Palace Of Auburn Hills

Ticket scan - thanks to Jon Harmon

Capacity: TBA
Concert starts: 7:30pm

Address of venue: 4 Championship Drive, Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326. MAP

Website: www.palacenet.com

Well, the tour seems to be going from strength to strength. With the band gelling ever better, the music is coming across loud, clear, and played to perfection. The crowd seemed in tune with Roger's political sentiments, with little evidence of any dissent during Leaving Beirut.

The tour now moves north of the border, into Canada, playing at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto tomorrow night, and Montreal's Bell Centre on Thursday night. If you are going to either, have a great time and tell us about it!

PRESS REVIEWS

There have been reviews of this show in a number of the local newspapers, and these can be read online at the respective publication's websites: the Detroit Free Press, The Flint Journal (Michigan), and The Daily Oakland Press.

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Scott M. Chapman

Couldn't have asked for a better evening! I've seen Floyd circa '87 and '94, and I had the tremendous fortune to be at the Pontiac Silverdome where Pink Floyd first unveiled Dark Side to the world on that tour. Gotta be honest, as much as I loved to hear the Waters version tonight, Gilmour and co. had just a tad more 'oomph' in their presentation of it. Needless to say, I was still tremendously blown away this evening. Especially during Great Gig In The Sky. That track never fails to give me goosebumps every time I hear it and PP Arnold absolutely nailed it. Multiple rounds of cheers for her.

Great crowd. Not too rowdy yet very enthusiastic. Very much into it.

No surprises on the set list, same as the rest of the tour. On a personal note, I really would have liked to see at least one track from Hitch-Hiking or K.A.O.S. but that's just minor nitpickery on my part.

I'll just go into what really stood out for me...

STCFTHOTS - Traded in Astronomy Domine for Dark Side in it's entirety back in '94, and while I feel I got the better part of the deal, I still longed to hear some REALLY old school Floyd played live. Tonight I finally got my wish. So cool to see Roger reach WAY back like that. Classic 60's style lava lamp patterns on the screen. Not too crazy about the Kenny G-esque sax solo in the middle though. Gives the song too much of an "adult contemporary" feel but it gets back on track afterward.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Always a favorite of mine. Images of Roger, Syd and the boys during happier times filled the screen.

Perfect Sense (Parts I and II) Wow! what starts out somber and mellow escalates into an almost epic anthem with Waters, arms upraised, as if conducting the entire audience in the chorus of Perfect Sense.

Leaving Beirut - I am pleased to report that no boos were heard from the Michigan crowd (at least from where I was seated). If anything, the crowd erupted into cheers during the line about Bush's "Texas education". They all seemed to be very much on board with Waters point of view. The song was a success here.

Sheep - One of my favorite Floyd songs ever! Great energy! Hail Pig!

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - Just wanted to point out that Jon Carin fills in quite nicely for Rick on the vocals for "Time" et.al. Great to see this landmark album performed live, but Gilmour's touch is sorely missed on guitar. Dave Kilminster is a damn fine guitarist and does a more than passable Gilmour riff, but it just ain't David. Same for Graham Broad on drums. Great work but really needed Nick, especially on the intro to "Time".

Bring the Boys Back Home - Chills, that's all I can say. Couldn't be a more timely song right now. Almost heartbreaking to hear the audience chanting along with this one at this point in history.

Thought I'd give a brief mention of the visuals. On some of the songs, there is film of a guy languishing in his apartment (hotel room?). He would occasionally tune the station on an old-style radio and it would appear as if he was sitting back and listening to the concert. He'd take a pull on his cigarette or another sip of his whiskey and veg out in his easy chair a-la Geldof in The Wall. In fact, it almost looked like a remake of some of the scenes from The Wall film.

During Leaving Beiruit, the story was shown on screen as a huge black and white graphic novel complete with word balloons. The lyrics of the actual song appeared as if they were coming from the performers themselves. Nice touch!

The Pig and The Spaceman also got great reactions from everybody. "Impeach Bush" was boldly tattooed on the pigs rump.

Toward the end of the show he made mention about playing with The Who in Dearborn, MI for "your moms and dads" and how happy he was to be playing for us. FYI, The Who will be at The Palace next Friday.

So now I've seen Pink Floyd and I've seen Waters. Will I ever see Floyd WITH Waters? Probably not, but I can hope can't I?

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Jason Ringuette

Just got back in from Rogers show in Auburn Hills. and what a show it was! Setlist was same as previous shows. sound was top notch as always. The lighting has to be the best i have ever seen on one of Rogers tours. but the really impressive part of the show was the video screen films/animation. There was alot of the old classic Floyd films interweaved with new clips. Without question, this tour is much better than the In The Flesh 99/00 shows.

Some of my favorite moments were Sheep, Final Cut songs, and of course Dark Side. I was suprised at how much I enjoyed Bring The Boys Back Home. It really worked well live. When I saw early setlists I kind of scratched my head at that one, but boy it really brought the house down. Light, video and pyros all really came together and made this a stand out selection.

I didnt hear any booing during Leaving Beirut, and the crowd seemed to agree with Roger's viewpoint on this song. However there was some grumbling in the audience about the song not being very good overall. The song at times did seem forced and the crowd became mostly disinterested when it switched to a 50's retro beat.

But then along came Sheep and everyone in the crowd was back to rockin! Then Dark Side smoked the people into submission. Dave's vocals were missed here, but still great! All & all probably the best Roger Waters concert i have seen since the KAOS tour. see you in Pittsburg!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Seth Rivard

Setlist was the same as others, but for good reason, as to keep up with the theatrics. This show was much better than I was expecting, after already seeing him in 99. If anyone is debating going to one of his shows, they must go! Very political as one might expect... I almost wondered if the "ROGER WATERS : DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" is a bait-and-switch effort to get fans in, and then feed the animals some political fodder. Everything seemed highly produced, whereas the DSOTM bit seemed a little less produced.

The opener really got everyone in the mood to rock, animations and artistic direction were just amazing. Sound amazing, stereophonic (On the Run) superb, the band was just fantastic (that is really what I think), lighting... pyro's.. There were even bubbles and graffiti and floating spacemen, and the newly revised controversial-pig that has been making headlines. Very fun. So very entertaining.!!! I can only imagine how amazing it would be to once again combine Roger's vision and Gilmour's musical direction back on stage for a full concert.

Set the Controls was just a great rock revision. Once again I was reminded of how I haven't ever finished the "Seth at the Controls" remix version (obligatory shameless Floydhead.com plug here) I might as well mention that there were many "Surrogate Band" and "Floydhead Remix" flyers about the place. I wonder how they got there?? I have to admit that Shine On choked me up quite a bit. Very moving with all of those images. Makes me wonder if there is any Syd material left I need to scour for that I don't have. Transitions were very nicely done between many songs.

I did wonder if the 2001 Space Odyssey bit "Dave, what are you doing" was any tribute to David G, or Hal (Harry) in any sort of way. I know Rog likes to use that sample when he can.

About 1/5th of the audience cleared to get a beer or something when Southampton Dock started, you could tell who was really there for the show. Oh well they missed out. Heard some minor BOO's over anti-GW stuff, but mostly a lot of cheering. Didn't hear much over anti-Tony stuff, as I imagine most of the audience sadly doesn't even know who he is. Funny thing about Michigan Politics, is that if the show was held in any other city besides Michigan, the cheer to boo ratio may have been flipped.

Best quote from Rog was "I remember doing a gig for your mums and dads in Dearborn, with The Who!!" or something along those lines. Again, The Dark Side portion didn't compare to the first half. I think Rog really put a lot into that first half on purpose. To make his points on the world. Very nicely artistically done, and it rocked... but in summary, I do believe over ½ of the songs he selected had anti-war themes!! He made his point well and clear. Quite a contrast to David's show. Again, imagine them working together again!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Chris Loma

One word totally describes the show.... phenomenal! What a performance by Roger and company! Dave Kilminster on lead was totally amazing especially on HAVE A CIGAR, SHEEP, ANY COLOUR YOU LIKE AND COMFORTABLY NUMB! Snowy White also had his lead too during SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN AND SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND were just a couple.

You all know the setlist, it is unchanged... I totally believe the band is tighter and tighter after each performance. We had great seats on the mainfloor and the quad sound was working very well... The best sounding concert I have ever been to, by the way. The Detroit Crowd was AWESOME....loud when they should be and very very respectable. Roger was totally in love with the audience playing from the right side of the stage to the left!

The astronaut came out during Perfect Sense and ALGIE the pig, somehow made it to Detroit during sheep with coloured eyes. Dark Side in the 2nd half was top notch...The acoustics at the Palace on this night with Roger and crew using all their own stuff was unbelievable. VERY CRISP AND SHARP!

Carol Kenyan can sure sing GREAT GIG IN THE SKY! wow...amazing...everyone was at their best...I don't know what TORONTO will bring but I'm there WED NIGHT!!! Hope anyone who gets a chance to see this show DOES! You would never know that the man up there is 63 and still kickin ass...Hope ROGER comes back around a few more times...NOTHING BETTER...

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Darrin Hunter

The show started at 7:50pm this time (our tickets said 7:30 Sharp), and I was told by Roger's merchandise manager it was because Roger wanted to get on to Canada for those shows. I'll keep it short, as all the "tricks" have really already been revealed.

Firstly, the band was in excellent form tonight, extremely tight!! I've seen Roger 3 times previous to this show on other tours, and this one was by far the best. The quadraphonic sound was outstanding, as well as quite LOUD! The video screen behind the band was not only HUGE, but displayed some excellent new video to accompany the songs.

The crowd was absolutely superb, and supportive of "Leaving Beirut". My highlights would be, apart from the obvious, a really rockin' "Set the Controls...", "Sheep", and "Vera/Bring the Boys Back Home". Roger and Co. were truly in top form tonight, and the rest of the tour is sure to be something to behold!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Russ Robinson

We arrived at the Palace right around 7pm. The arena seats roughly 20,000 and to be honest I was shockedand pleased at how packed it was! I went to the merch stand just to look at what there was, but ended up buying a shirt. The new shirts with the b&w photo of Rog from the 70s and the tour dates on the back are just incredible.

I actually didn't bother to look at the tickets and just assumed the show was starting at 8pm (as with the In The Flesh shows I attended). Thankfully a friend of my wife's alerted us and we were off to our seats. We got to our seats around 7:40 and the "Whiskey and Radio" video was already running. Somewhere around 7:50, the lights lowered and the crowd went mad. After a few minutes in the dark one spotlight appeared on Rog and he held his fist high in the air looking extremely happy! Again, the crowd went mad. That light went out, a few minutes went by and then the German count off happened and we were treated to In The Flesh.

Most of the first set went over really well. I agree with most reviews I've read thus far that Set The Controls and Have A Cigar are definately highlights. I don't know if the band was having a bad night as far as Shine On was concerned, but I thought it was terrible. From where I was sitting it looked as if Snowy White was having alot of trouble with his guitar during this song so perhaps that was the problem. The montage of Syd was extremely nice to see, I like the Rog shows plenty of footage of Syd laughing and smiling instead of the whole video being depressing.

Southampton Dock and The Fletcher Memorial Home were both received far better then I thought they were going to be. Both of these songs are highlights for me, although I continue to hope that one day Rog will just keep going and actually play The Final Cut along with Southampton. I honestly think Perfect Sense Parts 1 & 2 were the best versions I've ever heard and they were also received well. Leaving Beruit actually got cheers when the "Bush lyrics" were on the screen. However, things took a turn when the lyric came up about America in general. There was at least 4 or 5 people in our section screaming "you suck!" and similar vocalizations about the song. Sheep was album perfect and ofcourse featured the pig. The best quote on the pig was "only only dimly aware" which had an arrow wrapping around and pointing to another quote on the pigs rear end reading "IMPEACH BUSH"!

As for the second set, just a warning to everyone attending future shows; the break was no where near 15 minutes. Within 10 minutes the heartbeat started and within a minute we were through Speak To Me and into Breathe. No Nick Mason at this show either, which is strange. He actually did an interview with our local rock talk morning show the other day and he mentioned several times that he would be at the Palace and was looking forward to coming back to Detroit and so on. Oh well, it would've been nice to see Nick play live with Rog, but Graham does a sound job on the album so I wasn't too upset. The whole record was done well, but I honestly think the band shines more from Us & Them on. Very solid, close to the original without sounding like an exact reproduction.

Money, in my opinion was completely ruined by Dave. I was extremely disappointed with his stage moves throughout the whole show, but particularly during Money. Someone needs to tell this guy that he's playing some of the greatest rock songs of all time, not trying out for Poison, Warrant or some other hair band. As we made our way through to the end of Eclipse it was nice to see the entire arena stand up and give Rog and his band a standing ovation that lasted around 5 minutes.

The encore was the same they've played so far, but I rather enjoyed the 'extended' version of Bring The Boys Back Home that I haven't seen mentioned yet. Comfortably Numb went as expected and the band came back out to another standing ovation and bow. The whisked off stage and the house lights came up. There were cheers again throughout the arena and many people were still in place applauding. It's just great to see Rog get so much attention and recongnition overall. I'd like to mention that the song (while not as surrounding as part tours) was nothing short of incredible. We had terrible seats but we were able to hear every single drop of every note, not a feat I can say for the same venue with other artists.

I guess my only complaint with the entire night would be some crowd interactions I had. Before the show, I was treated to a conversation with a woman who was hoping "he doesn't bore us with all that solo stuff". I gave her the benefit of the doubt by saying "Oh, you don't like it huh?" to which she replied "I've never bothered to listen to it. I just hope he doesn't play it!". That along with the gentlemen in the hall ways during the break proclaiming that the setlist "suck so far! He should be playing ANIMALS MAN! ANIMALS!" made me kinda sad, but I like to think those people are in the minority.

Overall the experience was great and my wife very much enjoyed her first Roger Waters concert. She saw Floyd in '94 and didn't understand how much Roger mattered until she witnessed the show tonight. To say she's a big fan of Roger now due to the effort put forth by everyone on stage would be an understatement. If you haven't purchased tickets to the rest of this tour yet do so immediately!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Eugene

The atmosphere inside the Palace at around 7:30 was one of high euphoria (whether literally or figuratively, interpret it as you will). The pre-concert music consisted entirely of early Neil Young, which assured all present that this was indeed to be a concert by one of their childhood idols. There were more than a few parent-child combinations in the audience, a good sign that the music of Roger Waters and Pink Floyd has transcended the generation gap. Die-hard fans mixed freely with casual fans who perhaps had only heard one Pink Floyd song in their lives (and I'll bet you can guess which one it was); at first, an observer could not tell which was which and who was who, but it became apparent soon enough...more on that later.

On the screen behind the stage is a radio, a bottle of gin, an ashtray full of cigarette butts, and a half-full (half-empty?) glass. Suddenly, a hand reaches out and twirls the dial, eventually finding Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again," and then Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog." After the King, a song by Abba begins to groans from the audience, but just as it gets started the hand hurriedly switches the station. All the while, the mysterious radio dial twirler refills and promptly drains his glass, and goes through about a pack of cigarettes. Finally, when the tension is unbearable, the radio goes off, the lights go out, and the place goes nuts.

Roger opened the show, characteristically but unexpectedly, with "In the Flesh," making excellent use of the powerful Palace spotlight to find all the queers, Jews, coons, potheads and spotty ones in the audience. A few of the more dedicated among us showed our appreciation with the crossed-arms salute from The Wall, and it was at this point one could take a quick glance through the audience and begin to separate the wheat from the chaff. Then, in total constrast to the bombardment on our senses that was In the Flesh, without any banter he moves on to an excellent rendition of "Mother," with the very talented P.P. Arnold providing the Mother's lines (although she was not as good as David Gilmour, and less believable as Roger's mother). Images of blood, devastation, death, war and horror accompanied the first two stanzas, to wild cheers from the audience, particularly when Roger sang "Mother, should I trust the government?" It was, as could be expected at a Waters concert, to be the first of many, many political references and images.

Thus established, Roger launched into a song that probably no one expected him to play, and probably less than half of the audience even knew existed: "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun." You could tell that few people had heard it, because suddenly, mercifully, no one was singing along. And I'm here to tell you, he rocked that song till there was nothing left. Featuring blistering guitarwork and a soaring saxophone solo beautifully balanced against the gentle lyrics, complete with images from the band's very early Arnold Layne promotional video and a psychedelic fluid that bubbled in direct proportion to the music, it was inarguably one of the show's highlights, at a show where nearly every song was a priceless jewel. And as it began, here we were expecting "Welcome to the Machine"! Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to hear a pre-Dark Side song, and never in my life have I been so pleased to be shocked.

After "Set the Controls," which lasted more than eight minutes and seemed too short, Roger kept the space images up on the screen and launched right into "Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pts. I-V." As would be expected, the screen faded from images of the cosmos to still (albiet psychedelically-enhanced) still photographs of the song's late inspiration, Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett. The music was great, of course, but the song was made that night by Roger's incredibly emotional vocal delivery. The audience stayed as quiet as could be expected out of respect, but could not resist chiming in as Roger sang the titular line; here, at least, it was a touching tribute to Syd on the part of both Roger and the audience.

The sax at the end of "Shine On" gave way to the bombastic guitar intro to "Have a Cigar," sung by Roger and accompanied by a dizzying montage of company "suits" and daily life in the large cities of the Western world. Now, at any show, there has to be a "low point," even at one as consistently mindblowing as this one, and by that rule I must deem this song, and the one that followed, that low point. The song rocked hard, no question, but it adhered rather stringently to the version on the Wish You Were Here album and was therefore expendable. Likewise, it hurts me to say, "Wish You Were Here," which followed. There can be no argument that Roger truly put everything into his vocals on this song, but he simply cannot do it justice; I think it was proven at Live 8 last year that this song needs to be sung by no one but David Gilmour. Also, on this song the audience singalong was unnecessary and did not help. So two songs out of more than 20 that I enjoyed but did not swoon from hearing live...it happens.

I mentioned earlier that it became apparent at some point in the show who were the real fans and who were the radio fans...this is where it happened. After "Wish You Were Here," Roger switched gears and began a truly heartwrenching rendition of "Southampton Dock," from the album The Final Cut. Almost as if it were a cue, no less than half the audience made a mass exodus to the toilet facilities...I really hope they got caught in line and missed the epic finale to the first set. Anyway, those who stayed were treated to first Southampton Dock, and then to "The Fletcher Memorial Home," the second-most politically-charged song Roger played that night. The song was made whole by the accompanying video images of a decrepit, abandoned rest home, with framed portraits of Joseph Stalin, Margaret Thatcher, Mao Zse Tung, Adolf Eichmann, Ronald Reagan, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and, of course, George W. Bush...the implication was not lost on members of the audience and some of those who had stayed suddenly realized that their bladders needed emptying, too. Spray-painted on the walls of this home were quotes from dictators, past and present; a Bush one was thrown in for good measure, and a particularly telling one it was, too. Some people left, sure, but the majority applauded louder than any time after Roger's entrance and before his final exit.

It was after this song that Roger finally addressed the audience, opening with "Good evening." He could have said "Go f*ck yourselves" and we would have cheered him, that was how much we were enjoying this concert. Now came Roger's newest tune, "Leaving Beirut," accompanied, bizarrely, by a graphic novel-like series of panels depicting his (Roger's) adventure one night staying with a Lebanese family while hitchhiking back home from the Middle East. While he sang, the screen was filled by a giant dialogue balloon with its arrow pointed at him. Those who have heard this song know the words, and they elicited quite a reaction from the crowd; a guy behind me groaned, "Aw, God, another political song" when the song began (as if, coming to a Roger Waters show, you could expect anything else), and yelled "F*ck you!" at the end of it. Nice to see that Roger's still got it when it comes to making people mad...paranthetically, I might mention that he himself was in a jovial mood that night, and had no explosions of rage and no rude comments to make about the audience. Maybe someone should have brought firecrackers...

The first set closed with "Sheep," and, along with Set the Controls, I'd say this was the absolute best song Roger performed that night. He rocked it, and I mean HARD, and even floated a slogan-filled pig out over the audience.

The pig was decorated wonderfully, with things like "IMPEACH BUSH NOW" written on its ass, "ONLY FEAR BUILDS WALLS," and "DON'T BE LED TO SLAUGHTER: VOTE NOV. 2nd" on its side. The most effective, though, was a sign saying "Cut along dotted line," and an arrow pointing to the dotted line across its throat. I don't know how they did it, but it seemed to rock and wave in the air in perfect synchronization to the slow, synthesizer-laced bit of the song with the bastardized 23rd Psalm. The audience was in an uproar even before the famous guitar outro ended the first set.

The performance of The Dark Side of the Moon that was the second set was incredible, yes, but I have to say not particularly noteworthy. Roger tactfully held off on singing until "his" songs came up (the last two), and the performance was much better for that, but they adhered rather tightly to the album. With the notable exceptions of "On the Run," "The Great Gig in the Sky," and "Any Colour You Like," it was rocking but it was not phenomenal like the majority of the first set was. Nonetheless, to see it live was an incredible experience, and the audience was fully into it (as could be expected, as it was probably the one piece that EVERYONE knew). Like I said, incredible, but then, everything Pink Floyd did was incredible.

I mentioned that the instrumentals were the exceptions to the rule. "On the Run" was a full-on assault on the senses, with a trippy lightshow accompanying images reminiscent of the "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey (by the way, have you ever noticed that On the Run actually synchs quite well to the real sequence in the film? No? Well, try it out sometime...). Interspersed with the usual song were sudden blasts of jet engines, locomotives, and space shuttles launching that jerked you out of your state of complacency and reminded you of why you came to see it live. "The Great Gig in the Sky" was likewise presented with mind-bending imagery, but the song was made by the very able vocals of Carol Kenyon. Her rendition, though close (of course) to Clare Torry's on the album, was clearly her own and she wailed along to the piano of Jon Carin like no other I've heard. Quite good, and she got a well-deserved round of applause from the crowd. Finally, "Any Colour You Like," the song where any respectable burn-out relit his joint, was a very powerful psychedelic blend of Harry Waters' Hammond organ and Snowy White's guitar. It adhered to the spirit of the original but was not afraid to stretch the song's limits a bit, and it worked wonderfully.

The finale of The Dark Side of the Moon is well-known to pretty much everyone who can hear, so it makes sense that Roger and the band would put their all into it. And they did. At the climax, anyone in the audience who was really into it raised their hands to the sky as one, and if, at any point, perfection could be reached, it was there, because as Roger belted out "Eclipse" no one in that arena had a care in the world. Rightfully so, for at that moment the sheer sensory experience was enough to drive everything else from one's mind and leave you with a sense of euphoria. This coming from someone who had no consciousness-expanding aids at his disposal should tell you that this reaction was the very least you could have felt.

Roger and Co., their mission accomplished, took a bow (and I, for one, was bowing back), and left the stage...for about twenty seconds. The applause in the arena was deafening, and the encore had to appease a mighty hungry crowd. It more than did...it was almost another set. After introducing the band, the spotlight came on again, creating deja vu for a moment in time barely two and a half hours old. Now, however, it was accompanied by a helicopter whirring overhead, and we all knew what was coming. Roger was relishing the suspense, because when the spotlight finally stopped and he shouted in that oh-so-recognizable brogue, "You! Yes, you!", he paused and laughed, knowing that this was what at least a sizeable minority in the crowd had come to hear. And then, acceding to his fate, he finished, "Stand still, laddie!" and launched right into "The Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2." This song, naturally, was the one song that EVERYONE should sing along to, and indeed everyone did, and indeed Roger walked from one side of the stage to the other making sure we were singing, nay, screaming "WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION!"

A ten-minute rendition as it was, with two guitar solos thrown in for good measure...that would have been encore enough for any other performer, but Roger wasn't about to leave us with just one song (two, technically, but everyone thinks of it as one). Sticking with The Wall, Roger now played a very sombre version of "Vera," followed by "Bring the Boys Back Home." This was particularly touching, as the screen behind him flashed the flags of ALL the nations involved in the current Middle East conflict...a nice answer, I thought, to the folks who bitch about him for only protesting one side. Well, now he's pleading for the lives of the innocents AROUND THE WORLD, so go to hell. Anyway, the song ended, and the lights dimmed on the band, heads bowed...I thought it was over, but then the familiar "Are you feeling okay?" and "Time to go!" came on...we weren't done yet.

"Comfortably Numb" is always amazing live (get any bootleg, or watch your copy of Live 8 again), and this time was no exception. A kind of Wall-esque video of a kind of Bob Geldof-esque bloke kicking around alone in his apartment accompanied it, but that wasn't really necessary; the scene from the film is already emblazoned on our minds and it was playing in mine at least. Guitarist Andy Fairweather Low was more than a match for David Gilmour when it came to the solos (that's saying something), and the song was a fitting end to an evening that left pretty much everyone in a state of dazed wonder.

I have never been to a concert in these times when an artist can come out and play for three hours and barely stop for breath. Roger's performance perfectly blended the music, the lyrics, the imagery, and the message that we have come to expect from him, and delivered like no one else could have. The only thing that could possibly top it would be a full-fledged Floyd reunion, but as that is an extremely remote possibility I am content to dub this the greatest concert experience I have ever had. Proof positive, once again, that there is nothing today's music can offer that can compare to the genius of Roger Waters and Pink Floyd.

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Peter Schork

Fantastic show in Detroit! Roger Waters waxed poetic about his first trip to Michigan along with the Who in Dearborn. He seemed very on his game and received tremendous responses from the crowd to his anti-Bush/protest material that intermixed with his act. Wonderful version of Leaving Beirut (although the comic strip lines were slightly off from his singing).

Encores from The Wall were truly amazing and all five of us who made the 60 mile trek from Ann Arbor agreed that the first half of the show, Pink Floyd Classics and Waters originals, outshined the full Dark Side of the Moon second act - even though that to was outstanding.

My brother and I grew up listening to the Floyd in the 70s and 80s and we kept saying that we could not believe we were at the concert. Life has it Ups and Downs, and sometimes it seems like it is Us against Them but when a two story high giant inflatable pig is flying just over your head and Roger Waters is wailing on a classic Animals tune - everything seems pretty F--king Good!!!!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Greg Ackison

On the drive there, and in the pouring rain, and during the 85 miles of stop and go traffic through Detroit and on to the Palace, I kept thinking this isn't The Pink Floyd but Roger. Once I got through of not seeing David, Nick and Richard or ever having the chance to seeing them all together again it hit me that this was his show, his thoughts, and I am thankful to live in a country that allows freedom of speech and an opportunity to live and be as successful as I want and not live in a society where the threat of someone blowing holes in vans with remote controls isn't a daily occurance.

The crowd was relaxed as rainy weather tends to drain the energy from the body, but once the lights went down at 19:30 it was as if a shot of adrenaline was injected into the heart. For as many as five minutes we watched in anticipation until a lone spotlight shone on Roger and the famous intro to the Wall was heard. In an instant a near sold out arena erupted with yells and some with arms crossed as if to represent the hammers.

The sound was crystal clear and the storyline was clearly about war and peace but I think when you have a war you also have to have hope, hope that as many lives can be spared, and hope there can one day be peace. I am certain that was the theme.

Even the pink pig which flew around the arena had slogans about time for a change, and in particular, a message to George W written on its ass. Leaving Beirut was emotional, some of the crowd cheered, from my seat I heard no boos or jeers, but it was as some was somber as if pondering is this what we are fighting for.

As promised the 2nd half was DSOTM but without Nick Mason, a real disappoinment, especially since some of the recordings (bootlegs) out there have him on drums and even though not a substancial difference, it just wasn't the same, the euphoria wasn't there on Time as it would have been with Nick. But I will say on his behalf, Graham Broad was very good. As for some of the other members of the band, Andy Fairweather Low is one of the best around if not the best. Jon Carin was/is excellant as well. I was impressed with the other guy on guitar, Snowy White is good, but the other guy was a bit better. Katie Kissoon, well what can you say she is the heart and soul of the back-up singers. I can only hope she will be with us for many more tours. The other two girls were equally as impressive.

All of the videos were powerful and impressive, the technology of today is wonderful, the sound was exceptionial everything about this show had meaning.

My wife - now a converted Roger Waters/Pink Floyd fan - now knows why we fans are so passionate about the songs, and the group, that just buying the records sometimes isn't just good enough, you have to be there. As sometimes stated during a laser show, an experience of sight and sound for the mind. Springsteen and the Stones have a following, people that travel from show to show and I have been to a few of each over the years and while each has longjevity with their bands, one can only hope that they - the Floyd - can put their differences aside and we fans get that one final tour.

End of review: question to ponder...

Was the guy in the video a veteran of a recent war or conflict? With the theme of war, one can only think of the concept Roger is trying to make with the audience.