd’s majestic music a stunning setting and new meaning.

Waters, looking lean and fit despite his dotage, ceded half the vocals and guitar parts (you know, the Dave Gilmour bits) to his super-talented axemen Dave Kilminster and Jonathan Wilson while he stomped around knocking out fab Floyd bass riffs such as One Of These Days or donning a pig’s mask and waving placards with the words ‘pigs rule the world’ - right on, man!

It was bizarre theatre that, complete with the phenomenal laser show, flying pig (literally) and less than subtle digs at a fairly well known world leader, made for a bizarre, riveting, and at times, truly comical show.

Yep, it is president Donald Trump who has clearly got Waters’ goat, and by god, he’s angry. He even swore… a lot.

It’s hard to know if the show could even exist without Trump, and, whatever your thoughts on the coiffured one, whether it would be anywhere near as entertaining - and funny.

I couldn’t work out if I was smiling at the stunning onslaught of Floyd gold, or Trump’s gigantic mush with the massive world ‘JOKER’ stamped on it.

In between Floyd evergreens like Breathe, Time, Money, and Us and Them, Waters peppered one or two of his recent efforts. But for a riveted crowd, it was Floyd they wanted, and Floyd they got - in spades.

Another Brick in the Wall even featured a troupe of local school kids decked out in orange Guantanamo Bay jump suits.

Eye-catching, though somewhat cliched and dated.

Luckily, 40 years ago Waters wrote two stone cold classics in the shape of Pigs (Three Different Ones) and Dogs which seemed to predict his modern-day ire with ‘the system’ and were arguably the centrepiece of the night.

Comfortably Numb rounded things off, again given new meaning within the context of Waters’ acid show, before little papers with the word ‘RESPECT’ fluttered down on the crowd.

I can guarantee Waters won’t change a single thing, Trump will still be president tomorrow, and preaching ‘respect’ is ultimately a vague and abstract concept.

But while we don’t need no education, Rog, the world does need more Floyd like this.

Stunning.

DC