Capacity: TBC

Concert starts: 7:30pm

Address of venue: Earls Court, Warwick Road, London, SW5 9TA.  MAP

Website: http://www.eco.co.uk

Tickets for this concert went on sale on November 3rd, through the venue, Ticketmaster, Ticketrush.co.uk, LiveNation.co.uk and other normal agents.

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

Do not read on if you don't want surprises to be spoilt, regarding what the band played!

The first of two nights at the London venue formed what Roger called a "magnificent homecoming". Genuinely touched by the audience reaction, the band played a very strong show. A dramatic difference to the reception the band had in Birmingham's NEC, the Earls Court crowd made a lot of noise, and demonstrated their thanks to Roger and the band for bringing the show to their city.

No additional guests or changes to the show, despite fairly heavy rumours. There was also rather strange talk that the old Dark Side plane might make a re-appearance, being as the show was back at Earls Court!

One nice touch was that, following British Prime Minister Tony Blair's resignation announcement, Algie the pig had the words "Good riddance!" added below Blair's name!

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD's Kevan Porter

The first night of two of Roger's sell out shows at the 20,000 capacity Earls Court. Of all the venues on the UK leg of this tour I suppose this one engenders the most excitement. The imposing wings on the approach to the entrance and the very size of the building fill you with excitement and anticipation. Notwithstanding of course its long association with Pink Floyd and for me in particular, the legendary 'Wall' concerts and the 'Division Bell' shows now simply known as 'Pulse'.

As I sat looking around the audience and at the stage set and lighting rigs I couldn't help but notice how much bigger and more imposing the stage felt compared to the previous two nights. I'm pretty sure it would have been exactly the same, but somehow, Earls Court has a way of making everything seem larger than life. The excitement and anticipation was certainly growing! In reality though, the acoustics of this hall are very difficult and I noticed a mass of acoustic damping covering the roof space above. (In fact, the banners that were hung for the Wall and Division Bell concerts were not only decorative but also served to help improve the sound).

The show started with the usual big screen behind the stage and the mock radio show playing over the PA. The band took their places and Roger walked the stage under the glare of the follow spot to rapturous applause, clearly soaking up all of the adulation thrown at him.

The show itself was superb, the band really seemed to be responding to the rapturous audience, certainly the most vocal of the UK shows so far with everyone on the ground floor standing for most of the concert. The atmosphere was terrific with almost everyone singing along to all of the songs played. The effects throughout were breathtaking, even though I'd now seen the show twice before, I was still thrilled each time I saw an explosion, a thunder flash, a great bit of film, the giant inflatables or the lasers at the end of 'Dark Side'. The effects weren't gratuitous though, they have clearly been thought out and used to careful and great effect to enhance and underline the show rather than dominate. It has been said before, but Roger really does know how to put on a great show.

Of course, Roger's performances aren't just about enjoying a sonic and visual feast. He has put together a collection of songs full of messages and meaning, the main one is simple: we should all try to get along with one another, to empathise more with our fellow human beings. Whether political messages at rock concerts is your thing or not, there is no denying Roger's sincerity, conviction and energy.

The only dent in tonights show was the sound quality. For all the damping that was in place, the sound was the worst of the UK gigs - it was sharp and brittle and a little fuzzy, a little like an over contrasty and slightly out of focus photograph. Mind you, I'm nit picking as, overall, the sound was still better than your average rock concert and the surround sound separation was, again, fantastic.

I'm glad Roger has been able to sell out two nights at the Earls Court, because, on the evidence of tonights show and the previous two nights, he damn well deserves it! At the end of the show Roger thanked the audience for the 'magnificent homecoming'.

Welcome home indeed.

PS
During the intermission I once again spoke to a member of the crew about the previous nights filming. According to one of the lighting directors, the previous two concerts at Manchester and Birmingham were indeed filmed and recorded for a future DVD release. When I asked if this was for definite he said that the filming had been done at considerable expense so it would be a complete waste for it not to be used. He also added that Roger would be involved in the editing and that it might not happen for a while. So, fingers crossed, we may eventually get to see a DVD release of this show after all...

CONCERT PICTURES - courtesy of BD contributer, Brad Kaplan

This was my first time to a Roger Waters concert, I have been a fan for a while now had never got the chance before for various reasons. I went with my wife and I think its fair to say we had been looking forward to it for months now.

Anyway the set list once again stayed the same as it has the whole tour. It started of with "In The Flesh" which unusually for Roger he made a slight error, he came in a bit early but thankfully he realised after a couple of words and then like the true pro just carried on. The first set seemed to go quite quickly with Shine On You Crazy Diamond being my highlight. New track Leaving Beirut seemed to go down well and I think it is a very good track. It has been said before but the visuals were stunning.

At times Rogers Voice didn't`t seem to be coming through clear enough, not sure if that was because the music was too loud(which it did seem to be) or maybe his voice isn`t as strong as it used to be, anyway this was a minor complaint on tracks like Mother, Wish You Were Here,Shine On sounded great it was just tracks like Have A Cigar, Sheep, Perfect Sense where the vocals seemed a bit muffled under the music.

After the 15 min break he came back for DSOTM in full, This has been a fave of mine since I first heard it in the late 80s(I am not old enough to know about it when it first came out) and I had been really looking forward to hearing this live. Everyone knows the track list of this great album so I don`t need to go through it. the vocals were shared around the band and for me this took away some of the enjoyment. Jon Carin was adequate without being outstanding, Dave Kilminster did a good version of Money but for me Brain Damage with Roger on vocals was the stand out track, it has always been one of my fave tracks so I am glad it came over good live, didn't`t really spot any mistakes on the set but for me it lacked a certain something, maybe with the tracks being shared across the band members took away a bit of magic.

Then the encore which ended with Comfortably Numb which I have to say started very good but the end solo was ruined slightly by Snowy White, although it worked quite well on the "In The Flesh" Tour with Doyle Brammel and Snowy this time it lacked a little spark.

So summing the night up: I am very glad I went, for the most I enjoyed it, certain parts worked well others did not,and my night wasn`t helped by a few drunken idiots who wanted to talk all the way through DSOTM (why would anyone want to do that?).

I must end by saying I think Roger is amazing to be doing such a long tour at his age and giving a great show, I hope I might get a chance to see him again in concert in the future maybe doing more of his solo work

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Louis Backer

A great performance again, but marred by incidents of drunken people standing up, wailing around incessantly and conducting thuggish behaviour towards anyone who dared protest. Having seen this show five times around Europe this year and last, with impeccably behaved and considerate European audiences, I will not be attending a show in the UK again. Umbro & Everlast casual sportsware clad attendees (fans being an inappropriate term) - are an insult to the efforts Roger and his fine team.

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Mike Bienenfeld

I saw Roger Waters at Earls Court last night. I hadn't seen him live since the Radio KAOS concert at MSG in NYC in 1987.

I thought this show blew that away. I have been to a lot of gigs, and I think this goes down as possibly the best.

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Martin Nygård Haug

In the Flesh was a great show-opener as always. The screens on both sides of the large one were showing great videos of Roger Waters and his band in action, all perfectly synced. The videos, images and light show in general was truly awesome. We saw the concert at an outdour venue last year, and this was like seing a new show, even if the songs were the same.

Set two with Dark Side of the Moon was even better than the first set in my option. Us and Them with Jon Carin singing was beautiful and very powerful. The verses were very soft, and the choruses were amazingly powerful. The visuals were again amazing.

The encores were also very good, featuring the whole venue singing with Roger and Jon Carin.

A great experience, with Roger and his band in top form!

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Sue Nightingale

Last night’s performance was faultless. I’m not exaggerating when I say that all of the songs were superbly performed, because they were and as a result it’s difficult to name any highlights. However, Us & Them and ACYL totally blew me away with Jon Carin singing and playing keyboards, Ian Ritchie’s tremendous sax playing and Dave Kilminster’s guitar on ACYL… it was all right in your face.

I’m almost tempted to say I’ve never heard Us & Them played so well! I’ve certainly never heard it played with such energy before (which is saying something about my favourite piece of music and with Gilmour and Wright nowhere to be seen either).

Roger was on fine form and clearly appeared to be enjoying himself. He came on to a fanfare and warmly greeted the crowd. Something about his familiar face and obvious pleasure to be there bought tears to my eyes. He injected so much feeling into the performance. What an amazing character Roger is!

It was a great pleasure to see and hear Jon Carin singing a lot more than at Hyde Park. His voice was memorising during Us & Them and excelled whilst singing Dave’s parts in Comfy along with Andy Fairweather Low.  They both provided acoustic guitar accompaniment at the same time which produced a very rich and warm sound. After Roger, Jon was the man of the show for me.

Snowy played far better than at Hyde Park. The “bubbles” produced with the Gold Top were particularly good on ABITW and I really enjoyed watching him and Dave Kilminster stand together at the end of the second comfy solo. I know Snowy has his critics and I’m one of them, but this performance was thoroughly enjoyable to witness and I liked it.

The only complaint I have is that it should have been louder! But then my knobs go up to 11  :wink:

You must see this show! One of the best I’ve been to in ages!

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Miles Dumble

The first time I saw Roger (or indeed, any of PF) was in 2002 as part of his "In The Flesh" tour at Wembley Arena.

I thought that concert was fantastic, but the Earls Court gig eclipsed it. The musicianship was just as good, if not better, than 2002, but the special effects were really a major leap forward. I've been to a lot of concerts but have never seen anything like them before.

The only thing I missed from 2002 was Andy Fairweather-Low's "Money" guitar-solo, but I guess Roger and his band were trying to play the song as close to the original album version as possible. I couldn't fault anything else about the show. Even Roger's new song sounded good!

If you have the chance to see this show, do so. I can heartily recommend it!

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Max Waliczek

This was my first time to a Roger Waters concert, I have been a fan for a while now and had never got the chance before. I went on my own and met up with some people before the show. I think its fair to say I had been looking forward to it for months.

I had a good view from where I was sitting up in the god's, lucky I wasn't sitting in front of the piller. There were a few empty seats in front of me and some on the side next to the stage. Only one little hiccup Roger made was at the start of In The Flesh, he came in a bit early but thankfully he realized after a couple of words and just carried on.

Jon Carin and Dave Kilminster was outstanding. The pig and spaceman were amazing, came out of nowhere. It was amazing show and one way to celebrate my 20th birthday. I would love to see him again.