Egilsholl Arena, Reykjavik

Ticket scan thanks to Bjorn Gudmundsson

Roger on Icelandic TV, June 11th

capacity: 18,000
Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: Egilshöllin, Fossaleyni 1, 112 Reykjavík, Iceland. MAP

Website: egilshollin.is

Roger was briefly interviewed upon arrival on June 11th. The interview was aired in the evening news on Icelandic TV (screen shot to the right), and can also be seen on the website of the Icelandic Broadcasting Corporation. The interview isn't long, but Roger promises a great show for the fans, and mentions that Nick Mason would be joining him on Dark Side Of The Moon. He then says he has to rush off to do some fishing!

To view the interview, go to: dagskra.ruv.is/streaming/news/?date-from=2006-06-11. You see a list of the day's newsprograms. Click on the one marked "19:00". Here you see a list of this program's news items; fifth from bottom you see the one with "Roger Waters" in the heading.

Our thanks to BjornG and Olafur Teitur Gudnason for this information.

The first indoor show of the tour, and with good reason - with almost 24 hours of daylight the lightshow would have been ruined! This show also marked the first appearance on the tour of Nick Mason, playing drums on Dark Side Of The Moon. As Graham Broad revealed to us in Berlin, Nick played a seperate drum kit to Graham, each complimenting the other's drumming throughout the second half.

Tomorrow night, the tour reaches the Norwegian Wood festival in Oslo. If you are going, have a great time!

CLICK HERE FOR SUPERB PICTURE GALLERY FROM THIS SHOW!

SHOW REVIEW

By a good friend of Brain Damage

I was apprehensive about seeing this show, but loved the excuse to go to Iceland. I was wondering how Leaving Beirut would sound, as I didn’t like the demo version that had been released, and was unsure about a full DSOTM set.

As it turned out, the few days I spent there were great and the gig exceeded my expectations many fold.

The opener of ITF is just right and introduces Roger stage centre in full almost operatic glory. It’s certainly a crowd pleaser, but I wonder about the choice of Mother next – which was done superbly and the addition of Carol as the mother parts is excellent – the tempo change so early seems odd, especially as it’s followed by the long jam of STC. Here Ian Ritchie plays perfectly and outshines any previous sax players on recent tours.

The WYWH section flows nicely but I’d prefer that HAC wasn’t there as Roger’s voice didn’t suit it originally and doesn’t now, but the music is very well done, so maybe on balance I’d like it there but with a different vocalist. The dropping of Gunners Dream disappointed me as I love that song but the two remaining Final Cut songs still are a great addition to the setlist especially Fletcher as the words hauntingly stayed in the air as the crowd were one of the best and quietest (at the right time) I’ve heard.

Perfect Sense was an outstanding version and PP Arnold is to me one of the key people on stage. Not only for this track which is hers, but her influence throughout the show is very noticeable and no wonder Roger keeps asking her back. PP’s solo amazed the crowd and even at the very front, the young audience stood open mouthed until she finished then erupted to the extent that Roger clapping her anyway, went over and gave her a big hug and encouraged more well deserved applause. The floating spaceman appeared at the back of the crowd for this one before vanishing behind a curtain at the rear. I’m not sure about this gimmick to be honest but it gets lots of photos taken of it!

The introduction to Leaving Beirut gives the context of the track and makes it fit in more with the rest of the show. The splitting of the narration into on screen animation is inspired and certainly makes the track more listenable, but the filling out of the music and the girls great gig style backing make this one of the highlights of the show. From my initial fears I now love this track – pity it wasn’t released this way in the first place.

The second half of Dark Side shot by and the two drummers – Nick made his first appearance on this tour – certainly added to the piece with each playing subtly different. Nick was his usual relaxed self whilst Graham always seems to be trying too hard for the same sound. This is as good a live version as I’ve ever heard and I didn’t miss Gilmour but think that Jon isn’t quite there as Rick on Us and Them. Stand outs for me were Time and ACYL but Us and Them was played a little too fast for me. The screen show is in almost constant use throughout the piece and the new visuals whilst great don’t seem to fit in so well with the tempo changes across the album.

At the end of DSOTM there was a band curtain call with the rest of the band leaving just Roger and Nick on at the end thanking each other more than once!

Nick returned for the encore of parts from The Wall with a very powerful Bring The Boys Back Home although the guys on the lights really messed up the titles words flashing across the back of the stage. It’s great to see songs played and flowing into each other as on the albums as most of the Floyds work doesn’t stand very well live when disjointed tracks are played. Brick got its standard clap along as did the closer, Comfortably Numb but they were quite subdued claps from the respectful Icelandic audience.

It was certainly very odd leaving the gig at midnight into bright sunshine but made for a relaxed almost surreal departure from the venue.

For me this is the best of Rogers solo shows that I have ever seen in terms of content as well as performance. It was also the best audience who were quiet during the songs and explosive between them – almost like listening to an early 70’s show again.

Our thanks to John for his review, and for his great pictures - one of which is above and to the left. Be sure to visit the Reykjavik concert picture gallery for a selection of our contributor's great shots, exclusive to this site!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Jon Einarsson

On a cold and wet summer evening in Reykjavik magic was set to happen. After arriving to the Egilsholl an indoor football stadium converted to a concert stage and getting places up front the excitement was immense. The show was slightly postponed due to traffic but twenty minutes past eight (After two and a half hours of Bob Dylan and Neil Young) the lights were dimmed. The atmosphere was electric with the crowd of 15000, 5% of the Icelandic nation screaming. The indoor setting was fantastic in respect to the lighting, no daylight whatsoever.

Everything started out perfectly with explosive In The Flesh followed by quiet, beautiful Mother. Then came real action with Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun followed by Shine on you Crazy Diamond.

Continuing the show, it was apparent that Roger was in a fantastic form and the band was amazing. The sound was loud yet crisp and the lights and explosives were unbeatable. The floating spaceman came out fantastic, floated around the arena. No strings needed - we had the roof. It had an eerie appearance with the backdrop of the iron-clad ceiling.

The highlights of the first half were countless, Have a Cigar and Sheep possibly stood out but there were no low points. Leaving Beirut comes out just fantastic at a concert and was definitely a highlight.

The real huge part of the show came after the break. Roger took the mic and said "And now I want to introduce to you and old friend of mine..." and there he was! Nick Mason had arrived!

DSOTM was fantastic, seeing Nick beat the drums was just awesome and the performance in whole - flawless. The band splitted the vocals between them and did a nice job. The great gig in the sky was utterly enhancing.

The crowd went wild after Eclipse ended and an applause followed. Everyone bowed but Roger kept focusing the attention on Nick who wouldn't have any of it, making quite an amusing show.

The encores were spectacular, ending with power - Comfortably numb has never sounded nearly so good in my ears.

In whole the show was an unforgettable experience. The indoor arena was in most respects a blessing, not only because of the rain outside (Which after the concert had turned into a sunny evening of red and yellow that flooded the arena with light when the doors were opened), but also the sound of the crowd and music were propagated well all around.

All in all a beautiful show that will stay at the top of my mind for years to come.

All pictures in the above review - thanks to Olafur Teitur Gudnason