Roger Waters Live in Noblesville, IN

Okay. So the whole rock'n'roll experience is supposed to be wowing. Once you've seen some big names though, you start to put the next show you see in perspective and this is precisely what happened to me. After seeing Paul McCartney at Denver in 2002, this was my first year of getting back to watching rock concerts live, which was kicked off with Oasis in March this year, then Tom Petty over the summer and now, Roger "Creative Genius of Pink Floyd" Waters. The thing I hate most about watching bands at Verizon Wireless Center is the fact that you need to spend about 8 hours in all, to watch them play, given the horrific traffic conditions pre- and post-concert. But that is not Roger's fault. And there was nothing that anyone could fault Roger Waters and his impressive band with. Hats off, this was an incredible show - way, way better than Tom Petty in all respects. Oasis's choice of venue - the Murat and the fact that we were in the 12th row, still make that show the best overall concert experience I have had, but in terms of production of the show and the performance by the band, this has to be the best concert I have ever seen. The most amazing thing was, that I was blown away even before Roger Waters started Dark Side of the Moon. The first 45 minutes of the show are still the most memorable (I am writing this a month after the show)...Roger's incredible "Leaving Beirut" and the use of cartoons on the backdrop to ensure we got lyrics like "America, America...Don't let ...the Christian right, f**k it all up for you and the rest of the world". Roger playing the acoustic guitar on Mother, the flying pig - it flew!!! Incredible. And all this was before the heartbeats of DSOTM. The band closed things with a few of Wall, but really, the best part had been and gone.

All in all, I admire rockers aged beyond their prime (or have they?) that still want to hit the road...be it the ageless Paul, the ubiquitous Stones, Pink Floyd in all their forms or more recently, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey as "the Who". I wonder also, what will the concert scene be 10 years from now, when most of these rock legends are in their 70s. Who will bear the flag of rock'n'roll? I never did care much for U2 and Dave Matthews are great, but have overdone things in my opinion. Pearl Jam is, in my mind, the most ideally placed to take this responsibility on, in the US anyway. Oasis do a fine job in the UK. But I can't name any other band at the top of my head of the caliber and crowd-engaging capacity of Tom Petty or Roger Waters (...or dare I say, the Who). I find it hard to visualize the Killers playing "Somebody told me" to 25,000 people at Verizon Wireless Center in 2030. But I have been wrong before...only occasionally of course.

As for me, I think I am done with my share of live concerts. The excitement is not there - mostly because I end up watching shows from a distance where the musicians are smaller than my thumbnail. Additionally, more often that not, the material is not new, there is not much to look forward to and the comfort of watching DVDs at home outweighs the 8 hour drive/wait for a concert...Nonetheless, for the powerful memories rock concerts etch and the magic they sometimes create, they remain an undeniable part of the experience that is rock'n'roll.

















Set list:

In The Flesh
Mother
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Have A Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Southampton Rock
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Perfect Sense (pt 1)
Perfect Sense (pt 2)
Leaving Beirut
Sheep (flying pig!)

15 min break

Speak To Me
Breathe
On The Run
Time
The Great Gig In The Sky
Money
Us And Them
Any Colour You Like
Brain Damage
Eclipse

Encore
The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
Another Brick In The Wall (pt 2)
Vera
Bring The Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb