When I was 15, I fully submerged myself into the first classic rock group I had ever been enthralled in: Pink Floyd. I remember shortly after watching The Wall as a freshman in high school, I wanted to listen to everything I possibly could that had Pink Floyd in the credits. Enamored was an understatement. My brain was turned inside out by seemingly legends, but it wasn’t until late 2019, when I was 19 years old, that I realized I could see one of these so-called legends with my very own two eyes, before, certain, I’d never be able to witness them at all.
An old high school friend of mine reached out to me before the pandemic even broke out, igniting my phone with gratuitous messages about Roger Waters performing at the TD Garden in Boston for his This is Not a Drill tour. Immediately, I was invested, no matter where we were sitting, what the price of our seats were, or anything in between; I needed to see this show. We had our tickets in no time, but due to the COVID lockdown in 2020 and more exacerbations in 2021, we, along with everyone else, were forced to wait to come together.
Finally, July 12, the two and a half year anticipation was over. The day was here, the full circle moment was arriving. Getting to our seats and locating the stage “in the round,” or, in the center of the stadium, I was already itching to know what was to come. I knew what I was about to witness was not going to be like any other.
Man oh man, was I f***ing right.
I’ve seen a lot of shows in my life, many different artists. I was the recipient of a Make A Wish and chose to meet a band with that wish, that’s how much music means to me. But I have NEVER seen a show like This is Not a Drill.
As the show began, the intricate T-shaped stage sized flat screens, blanketing over that same shaped stage to keep the set a complete mystery, started to rise above all of us within the stadium, revealing a very specifically designed and epic center-stadium stage. These screens hung from above the stage all evening, displaying animations, real life images of our world, and many political outcries throughout. I felt as if I was in a very personal reprise of the 21st century version of the Wall. At the top of the show, Roger’s introduction to the gig consisted of him informing concert goers if they’re “one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd but I can’t stand Roger’s politics,’ f*** right off to the bar right now.” What I truly love about Roger Waters is that he is a public figure who never stands down when it comes to fighting for what he believes in: human rights.
Equality rights. Refugee rights. Palestinian rights. Trans rights. Reproductive rights. All human rights.
As an ex-theatre student, I value deeply when a musician is not only a musician, but a performer that creates a storyline for their audience to translate and respond to from the audience. And as Roger and his band played music from not only Pink Floyd, but also Roger’s solo work, the audience and Roger too, were filled with such great emotion. We laughed, we cried, we celebrated, yet we were also angry at the injustices happening in our world today. Some people walked out barely halfway through the night, but not I. My breath was taken away from the top to bottom of the show with his powerful and effective method of presenting his beliefs in performance mode. I thought it was brilliant, simply put.
Here’s why I love rock music: it’s progressive. It IS political (for the most part), whether you’d like to believe that or not. It can be sweaty and dirty and sexy, but it can also be powerful enough and loud enough to change masses. I’m always blown away by the demographics of a rock concert, the people of all ages coming together for the very same reason, the music. I felt this way at this show, specifically. Imagine being almost 80 years old and still magnetizing the minds of human beings in their single digits. Talk about powerful! That is a Roger Waters show. Through the music AND the visuals, Roger puts on the most progressively empowering show I have ever laid my eyes on. Not only was it progressive, it was so easily translated through all the imagery and texts he used for the screenplay above him.
Having the privilege to hear Waters reminisce on the history and the rest of the members of Pink Floyd he helped bring together, a large section of the show was immensely dedicated to the triumph the psychedelic rock group brought to the music scene for decades. He paid tribute to his fellow bandmates as he displayed old photographs from the 60s and 70s during an epic rendition of Have A Cigar. Specifically moving, he reminded us all of the special bond he shared with his bandmate, friend, and co-founder of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett as Roger performed Wish You Were Here to the almost 20,000 people in the stadium. What an absolutely moving part of this show that moved me to tears, and I’m sure most of the venue as well. Some other notable Pink Floyd tracks performed during the show that I was jumping out of my seat for were Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 3, Sheep, Run Like Hell, Money, Us & Them, and Outside the Wall.
What I found to be also extremely special was hearing Water’s writing amidst the lockdown, as he played us some verses from a song he wrote at the beginning of the pandemic, titled The Bar. This was really special because he has not recorded this track for release anywhere, it’s just something he’s been playing for people for the first time on tour this summer. Hearing my first interpretation of The Bar, along with witnessing the eyeopening images Waters had provided on the screens of our real world in current and past times, brought tears to my eyes. I had never envisioned this show to empower and move me so much, but I’m so glad that it did. This is a stance in using your voice that celebrities with any sort of power, all across the board of pop culture should be making. Roger Waters has and continues to make his stance known.
I would also love to credit Roger Water’s fantastic band on this tour with him, because I’m sure all the attendees know as much as we all love Roger, these shows would not be possible with only him alone. This outstanding show could not have been performed without guitarists Dave Kilminster and Jonathan Wilson, guitarist/bassist Gus Seyffret, keyboardist/guitarist Jon Carin, organist Robert Walter, drummer Joey Waronker, backup singers Amanda Belair and Shanay Johnson, and saxophonist Seamus Blake. This group of incredibly talented people made this show seem to flow effortlessly and spotless, even down to the little backup singing choreography at the corners of the stage done by Belair and Johnson. The few saxophone solos of the night blew me away, and the core band made so many moments of the show, specifically Money and Us & Them unforgettable. It was clear to see the relationship forming and already formed within this group of people, and I especially loved as they all exited the stage together, Waters called out each band member to the stadium for a round of applause.
Walking away from this show I was in awe from head to toe. If Roger Waters has the ability to perform until he’s 100, he will, and seeing his triumph, tears, humor, connectivity, and power right in front of me all night only proved this idea. Frankly, it was an absolute privilege and honor to witness his talent live. If I get the opportunity to see Roger Waters again, without a doubt I will be back. If you are somebody that enjoys creative expression, sticking it to the man and standing up for what you believe in, while getting the experience of a life long talent right before your eyes, you MUST see Roger Waters live. This show will go down in history as one of my favorites, and that’s a guarantee.