All in all – thoughts of Roger Waters The Wall

A slow, winding blade of green weaves across the ever-growing familiar white brickwork from the left side of the stage. Then another from the right. They wind slowly across the length of the wall – both to the centre and up – until they blend seamlessly into one of the most iconic animations from The Wall – the flower scene over Empty Spaces.There are a few albums that have moved me in ways I can still feel: Radiohead’s The Bends, Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence. But the one that has had the greatest effect on me – and still continues to do so – is Pink Floyd’s The Wall.Tonight I went to see the one-off showing of the new film by Waters which was about 80% concert show and 20% pilgrimage by Waters to visit the resting places of his father and grandfather. The thing as a whole went together beautifully.One of the songs that continues to get me each time I hear it is Vera – and this time was no exception. I was suprised to hear, in the discussion that followed, that this was Waters’ favourite song off the album.The songs I were looking forward to the most were Comfortably Numb, The Trial and Empty Spaces. I love how the full version of Empty Spaces gets used when performed live.The usage of some of the animations from the 1980s film of the wall were a nice touch too.All in all it was a great performance of The Wall.

Status

I’m so ready for Roger Waters’ The Wall tomorrow night. It could very well be my favourite musical journey through an album I’ve ever been on.