Two years ago at the Live 8 benefit concert, it appeared as though Pink Floyd was on the verge of officially getting back together. But those dreams were premature when guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour quickly released a solo album and went on the road, followed by singer/bassist Roger Waters hitting the road last summer as well. Though Gilmour’s tour was hugely successful, Waters’ billing as “the creative genius of Pink Floyd,” plus his performance of the band’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety has sold out all across the globe.
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Roger Waters
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 Entertainment
Art
United Center
Chicago, Ill.
June 9, 2007
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That historic album, a few other Pink Floyd gems and a couple Waters solo tracks, mesmerized the sold-out fans (young and old) as Waters and his nine backers unloaded nearly three hours of psychedelic masterpieces. Although “Dark Side” didn’t appear until the second half of the evening, fans were treated to career staples such as the opener “In the Flesh,” the hypnotic “Wish You Were Here” and the flying pig balloon enhanced treatment of “Sheep”; to break the ice and whet our appetite for the main event.
And then the epic album came nearly 90 minutes into the evening, unveiling with the “Speak to Me/Breathe” suite and ending a 30 year silence since Waters originally performed the project on tour with the complete Pink Floyd line-up. Though that opener and the subsequent “On the Run” were packed with dreamy, euphoric instrumental sequences, accessibility soon set in with the familiar, bubbling over crescendos of “Time” and later “Money” (complete with electronically generated cash register sound effects).
As Waters and company continued with the sax-streaked softness of “Us and Them” and the distortion drenched “Any Colour You Like,” it was evident the “Dark Side” disc still holds up in modern contexts, despite being cut back in 1973. Enrapturing renditions of the spacey “Brain Damage” (flanked by a laser enhanced prism mirroring the album cover) and its follow-up finale “Eclipse” provided additional portals for the audience to be transported into another dimension.
Even after that disc’s triumphant presentation, there were still a few Pink Floyd classics left for an even more riveting conclusion. No Waters show let alone a Pink Floyd show could be complete without the mega hit “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2,” which was also the night’s most vibrant adaptation from the band’s seminal “The Wall” soundtrack CD. A ten-minute version of “Comfortably Numb” rode out the evening on a cloud of classic rock perfection, merging Waters’ haunting bass lines with dueling guitar solos from session players that aptly upheld Gilmour’s performance integrity.
Perhaps the band we know as Pink Floyd is in fact dead and though it’s unlikely the two figureheads will ever reconvene again on a stage, this particular concert was the next best opportunity to experience Pink Floyd’s undeniable legacy.
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