Maria Iglesias: Roger Waters' "The Wall Tour" in Madrid

OUTSIDE THE WALL by Maria Iglesias (C1):

Tickets were sold out (there had been none left for months!) but we were there! Last Saturday we were privileged to enjoy Rogers Waters’ The Wall Tour in Madrid. This event, which I will never forget but I will distinctly remember, it is up there as one of the best shows I have ever witnessed.

As you may know, The Wall, a fantastic rock opera released in 1979, is one of the best-known and best selling albums by Pink Floyd worldwide. Summing up the album’s main concept, it talks about a character named Pink, based on Roger Water's own life. Pink's life is stained by the loss of his father during the Second World War and the tyrannical treatment he suffered from his schoolteachers, as well as by his excessively protective mother and his failed marriage. All these disturbing issues become “bricks” that shape into a metaphorical wall which finally isolates Pink from society. Now, mix this story with drugs, hallucinatory episodes, abusive political and religious references and tons of paranoid video projections created by Gerald Scarfe and you will get the essence of both the album and the live show, which ends with the wall being demolished and, hence, the reunion of Pink with the world.

The concert follows Pink's story through 26 songs, some of them not only songs but almost icons in rock history. The first part of the show started with “In the flesh”, while fireworks started to fill the atmosphere with red lights, and Roger Waters appeared dressed up in black leather on the stage, dominated by an enormous flag with two hammers in red & black. The message was clearly written on the starting wall: “Them, not us. Us, not them” and, simultaneously, we could hear the perturbing noise of submachine guns and the terrible sound of an air plane crashing. We were so excited! The concert had barely begun!

While “The thin ice” and “Another brick in the wall - Part I” were being played thunderously we could see on the stage dozens of photos of missing or murdered people in conflicts all around the world, like soldiers, activists or even children, since Waters had started a project before this tour called “Fallen loved ones”, and invited his fans to send in photos of their beloved ones murdered or abused by violence. Then, a choir of kids appeared on the stage wearing black t-shirts with the message “Fear builds walls” and the song “Another brick in the wall - Part II” brought on a sort of “connection” which made the vibrant crowd sing along like in a kind of anthem. From this moment on, step by step, brick by brick, the building of the wall started across the stage between the performers and the eager audience. Roger Waters was rising up the wall in Madrid thirty years after Pink Floyd did in New York for the very first time.

The radiant performance of “Mother” was one of the most moving, intimate ones: while the real Waters was singing on the stage, we could watch the young one on the screen delivering the same song thirty years ago. This delightful song finished with the projection of a very well known quote by George Orwell, “Big brother is watching you”, which changed into “Big mother is watching you”. Outstanding visual elements took precedence over the sound in “Goodbye blue sky”, as the song was accompanied by the effective images of big war planes throwing missiles in the shape of famous icons of political, economic and religious powers: dollars, Mercedes Benz, Shell, Christian crosses and Jewish stars.



At this point of the concert, you can imagine the hypnotic spectacle of watching the progressive building of the wall across the stage - more than 60 metres wide and 10 meters high! - until it got almost completed with “Goodbye cruel world”, the nostalgic song that marked the end of the memorable first part of the gig, with Roger Waters showing his head through the a tiny hole on the wall.

After what seemed an endless break, Waters and his talented musicians returned on stage to perform the album's awesome second disc in its entirety, leading off with a fan favourite, “Hey you”. From that point on, Waters and his musicians stayed behind the wall, so you must imagine the fervent crowd acclaiming an empty stage just dominated by the enormous, breathtaking presence of the impressive white wall. “Bring the boys back home” was, doubtlessly, the most politically charged song of the night, during which harsh images of war tore into starving children. “Comfortably Numb”, the stoner hymn, was perfectly accompanied by tons of stunning psychedelic visuals.



For “The show must go on” the entire band, dressed in black, came out from behind the wall. Roger appeared dress like a true fascist, a machine gun in hand, for two powerful renditions of “In the flesh” and “Run like hell”, when there was a sequence of political imagery, including pictures of world leaders like Bush, Hitler, Mao, etc. At the same time, a giant, remote-controlled black pig was flying out above our heads, fully covered in slogans like “What's wrong with people?”, “Trust Us” and “Them, not us”.

As the concert was getting to its end, “Stop” and “The Trial” had everyone resoundingly yelling back "Tear down the wall, tear down the wall!" And down came the wall in Madrid as “Outside the wall” put a glorious final. Each section of the stadium keenly cheered Roger with great excitement and a deafening applause. I can honestly say that the show blew me away. I have nothing to complain about Roger as he didn't miss a note and sang in a phenomenal voice, punctuated by a fantastic sound system which was powerfully clear.

What can I say, as classic literature, great music is absolutely timeless. Do you want some living proof? First and foremost, regarding the audience at the concert, it was effortless to appreciate there was no age to enjoy the show as you could easily see that groups of expectant teenagers, animated fans in their sixties, lively middle-aged couples or entire families were attending Roger's gig enthusiastically. As Pink Floyd’s founding member briefly mentioned in the middle of this once-in-a-lifetime concert, many people present hadn’t been born the year The Wall was first published, which is certainly true: there is no age at all to rejoice in the show. Secondly, what really impresses me is the fact that The Wall’s lyrics are still relevant these days. Why am I saying this? As I have already remarked, the album sets out to explore human facts like solitude or deception and, what is more, the way we face them, and, on the other hand, it revolves around abusive matters like militarism, as well as religious, economic and political issues, so it is clearly a criticism of a system ruled by such oppressive powers. Do we not still live in a world full of wars, anger and poverty? Is The Wall’s message not alive yet?

To conclude, while writing this review for you, dear mates, I have been listening to The Wall (what else?) and I can honestly confess that the astonishing concert is certainly over but the memories will linger almost forever. After reading this humble review, may I have persuaded you to give the magnificent Pink Floyd a try? Haven't I? ... Is there anybody out there?