Words by Audra Tracy | Photos by Joe Papeo
New York – Yankee Stadium gave off that space cadet glow as Roger Waters took over the outfield from July 6-7 with his latest live incarnation of the epic Pink Floyd album The Wall. Aging flower children, and even a few fans born after the record’s 1979 release trekked to The Bronx for a super-sized musical that would put Rock of Ages to shame.
Once inside, the faithful overlooked a massive, foreboding white brick wall that spanned center-field and nearly dwarfed the ten-foot-high stage beneath it. Waters waited just before dark to make his explosive entrance, and in a hail of pyrotechnics, The Wall came to life once again.
www.rogerwaters.com
The wall itself was a mammoth video screen, and like an ever-evolving canvas, it featured visually stunning projections illustrating the record’s heavy subject matter. Tyranny, terrorism, and general distrust of authority were enduring themes of the night – think Broadway-meets LSD-meets your favorite anti-war film.
While all that action filled the backdrop, the Stadium still saw the signature psychedelic elements from Floyd’s hey-day. A pig flying overhead and a terrifyingly giant puppet of the teacher from ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ completed the sensory overload.
The Flaming Lips may crowd surf in a space bubble, and Phish may sail across Madison Square Garden on a giant hot dog, but no live act can hold a candle to a 500 foot long, living, breathing Wall. In just a few hours time at Yankee Stadium, Roger Waters made every other rock star on the planet look like a lazy, unimaginative chump.
Step it up young-bloods, cause this old Brit has got ya beat.
www.rogerwaters.com
TheWaster.com | Comfortably Numb
07.06.12
