WATERS STILL RUNS DEEP
Roger Waters brings Us + Them tour to Ottawa
Trump a target on 74-year-old’s tour
Rock legend Roger Waters, the creative mastermind behind the classic rock band Pink Floyd, brings his Us + Them world tour to Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday, part of a seven-city swing through Canada. Like all of his tours, it promises to be the ultimate concert spectacle, with eye-popping lights, 360-degree sound, multi-dimensional lasers and a steady stream of video images to enhance the experience.
Here’s more on what to expect:
POLITICAL CONTENT
Waters, 74, has always had an anti-authoritarian streak combined with a strong sense of fairness, and it often comes out in his lyrics. The best-known example, of course, is Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, which is widely interpreted as a rebellion against an education system that forces children to fit into society.
On this tour, the target of Waters’ wrath couldn’t be more specific. Another guy with a penchant for walls, U.S. President Donald Trump, is mocked, emasculated and plastered onto a giant flying pig, cozying up alongside images of the KKK, Putin and Hitler.
While the unflattering imagery prompted handfuls of Trump supporters to walk out of concerts in some U.S. cities over the summer — Boston and New Orleans among them — in Toronto it reportedly sparked a standing ovation.
NEW MATERIAL
This year Waters released a new solo album entitled Is This The Life We Really Want?, his first rock project since 1992’s Amused to Death. Produced by Radiohead/ Beck producer Nigel Godrich, it’s packed with dark commentary on current issues, including the refugee crisis, drone warfare and terrorism, delivered with a progrock sensibility that’s freshened by the contributions of younger musicians.
Waters is performing a few new songs at every stop, but not too many because, as he said in a 2015 interview with Postmedia, “one thing I do know about rock ’n’ roll audiences is that they’re a lot happier if there are some oldies in the set, and not just a bunch of stuff that’s completely new.”
CLASSIC FLOYD
After two decades as Pink Floyd’s chief singer-songwriter and bassist, Waters left the band in 1985, and has only performed with former bandmates David Gilmour and Nick Mason twice in the years since.
But Waters still plays the music he wrote while he was a member. His last two tours have focused on Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, each one performed in its entirety, but this time he’s cherry picking from both of the classic concept albums, as well as Animals and Wish You Were Here, ensuring a string of well-timed cathartic moments.
Although some reviewers have noted a dearth of songs on the set list representing the period between 1980-2017, fans of all ages are over the moon to hear the nuggets from Floyd’s heyday in the ’70s.
THE TOURING BAND
Waters has assembled a topnotch crew to help him re-create the music with all the bells and whistles fans expect, although he doesn’t do much of the singing himself (except on the new songs).
L.A. musician Jonathan Wilson, the same guy who produced the new album, handles the lead vocal parts originally sung by Gilmour and divides the note-for-note guitar solos with David Kilminster.
Also bolstering the vocals are the two female singers of Lucius — Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig — whose sweet harmonies are making audiences swoon, while Ian Ritchie, who produced Waters’ 1987 Radio K.A.O.S. album, nails those integral saxophone lines.
Rounding out the all-star lineup are My Morning Jacket keyboardist Bo Koster, Beck/R.E.M. drummer Joey Waronker, and synth/ keyboardist Jon Carin, a longtime Floyd collaborator.
A choir of local schoolchildren joins the fun on stage in each city.
THE MESSAGE
In recent interviews, Waters has expressed concern about the state of the world, noting the importance of staying human and maintaining empathy. When asked by the Arab website Stepfeed to describe his message, Waters said: “We have to keep trying to resist the temptation to reject our humanity with every ounce of love that we have in us. What a waste of a life, just to grab whatever we can and run back to the cave.”
And in the London Daily Telegraph, he pointed to a thread linking all his work since the early ’70s.
“It’s an obsessive belief in a humanity that we share, which makes it possible for me to empathize with you, whoever you are. But for some of us, it’s so deeply buried that we will never touch it.”
In other words, it’s all about tearing down walls. lsaxberg@postmedia.com Twitter @lynnsaxberg Instagram @lynnsax