It’s not a drill – Roger Waters

‘If you’re one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people, then you might do well to fuck off to the bar” – announces Roger Waters minutes before the show started. And you thought Rupam Islam was the only one who yells swear words from stage to the audience to get serious ?

There wasn’t a mass stampede, although the ‘can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people have certainly been vocal lately. I received a couple of similar messages on my phone the night before the concert.

Waters has condemned the invasion of Ukraine but been denounced in the country for also saying it ‘was not unprovoked’, views which led to Polish concerts being cancelled. He won a legal battle to perform in Frankfurt after more accusations of antisemitism (which he denies). Last week it was reported that german police are investigating him over a Nazi style costume which he wore on stage in Berlin.

With all of that prelude I landed myself at the concert kicking off his UK tour this year.

It took off with a funeral version of Comfortably Numb illustrated by visuals of bombed out buildings, as if to suggest we’re numbed to warfare. Waters tackled all this head-on. His digitised statement pointed out a satirical ‘depiction of an unhinged fascist demagogue’ which has been part of his shows since The Wall in 1980 which also stated that his father was killed fighting the Nazis.

Then he launched into a 10-minute tirade in which he decries his brutal treatment in Germany and said that the Daily Mail, the Times and the Daily Telegraph are trying to destroy him over his support for human rights in Palestine. ‘They’re trying to cancel me like they cancelled Jeremy Corbyn and Julian Assange,’ he raged. ‘I will not be cancelled.’ By the time he thanks the crowd for their roaring support to this rage, the 79-year-old is tearful. ‘I’m fucking dying here,’ he pleads. As ever with Waters, much of the show veers between anti-war, anti-imperialist and humanitarian.

This Is Not a Drill Tour concert was a sight to behold, with an in-the-round layout, giant cross-shaped video screen transported, set up and managed by a 150 member crew, crisp visuals, almost studio level perfect sound, at least in the lower bowl. The seven-member band and two backing singers largely played third fiddle to Waters, the amazing visuals and show production, yet they drove the whole show forward. Guitarists Dave Kilminster and Jonathan Wilson, as well as saxophonist Seamus Blake, had the most opportunities to shine on their impressive solos sometimes walking on the decks, filling in on the classic songs. The backup vocalists used their voices more as instruments, adding texture to the songs.

But then on a serious note, with his heavy handed idealism with visuals of the American Presidents projected on screen titled war criminals, that moment came during a downtempo solo track ‘ the bravery of being out of range’ as Waters sang from the piano..

‘Hey bartender over here

Two more shots

And two more beers..

Sir turn up the TV sound

The war has started on the ground

Just love those laser guided bombs

They’re really great

For righting wrongs.. ‘

..labelling every President since Ronald Reagan as ‘War Criminals’ for killing people in other countries with their international doctrines. Obama and Biden were not spared either, albeit Biden’s listed crime on the visuals was only ‘he’s just getting started.’ A big theme of the show was Waters’ protestation of U.S. drone strikes (which were Obama’s and Trump’s crimes in the previous song). The giant cross-shaped video screen hovering about the stage repeatedly returned to that theme.

But most of Water’s conversations with the audience took place in the form of captions, written in first person, that accompanied the often-impressive visuals. At one point, the captions were of two people having a conversation about the infamous 2007 U.S. drone strike that killed two Reuters photographers and civilians – which only came to light because of whistleblower Chelsea Manning and Wikileak’s Julian Assange.

‘What the fuck was that? Who did we just kill?’ the messages played down the video screen, which then flashed statements of ‘ Free Assange’ and to imprison those responsible for the killing.

For all the sloganeering (Fuck the patriarchy!, Free Assange!, or Control the narrative! – during Another Brick in the Wall) much of this show is personal and I don’t see a reason as to why it should not be. Thats what a poet song writer musician composer is all about, he portrays his perspective with his ideologies…and that is why his songs are so iconic.

The new piano led -The Bar – composed during lockdown about the virtues of the pub – the soft piano ballad, backed only by an acoustic guitar, saying the whole thing is 15 minutes long. The concept behind the song is that the titular bar is a place where everyone is welcome to express their opinions and thoughts without retribution. It was lovely and there were touching reminiscences about Syd Barrett when they were kids. A touching rendition of ‘Wish You Were Here’ was dedicated to the late Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd cofounder. ‘When you lose someone you love, it does serve to remind you this is not a drill.

There was infact lots to thrill the ‘I love Pink Floyd’ people, with swathes of the classic Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here albums rendered by the band. The latter’s title track with matching lasers illustrating the prism was beautifully moving. The show is a triumph of staging, with remote-controlled flying sheep, huge blown up droned pigs, cross-shaped screens unseen to the world seen earlier, the depth of the sound and almost two and a half hours of music that ends with an ovation. Nothing that he says in untrue or fiction, Water’s politics will continue to irk many, but anyone fleeing for the bar would’ve missed a true spectacular which Roger Waters and his team had woven together.

Launching into a discussion of geopolitics, he said – ‘We’re closer to a nuclear confrontation than ever before.’ References to Vladamir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were conspicuously absent. Next day reviews for the Birmingham performance were overwhelmingly positive, with Waters receiving five out of five stars from The Times and The Telegraph despite his claim that the publications were looking to ‘rip my balls off’ !