, , , —

One Month Countdown To Roger Waters At The FNC

When I saw Rogers Waters perform The Wall at the then HSBC Arena two years ago I figured that was it, that would be my first and only time seeing The Wall live. My love of that album (and Pink Floyd) goes back to high school and Video Factory, and seeing it unfold before my eyes was literally a dream come true, something I could check off my list with joy in my heart. But then Roger announced on Fallon that he was taking The Wall back out on the road and playing baseball stadiums, and I was sure I'd have to go on a road trip to see it again, not a bad thing mind you, but I didn't think a second Buffalo performance of The Wall was in the cards. But lo, I was wrong, and in between dates in significantly larger venues a 2012 show at  the First Niagara Center was announced in November of last year, an incredible coup and honor for our fair city considering The Wall is one of the great works of the 20th century. June 21 is the day. One month away.


And I am doing it right this time. For the next 30 days ,it's going to be a steady diet of Roger Pink Floyd (not the Roger-less Pink Floyd played far too often on 97 Rock). Meddle. Dark Side of the Moon. Wish You Were Here. The profoundly underrated and undervalued Animals. And of course The Wall in all of it's configurations (no Atom Heart Mother and The Final Cut- one has too little Roger and the other too much): the studio album, the live album, the movie, and the 1990 Wall in Berlin.* I'm going to be hitting that vintage of Pink Floyd when Waters asserted himself as a lyricist and creator hard, that glorious period in the 70's when they found their greatest success while issuing their most meaningful and confrontational music. And The Wall works every time, whether as a studio album, as the ultimate midnight movie, and as live experiences. It doesn't matter where or how it's happening or the scale involved, The Wall is a powerful and affecting piece of popular art.


So yes, I have to get ready. I'm going back and studying anew the sacred texts and their various interpretations in advance of the big day when Roger Waters brings The Wall back to Buffalo. For the last time? I was wrong the last time, and I'd hate to be wrong again, but this time, yeah, I don't think we'll be seeing it again in Buffalo... or seeing anything like it, again, period.




And here's a surreal yet insightful 60 Minutes profile on Roger and The Wall. Check out Van (The Man) Morrison singing "Comfortably Numb." Big thanks to Joe Vip for the hot tip.






* Please note, the new Beach House album Bloom will still be in the rotation. No doubt.


Cliff Parks

2 comments

  1. Anonymous
    May 22, 2012 at 12:55 AM

    is this sold out?

  2. Anonymous
    May 22, 2012 at 8:10 PM

    Not yet, but they're down to the muy expensive seats.

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)