US + THEM

This show has been released in cinema a long time ago and it took many months to hit the record store on physical media. The disk case is not bigger than a post-card. After the release of ''The Wall Live'' concert we knew that the production would be similar with giants screens in the back and even in the middle of the venue. The setlist covers mostly ''Dark Side of the Moon'' which has been played a lot by many tribute bands in the last 20 years, but this time Roger added some songs from ''Animals'' which is a welcome addition. Also, he played 3 songs from his latest solo album, but I guess that most people were there for the Pink Floyd songs. The sound clarity and the picture are excellent, but I didn't enjoy how they use the light show with mostly red and white spots. There is a good use of the sound of explosions for special effects with projections on the screens.

Roger Waters signing and playing is still lively and we can see him signing outside his microphone. The signing from other musicians is struggling at times. But when the music is so good, you can tolerate some flaws in the vocal department. Roger Waters didn't speak between songs and kept his political message for the love of humanity at the end. This concert was recorded in surround which adds some value to the overall experience.

I'm only the second to review this DVD. Well, my reception is a bit ambivalent. At first I was very impressed, but before the end I started to get tired of the agitative and preachy nature of the concert's visual looks, ie. what's seen on the gigantic screens. Yes, there are lots of reasons to think the world is such a mess and that we need to fight against things like racism, greed, dictatorship, etc., but the way Waters attempts to manipulate the feelings of the audience and DVD viewers gets occasionally too underlined.

I often start viewing concert DVD's from their extras. Especially if there's a documentary showing the preparations of the concert, it feels also quite an appropriate place to start. The 15-minute footage titled 'Fleeting Glimpse' functions nicely as the appetizer, although it hardly contains enough deeper substance for multiple viewings. 'Smell the Roses' and 'Comfortably Numb' are worthy additions to the live set.

The spectacular show starts with the whole first side of The Dark Side of the Moon. It's interesting to compare Waters' show to the David Gilmour-led Pink Floyd shows (P.UL.S.E. contains the whole Dark Side album). This time Waters comes in many ways much closer to the territory of Gilmour's Floyd than on his "In the Flesh" DVD from 2000. The screen films have often similarities, such as the clocks on 'Time'. 'Great Gig in the Sky' is ecstatic, and it's a song one wouldn't normally expect to see in Roger's concerts. Also 'One of These Days' -- placed amidst the Dark Side's first side -- has become more associated with the Watersless Floyd. A greatly enjoyable set of the classic Floyd stuff indeed. I have always thought that Roger is (especially as a singer) more like "the heart and soul" of Pink Floyd than Gilmour is, as much as I appreciate the latter, too.

'Welcome to the Machine' is accompanied by the dystopic animation film made for that song ages ago. (I've seen it on the DVD The Making of Wish You Were Here.) Very powerful, but in a very gloomy way. It's followed by three songs from Waters' solo album Is This the Life We Really Want? (2017). During 'Picture That' ("imagine a leader with no f***ing brains") the ugly face of Donald Trump is seen more than one would wish. For the latter half of the set it's Floyd classics again. The potpourri from The Wall contains all- too-often-heard 'Another Brick pt. 2', but the kids are an essential and innovative part of the show in it.

The pair of 'Dogs' and 'Pigs' from Animals is accompanied by gloomy and agitative visuals. It was perhaps during 'Pigs' (never much liked it as a song) that I most became tired of the angst. Roger lifts signs that say "Pigs rule the world" and "Fuck the pigs". Also on 'Money' and 'Us & Them' the visuals are preachy, comparable to the news films, and pictures of Trump among other politicians are seen again. The last verses of 'Eclipse' are for some reason repeated. The visual effects with laser lights are more bombastic than ever on any Floyd-related concert. Yeah, there's indeed a lot to digest in this set. Partly it's definitely a five-star excellence, partly too much of in-your- face preachiness. A must viewing for Waters fan anyway.