Few more pictures of the steel going up in LA…..
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Phoenix…..
Gail and Joe headed out to work this morning and Matt and i took a cab to our hotels downtown. Matt and Eric were in the Sheraton and i was slumming it in a Budget Motor Inn a few blocks on. I’ve been to Phoenix several times before, the first time for Rogers In The Flesh show in 2000. When i was here then all i remember is how hot it was, it was 108’ and I’d never experienced heat like it.
Today was 107’ at 2pm, i really don't know how people do it out here. I am still getting over my flu from last week and didn't do a lot apart from chill out in the hotel room this afternoon. I think the main reason this flu has been hanging around is due to me being in and out of different climates, in and out of Air conditioned rooms plus being in different cars and on several airplanes!
My room for tonight
Tonight was a show night and Gail and i had arranged a pre show meet up at a nice little bar/restaurant a block behind the venue called Coach & Willies. I left my hotel to walk over there about 4:30.It was still hot, 101’ to be exact. I walked the 8 blocks to the meet up bar and couldn't believe how hot it got just walking out in the open air.
I had about 6 or 7 friends coming to the show tonight, Frank and Dora who had been in San Diego with us, Joes brother Tom and his wife, Gail's friend Dianne and my friend Robert and his son. The bar, food and drink were great and we had a great time for a couple of hours before the show. Gail had been over to the venue earlier on to see Roger arrive and had managed to get her Radio KAOS CD cover signed, she got some great pictures of Roger too which I'll put up when she sends them.
Gail with her signed CD cover Joe, Gail, Matt, Eric and myself Pre show meet up
We all headed over to the venue around 7pm and i managed to see my friend John Slanina who had been in San Fran, we sat and chatted for half an hour as we didn't get much chance to talk at the meet up in San Francisco.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Monday, driving to Phoenix…
Woke around 9am and Gail, Joe and myself were in the car and on our way driving to Phoenix by 10am James was flying back to New Jersey today and i was sad to have to say goodbye, we've had such a good time this past week but we’ll be meeting up at other shows soon. Matt was flying to Phoenix today and Eric was flying over in a couple of days time.
Takes about 6 hours to drive to Phoenix from San Diego and there's nothing much to see apart from dessert and some cool rock formations.
Wes topped at an Ihop for breakfast about 90 minutes into the journey and that was the first time id got out of the car and experienced the dessert heat. The temperature gauge on the car was 107`!!
We passed a cool “spaceship” motel on the way to Phoenix and about 30 minutes before we got there i called Matt to see where he was. He had landed an hour or so ago and made his way downtown. We arranged to pick him up and then headed to Gail and Joe’s house via the store to get pasta for tonight's dinner. I also picked up some sun tan lotion, i was already like a lobster after catching the sun at the beach in San Diego and didn't want to get burned any more than i already was!
Spaceship motel Its just aluminium siding really! Lobster boy!
Gail and Joe had kindly offered Matt and i a place to stay tonight at their house, Gail cooked pasta and meatballs and after a 20 minute walk up to the pool we were all back at the house watching TV. Gail and Joe had been telling Matt earlier on about the wild animals that are around here, Snakes, Coyotes Scorpions etc etc Gail then noticed her cat “Jackie Chan” had spotted something on the floor in the living room. Gail jumped up and went to see what it was, she then squealed to Joe to come over and “get it” I then heard the words “its a Scorpion and its a huge one” i instantly jumped up stood on the top of the chair i was sitting on, much to the amusement of Gail. Matt jumped up and squealed and stood on the sofa chair. Joe was left with the job of catching/killing it and getting it out of the house!
Dead scorpion
I was in bed by 9pm! i had felt my flu coming back as we were driving over in the car and I’d picked something up at the store to take before i went to sleep. Gail and Joe were working tomorrow so Matt and i would be up and getting a taxi to our hotels in downtown Phoenix for the night of the show.
San Diego show review…
A few people had tickets to pick up before the show but most had their already in hand. I made my way in with Thomas and he got to experience a little of the pre show hospitality with the band. I went onto the floor and found Chris Kirby for a chat. I then wandered around taking in the pre show atmosphere. Id seen Marky outside briefly and said hi and Pat spotted me on the floor and came over to introduce his guests to me, we had a chat for a few minutes before he headed off and i wandered over to see Gail and Joe.
The venue was the smallest I’ve seen the show in and probably the smallest Arena they have played.! it seemed like it was going to be such an intimate show. Everyone was spread out for this show, Gail, Joe and Matt were the front row on the lower bowl to the rear, James, Jackie and Dave were the first row in front of the soundboard and Frank and others were spread around the arena.
Around 8pm the pre show music started and i headed down to my seat, 11th row on the aisle. i was next to Victoria (Robbie's wife)and her brother tonight, she introduced him to me and Victoria and i chatted for the 15 minute build up like a couple of girls,lol She is such good fun to be at a show with, last time we’d hung out was in Buenos Aires so it was great to see her again and great to be seeing the show with someone who is so much fun.
Just like the San Fran show i decided not to take any pictures tonight as i wanted to really enjoy the show and see everything that was going on. i couldn't resist taking a picture of the venue though due to how small and intimate it was.
From the moment the lights went down the crowd remained on their feet, Victoria and i looked at each other and high fived, its just not the same seeing the show seated.
Obviously due to the show being indoors there were no pyros fired out of the top of the stage and the plane seemed to travel what was like 10 feet before it it the wall! The Arena and Stadium shows really are two totally different shows now, there's so much going on on the sides of the wall at the stadium shows but the Arena shows are just like they were back in 2010, however with a lot of updated graphics! Gail and Joe had seen the opening show in Toronto and then seen the two shows in San Jose, they hadn't seen anything since and were totally blown away by the amount of changes, especially the images and projections during Run Like Hell.
I don't think the band can get any tighter than they are now, they've been doing this for 2 years, use click tracks and just have the whole performance down to a fine art. Roger is still having as much fun onstage as he did in 2010 and you could tell that after doing a lot of larger shows he was back at home being only feet away from the crowds at the sides of the stage when he waves to them and he’s able to actually see the faces of the people waving back!
It was pretty much a sell out crowd tonight and there was hardly a free seat in the house, so much sow that there was only two rows of seats right next to the wall on either side, there's usually a full section held back from being sold so as the bricks don't fall on the crowd who could be (and were tonight) sat there!
A full row of vets were taken backstage just before intermission to meet Roger and returned with pictures and autographs and VERY happy faces! I decided go further back for some of the second half and sat with Gail and Joe up until Waiting for The Worms when i made my way back to the floor again.
It was the first time id seen the remote control pig for a while, the last few shows have had the huge 60ft pig walked around the venue by two crew and just tethered with ropes. They have the remote pig off to a fine art now, i guess controlling it indoors is a breeze compared to the outdoor elements!
I didn't notice any mistakes in the performance but Matt noticed a couple of mistakes in GE’s solo. The crowd were stood up for the whole show and were very enthusiastic compared to some of the 2010 US shows i saw. the band have changed the way the sing Outside The Wall and are still changing it, kind of hard to explain but they are just pausing and singing at different points. All in all it was a fantastic show in a great old 1970 venue that also made the show pretty unique.
Sunday, San Diego day 2
After a relatively early night last night, five of us headed around the block from the hotel to get breakfast at Denny’s
My friend Frank from Phoenix and his his friend Dora arrived late last night and came over to the room to say hi after breakfast. I hadn't seen Frank since the Milan show in 2011 but we had kept in touch via e mail and he’ll be seeing the Phoenix and LA shows later on in the week. His friend Dora hadn't seen the show at all and hadn't even heard of Pink Floyd! so we had to be careful when talking about the show so as not to have her hearing an spoilers!
Dora and Frank
Gail, Joe and myself decided to head out to one of the many beaches in San Diego and ended up sitting on Mission Beach for a couple of hours. When you’re travelling around seeing shows its like you’re constantly on the go, always have somewhere to be at a certain time whether it be to meet someone, to get a train or an plane or to see a show. It was nice yesterday to just sit for a few hours without having to “be somewhere” I’m really looking forward to the 3 full days off we have between the Phoenix show and the LA show.
Its well known that the weather in San Diego takes a few hours to come good in the mornings in May and June, it takes about 3 hours for the sun to burn through the clouds but when it does its hot and clear and the beach starts to busy up, especially at the weekends. We parked the car at Mission Beach around noon and relaxed in the sun for an hour, was great to spend some alone time with Gail and Joe and just chill out.
I’ve ridden the rollercoaster on the boardwalk here a few times before and i know Gails a bit of a one for a good thrill ride however until we left the beach we hadn't seen it going round the tracks. The second i pointed out to Gail it was now running we turned to each other and decided we had to do it together.
My view from the beach! Woodie coaster on the boardwalk Gail and i ready to ride the coaster
After a slice of pizza from the store across the street we jumped back in the car and headed to the hotel. James, Matt, Eric and Lisette were out at Ocean Beach and were about to head back too in 20 minutes time. We all reconvened about an hour later around the pool and the drinks started flowing.
My view for the afternoon Body shots ? No, just toe snacks!
A few weeks before the show id looked around online for a place to have a pre show meet up and something to eat. I’d eaten at a great BBQ place called Phil’s across the street from where we were staying(which was also across the street from the venue for tonight's show) i e mailed the restaurant but heard back that they didn't take reservations and it was first come first served. What i hadn't realised until my friend Chris messaged me was that not only was it a Sunday night, not only was there a gig on but it was Mothers Day! the line at Phil's the night before was HUGE all the time so the chances of us getting a table with all the above factors was pretty slim. As we had turned into the parking lot of the hotel the day before James had seen the Phil’s BBQ sign and it turns out that James was(and still is) very good friends with Phil!
The hotel had a real nice pool area with patio tables, pool area, Jacuzzi and a great little pub attached to the building. We decided to order take out from Phil’s and James went across to see his friend over there who kindly did us a HUGE spread of food to take out for 10 people and charged us very VERY little for it! James and i picked the food up at 5pm, we took over the patio area around the pool and everyone tucked in to some great BBQ.
It was great that everyone made it to the meet up.
Jackie, James,Lisette, Dave, Eric, Matt, Thomas, Joe, Gail, Julie, Dora, Frank.
Thomas, Gail, Joe and i all met on a Roger Waters message board that started in 1999. By the mid 90’s the board had ended but most of us had stayed in touch via e mail and always met up at shows around the world. Gail, Joe and i first met in 2002 in Dublin and this year was our ten year anniversary of meeting up.Id met Thomas a fewyears later but Gail and Joe even though knowing of Thomas through the message board had only just met today!
Myself, Thomas, Gail and Joe,
It was a great atmosphere around the pool, great food, great people and a great show due in a couple of hours. I couldn't help thinking that there were some great people missing though, after hanging out with Wendy and Chris and Robert and Phil and Greg in San Francisco i was missing those guys and really wishing they were here. Wont be long before i see Wendy and Chris again though in Chicago:) Most of all i was missing my other half Kami. We’ve talked on the phone and messaged but i really wish she had been able to make it and meet all of my friends at the shows I’m seeing. She is however going to be in Chicago and I’m soooo looking forward to that leg of the tour with her
We all sat and chatted till around 6:45 before heading over to the venue.
Julie and myself Frank, dora and i Thomas and I
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, on our way to San Diego….
So after the show last night a few of us found a bar down the street from the venue, i stayed for a coke and then headed back to the hotel, got back around midnight. James, Matt, Wendy, Eric and a few others carried on drinking and i vaguely remember Matt and James coming into the room around 3am!
James and i had a 12:45 flight today to San Diego today, Matt was due to leave at 2pm. I’d booked the Super Shuttle for 10:30 in the morning to take us to SFO. I was so thankful i had one drink and then headed back last night, I’d got a decent nights sleep and was up and ready for the day at 8am. The first words out of James mouth as he woke was “ what the hell happened last night” the second lot of words were “I’m never gonna drink again”
Today was the day everyone was leaving and going their own ways, Wendy and Chris were staying another night in San Fran, Jackie and Dave were starting their two day drive down to San Diego, George and Sabina were flying out to Vegas Eric was flying down to LA then driving to San Diego and Phil and the others were staying in San Fran for a few more days,
James and i got to the airport around 11 and bumped right into Georg and Sabina. We sat and chatted an hour before going our separate ways and getting on our flights. 1 hour later we were in San Diego and my friends Gail and Joe from Phoenix picked us up at the airport. They were staying at the same hotel as us, as was Eric and his wife and as was a few other friends.
We got to the hotel, dropped off our bags and then headed out for some food towards Ocean Beach. The traffic was pretty bad and after 30 minutes in the car to do a couple of mile drive we finally found a parking space around the Mission Beach area and headed to a restaurant i knew called World Famous.We had lunch while overlooking the ocean and then headed back to the hotel to meet up with Matt.
After chilling out in the hotel for a while we headed up to Old Town San Diego and had some great Mexican food with a couple of Margaritas and then headed back to the hotel to sleep.
James never drinking again,well till 5 hours later.
San Francisco show, 11th May
So for the last few days when I've been asking friends where their seats are for the show most have been referring to the position of where they are sat in relation to the “home plate” Until last night I'd never stepped foot in a baseball park, let alone knew anything about it! its not a game that's played in the UK and we certainly don't have any venues shaped the same. Thanks to Robert explaining to me last night a bit more about baseball i now know what people mean by the home plate!
I wasn't sure what to expect when i walked in, after been at the stadium shows down in Buenos Aires i was a little unsure just how big it would be and how it would be set up. To be honest when i walked in for the first time i was a little underwhelmed, especially by the size, however i think this was more due to having been in the massive stadium down in BA.
My initial view as i walked in the venue
The wall was long, not as long as down in South America but compared to the US Arena shows it was about twice the length. It did look odd seeing blue sky and open air behind the wall and even though it was 7pm the sun was still high in the sky and shining brightly over the whole of the wall! i did wonder how the light would be at the scheduled start time of 8:15!
I wondered around the venue looking at the stage and wall from all different position, i did notice that the lighting towers were far nearer the stage than they were in South America due to the depth of the venue and this caused so much obstruction from many areas of the venue! I counted at least 4 full sections of seats that were totally empty due to the venue not putting them on sale due to obstructed view!
Another thing i noticed while wondering around on the floor section was how cold it was and how breezy it was! so much so that a section of the wall on the top right had been caught by the wind and dislodged. I remember talking to a couple of the crew in South America and them saying this was one thing they were worried about as it was something they've not had to experience before!
Wind swept bricks before the show!
Wendy, Jackie and the rest of the gang were outside the venue still waiting for their will call tickets, Eric and Matt were inside wondering round and i bumped into Kipp and Marky and said hi, i also saw James Guthrie wondering around looking at the wall from different areas of the venue.
I knew from the off that the way the rows and seats were numbered would cause problems later in the night when the place started to get full and sure enough it did. They had white lawn chairs set up on the floor, there were no row numbers on the floor, the only thing which showed you the row and seat was a small white stick on the back of each seat that had the section, row and seat number in the smallest font I’ve ever seen! none of the ushers had torches and when it can to show time it was a total mess!
Phil, Laila, Greg, Linda, Matt, Eric, Chris and i all hung out on the floor for a good half hour chatting and people watching before the show. I have never in my life seen an many strange and weird sites at a show! I’m not sure if it was just all the people that were left over from the 60’s hippie times in San Francisco but some of the sights were very odd indeed. I’ve never in my life smelt as much stuff being smoked at a show either!
Get this guy up against the wall! Matt and Eric pre show.
As it got nearer to show time the sun set and it got a little darker in the venue but not much, the ticket s said ShowTime would be 8:15 prompt however they didn't start 20 minute pre show music till 8:15, hence the show started around 8:35 I was 12th row on the aisle, a few seats on from Jackie and Dave and Wendy and Chris. Honestly, even 13th row is a touch too close when the wall is this big!
One thing i didn't do at the show was take any pictures, i had my camera in my pocket and was determined just to take in the “1st” show without taking any pictures. The band came on to a rapturous applause but unfortunately the crowd sat for 90% of the show. By the time the band came on the weather had got even colder, there were people in gloves and scarves in the audience and i know Dave K had those little hand warmers in his pocket to keep his fingers warm! Roger was donning a black “Trust Us” hoodie and several times put his hood up and looked over at the crowd gesturing as to how cold it was.
I did notice a lot of new images on the wall, especially during In The Flesh and Run Like Hell, all images that wont be able to be seen on the Arena walls due to the size. Even as far on as Young Lust there were people wandering around all over the place trying to find their row and seats! the security and ushers didn't seem to have a care in the world about it.
The sound was incredible just as it was in South America, the surround was clearly better than the Arena shows and they had approx 8 speaker stacks all around the rear of the venue. I’d forgotten just how much some of the US audience go to gigs not to see the show but to drink themselves silly and smoke weed. I've never seen as many people at a show that looked as tripped out as they did.
As the pig came out for Run Like Hell it was blown all over the place and the guys did a great job holding onto the tethers and walking it around the venue, they would drop it right down over the audience enabling them to hold onto it and touch it but then released the lines and let it fly back up 40 feet in the air. They did this all around the venue, dropping it down and raising it up, it was the best pig display I've seen at any show so far. They walked it to the back of the venue where they kept it up high till the wall came tumbling down which is when they lowered it down onto the crowd at the back and encouraged them to rip it to bits! it took a while before the crowd realised they were actually allowed to touch it and even tear it but once they did then the thing got shredded.
Roger had spent a lot of the night cover all of the stage, running up and down like a mad man, he was loving it! either that r he was trying to keep warm! The graphics when Roger hits the wall during Comfy Numb have changed a little. Well, the graphics haven't changed but the way the wall breaks up and the way the rocks break up and fall down have changed and to be honest, I’m not sure i like it! the rocks just fall downwards, kind of hard to explain but i hope someone noticed just how much different it is and changes it back to how it was!
The performance itself was great but not the best, couple of mistakes here and there, couple of timing issues and even a bum note here and there but I’m pretty sure a lot of this must have been due to the cold weather, honestly, even i found it hard just to concentrate and enjoy the show it was that cold!
New merchandise Venue specific shirt with orange logo New ladies T shirts
Pics below of the show taken by James:
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