Air Canada Centre

Ticket scan thanks to Jeff Atam

Ticket scan thanks to Eytan Tobin

Capacity: 19,800
Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: 40 Bay Street, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2X2. MAP

Website: www.theaircanadacentre.com

The tour has now moved north of the border, into Canada, playing at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. A naturally very appreciative crowd, and a great reception was given to Roger and his band. The pig is now displaying the correct date for the US elections (until this show, it had November 2nd sprayed on its side, when actually the US voters go to the polls on November 7th!) despite there being no Canadian elections.

Tonight the band play at Montreal's Bell Centre. If you are going to the show, have a great time and tell us about it!

PRESS REVIEWS

There will be reviews of this show in a number of the local newspapers, and the first of these can be read online at the respective publication's website: the Toronto Sun. There's also been a review at the online music site jam.canoe.ca, and at Chartattack.com. Also, at the Canoe site there's more reviews...

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Bruce Metcalfe

Awesome! Breathtaking! Amazing! That pretty much sums it up!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Chuck

WOW! Roger and The Band blew all 15,000 there away with over 2 1\2 hours of music and visuals and PYRO that almost blew the roof off the Air Canada Center.

The show started a bit after 8PM and ran until after 11:30PM. The setlist has remained the same as the previous tour dates and it was BANG ON. See above... EVERY SONG listed above was played to almost perfection!

Did Roger play any BASS? Absolutely, he had the FENDER bass cranked up extra loud and from my seat in section 102 23rd row ( just below the main PA stack ) I could feel and see every note Roger played. Roger also roved around the stage for the entire show with his usual gestures and smiling like a very happy Legend Of Rock.

The rest of band were extremely tight , in my opinion even tighter than last weeks MSG shows in New York.

Dave K. really is learning to ' Shine ' with David's lead solos and has added some of his ' over the top ' style for flair.

As usual Graham Broad was hitting the skins like he has played the Floyd for years and during the drum intro for Time he WENT WILD on the tom toms actually jumping in the air to land hard with every hit on toms.

Snowy prooved to me once again why he is so comfortable playing the Floyd, he even improvised on a few solos to add some flavour.

Ian Ritchie really stood out on tenor and alto saxes, he has picked up the Floyd touch in 3 short months.

Andy Fairweather Low was a solid as ever and did an excellent job on the DSOTM vocals with Jon Carin who really can handle Rick's Floyd keyboard part now like a pro.

The 3 girls , Katie , PP and Carol and thier wonderful soulful voices were exceptional for the entire show.

Did Roger's voice hold up for the entire show? Absolutely , I saw or heard no flaws with his vocals.

PYRO , Mr. Screen , The Spaceman , and THE BIG PIG , AMAZING especially the PRYO. During ' Bring The Boys Back Home ' I stopped counting the 4 at a time BOMB BLASTS at 20 - WOW , no wonder Graham complains that those blast are too hot.

Did I have a favorite song? No , every song touched my musical soul.

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Steve Hayden

Last night's show was very impressive. I was particularly struck by the strength of Roger's voice on Have A Cigar and The Fletcher Memorial. The crowd's enthusiasm and its appreciation of Roger's accomplisments were clearly evident. There was a lot of crowd singing (especially during Time and Wish You Were Here).

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Matt Cooper

The concert was just amazing last night! I tried to find those spots with the lip-synching, and I don’t think roger really did any.

From the left side, 24th row, it was very close to the stage, roger made good use of both sides, coming over and playing directly to us for minutes at a time!

When it was all over it seemed like time froze and all of a sudden it was just the beginning. Never have I seen the entire audience stand for the WHOLE encore. That’s right, as soon as dark side was done, the entire audience stood up, cheered and stayed standing until the final note of Comfortably Numb.

Just an amazing show, and I wish it would happen again soon! Roger thanked the audience and said how it really meant a lot to be there last night. I think it was kind of nice for him to know that fans still care a lot about the music and message. Leaving Beirut had a really need comic style video on the screen which had the lyrics and told the story for him while he sang the song.

Just mind blowing the whole experience!!!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Marco Larocque

What an exciting year to be a Pink Floyd fan. I am very happy to say I saw 3 of the 4 members live this year, including a very big fan of theirs, David Bowie at the Gilmour show in London. Last night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Roger Waters delivered a solid show which was visually and audibly stunning.

The screen with the radio and the bottle of scotch was very effective. It really set a great mood and, if like me you’ve seen the Wall movie many times, it added poignant effect. In The Flesh is just a great opener. Mother I found a little hurried. Same for Set the Controls and Shine On (which is missing the first guitar solo). I can’t really complain though as with over 2 ½ hours of music, Rog has to make some concessions. Great guitar and vocals on Have a Cigar. What a treat to hear this live.

I loved the poppies floating down at the end of WYWH. It was a very effective segue into The Final Cut material. Perfect Sense always brings shivers and was performed magnificently last night. Leaving Beirut is getting better with every listen, it was great to see Andy Fairweather-Low jamming away (I do miss his guitar playing on Every Strangers Eye but at least we have the DVD for that). Also the “graphic novel” visuals were absolutely fantastic. Some people have complained that the cartoon is not effective; however, I find it adds another dimension to the song. Certainly thinking that this occurred when Rog was a teenager so it delves into his memory metaphorically. Also, as this is in Canada, people cheered and did not boo during this song. Finally, Sheep came and I couldn’t wait to see the Pig. What a great song live (I missed hearing Dogs but this was a great stand-in).

Dark Side of course was amazing but so short. Graham Broad did a great Time intro on the tom toms and I loved how the vocals were shared amongst Dave, Andy, Jon and the wonderful back-up singers. I heard Mica Paris doing GGITS in London and last night’s rendition just blew that one away. I had shivers down my spine.

Great encore, great visuals once again. I did find it eerie that the Pink character looked somewhat like David Gilmour; but, perhaps that was because we were way at the back of the concert hall.

Overall, this was a fabulous show. One cannot help but to compare the Gilmour and Waters show and material. I am very happy to have seen both and retain excellent memories of both. As this show is fresher in my mind, I do think it has the edge as Rog is more of a show-man and he has a message he wants to deliver and deliver it he does! At 63 years of age, who knows if Roger will tour again; however, if this would be the last time I saw him, I would be one very contented fan.

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Tim Gallivan

Wonderful show! I was extremely impressed with the quad sound, almost every note was crystal clear and, considering this is a hockey arena, it was amazing. The band was super tight, not a mistake that my ears could hear. Mixed crowd of young and old, parents and their kids, much like at Dave's show in the spring. Dark Side was beautiful. Roger's new song Leaving Beirut goes a little too far with the comic strip, he isn't usually that obvious.

10 out of 10 ... now if they'd just get together and tour instead of these 2 tribute bands...

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Valeriy Molyar

To all who follows the DSOTM tour reading fans' opinions on this site like I did -- all you've read here is true!!! And even better when you see it live!

In a nutshell, RW offers the most consummate artistic experience a music lover could wish for! Music (first and foremost), inventive arrangements, clever show directing, superior sound, onscreen films, breathtaking pyros, flying objects -- all is mixed into one monumental masterpiece!

The whole show is very well thought-out and directed. It starts with the hurricane of sound, lights and pyrotechnics meant to totally capture audience (In the Flesh), proceeds into tribute to Syd (Set the Controls... and Wish You Were Here part), then transforms into the vision of the modern world as Roger sees and understands it(Fletcher Memorial, Sheep, Leaving Beirut), then offers a voyage in time (DSOTM in its entirety), eventually delivering a Grand Finale (Another Brick in the Wall P.II and Comfortably Numb).

I am not going to write a detailed report on the show -- it's been done before and much better than I can even think of. So here are some of the most emotional highlights.

It has been mentioned before that the band sounds tighter and tighter with every show. I would call it a monolith. They really have the quality of a symphonic orchestra and choir now. Roger's in great singing form! Broad's drumming was impeccable (I wish I had a better view of him on stage from where I was sitting -- row 26, low floor). Guitarists were amazing! Different from DG, but none the less...

I really enjoyed some rare video footage from PF earlier days. Especially with Syd.

The arrangement on Set the Controls... was outstanding. More rock than the earlier more psychedelic one (as in Live at Pompeii for example).

To the regular set of the show highlights mentioned by others I would like to add Fletcher Memorial with a very interesting and well-directed video showing some post-mortem asylum for political leaders of XX century.

Keyboards on Great Gig... were played (wonderfully too) not by Carin as I had expected but Harry Waters. Carin was present on stage but played something that looked and sounded as steel pedal.

Now, the only two drawbacks (I apologize for being such a nitpicker).

1.Otherwise impeccable sound was marred by two quite loud instances of guitar (or microphone) feedback during encore.

2.I didn't like vocal interpretation of Money by Kilminster. He sounded like a tribute band would sound. In other words, his version lacked something which I would call authenticity and was just cheap. Make no mistake, the guy can belt it out. But... it was wrong. In my humble opinion, of course.

Other than that -- GREAT, GREAT, GRRRRREAT SHOW!!!!!!!!

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Stephen Molnar

My 17 year old daughter and I drove down from Western NY last night and we both thought the concert was excellent. We went to see David Gilmour at the first of two shows at Massey Hall this past April and these two concerts are the best shows I have seen in a long time.

Roger looked happy and he sounded great and put on an inspiring performance. We both thought the band sounded tight. I liked the song selection myself. Mother is one of my favorite Floyd songs and they perfomed STCFTHOTS flawlessly. The visuals showing the psychedelic lava lamp added to the drama and mood of the song. I was saddened by the loss of Syd Barrett in July and when the band performed the early Floyd Stuff and showed old pictures of the band, for me it was a very emotional. Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here felt different this time around live. I have seen Roger in concert back in the 80’s during his Pros and Cons and Radio Kaos tours besides seeing the Floyd in concert a number of times over the years, the first time in 1975 in Hamilton and back then when they presented Wish You Were Here, Have A Cigar and Shine On You Crazy Diamond in the first set, the album was not out yet at that time and I remember it sounding fresh and new and exciting. 31 years later, the songs took on more of a reflective feeling and was a great tribute to Syd. The band performed Dark Side Of The Moon with intensity and passion and I think Us and Them, Any Color You Like portion came off the best of that segment of the show. The Encore was emotional too. Bring The Boys Back Home with the visuals and bombs brought us all back to reality only to finish with Comfortable Numb, which we all were feeling by that time.

Thank you Roger for a great show. I hope that you will continue to inspire us with your music. As a longtime Floyd fan, I love and respect all the members of Pink Floyd. You, David, Rick, Nick have been personal friends of mine in a fan sense through the years and anytime I see you or any member of Floyd in concert, it feels like visiting old friends. Lets keep the friendship going.

SHOW REVIEW

By BD contributor, Azim, lead singer and lead guitarist for Canada's Pink Floyd Show (Comfortably Numb)

My bassist and I arrived at the show (drove from Ottawa, The Nations Capital - 4 hours) shortly before 7:30pm and were escorted to our seats which were in the executive VIP seat section, kindly given to me by a friend through The Bear 106.9 radio station in Ottawa. The show started quite a bit past 8pm even though the tix said 8pm sharp - but I understand this being a performer myself.

The setlist as shown on your site was absolutely amazing - song to song perfection and emotion that was beyond words. Even though I have played all these songs myself for a long time I felt like a little school boy and I was truly witnessing history and a lesson in humility from the master himself.

Were there note errors...sure there were, he is human after all (well I think he is!) but the show was about a feeling and getting a message across, politically, emotionally and spiritually. The audience responded to each song with a huge round of cheers and applause and Roger never forgot his fans on either sides of the arena, he made constant contact with us. The amazing thing is that he never crowded in on anyone's space i.e. he allowed spotlights to be on musicians when it was their chance to shine - and he is a ego maniac - I think not.

I was moved almost to tears, which is hard for me being a Brit, when I saw Syd's picture during 'Shine On...' and the images of a young Pink Floyd during 'Set The Controls...' It is known that I am a huge Waters solo album fan and hearing 'Leaving Beirut' and 'Perfect Sense 1&2' was not only poignant but very fitting during these times. I have some...uh hmm..'rare recordings' of early Floyd and did notice that in some of these concerts that there was no intro guitar solo for 'Shine On...' and it just went straight to Syd's theme - this was the case in Toronto as well. I have to admit I am also a big fan of the days when Floyd jammed songs and took them in new directions, but unfortunately people want things they can digest quickly and understand easily so the 'art' is somewhat lost at times - I would have liked to see more of that time when jamming was more in the forefront.

I was so honoured to see 'DSOTM' played in its entirety by the man himself - PULSE is the only other version and this didn't do much for me not in the playing or execution but just in the emotion - Roger brought that feel back again and it was like seeing it in the 70's. I did think that Dave Kilminster was a solid choice for guitarist and I know he is getting alot of heat for not being Gilmour - but he isn't Gilmour. He has maintained all the parts as they were on the record and had great tone, personally I felt his vibrato was a bit much but heck that's guitar stuff. Snowy is a big influence to me, his tone and style are unmistakable and his playing just amazing, mature and beautiful notes - he carried the jamming torch and I was very happy indeed.

So at the end of the night I left the show very happy and giddy like a little school boy and felt like I had so much more to learn in many ways about music - and now I am on my way to Montréal to see the show again with my wife who also happens to be in Comfortably Numb as well....