Capacity: 21,000

Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: 1 Philips Dr NW, Atlanta, 30303.  MAP

Website: www.philipsarena.com

Tickets for this concert went on sale on March 3rd through http://www.ticketmaster.com/ and http://www.livenation.com/. If you own an American Express card, you could take advantage of the pre-sale which started through this link.

Our thanks to William Attridge for the concert poster shown to the right.

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

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

The third show in the final, North American leg of Roger's Dark Side Of The Moon tour saw the band and crew heading up to Atlanta, Georgia.

It's clear that it was another cracking show, and that the pig (as seen below, looking very purposeful!) was a little better behaved and didn't get stuck on any screens or towers! In an interesting twist to proceedings, the confetti fall during Sheep fell onto the band, rather than the audience - see the picture below. The conclusion of the first half had stage hands hurriedly sweeping the stage in readiness for the start of Dark Side!

A day's rest before heading up to New Jersey for the first of the two shows there - the second being the Live Earth concert in July. If you are going, have a good time and tell us how it went!

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Richard Mitchell

Having read the reviews on Brain Damage of the prior shows I was totally psyched. I took my 2 sons, ages 19 and 16, who are big Floyd fans. The closest the younger one had gotten to anything Floydian was The Australian Pink Floyd show when it came to Atlanta. He asked before the show last night if I thought this would be as good as that. I told him I thought there was a slight chance it would be a little better.

Bottom line, it was fantastic. The best part was sharing it with my boys. I've taken them to see The Who and the Stones so I now feel like I've rounded out their education about as well as I can for what's left of the bands of my youth.

The setlist was the same as previous shows so I won' t give a blow by blow. A few thoughts- the vocals mix wasn't great- Roger was hard to understand on many songs if you didn't already know the words (my wife was with us and she, unlike the rest of us, didn't know the songs by heart, so she complained of not being able to understand). Otherwise, technically all was great.

I had seen Andy Fairweather-Low perform with Clapton several times and heard recordings with Snowy White, so I wasn't surprised to hear them perform at their amazing levels- especially AFL when he donned his cowboy hat. I had never seen (or even heard of) Dave Kilminster before-he was the evening's revelation for me. His solos and duets with Snowy were unbelievable.

Roger was in fine form and really played to and with the audience which surprised me given his reputation for occasional surliness. The ovation at the end of Dark Side and after Comfortably Numb were among the loudest I've ever heard in almost 40 years of concert attendance-and well deserved.

Other than that- a couple of uniquely southern observations. I had heard of Roger being booed at previous shows during Leaving Beirut and maybe The Fletcher Memorial Home. However, I heard none at all in the reddest of red states last night- even on the line about the Christian right in Leaving Beirut, or when the pig came out with its ""Impeach Bush Now", "He's an Asshole" and "All Religions Divide Us" graffiti. Not sure I can read a turning of the tide into that but it was nice to (not) see.

Second, my son noticed a lot of older guys (like Dad) at the show with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hank Williams, ZZ Top and other "southern" band shirts on, and wondered why people who listened to that kind of music would like Floyd. I asked him if the fact he likes hip hop precluded him from liking PF, which of course it doesn't. (Don't get me started on hip hop.) The answer- Floyd transcends boundaries. Last night was another journey across those boundaries- even to the dark side of the moon.

CONCERT PICTURE - courtesy of BD contributer, Mark Burns

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES - by BD contributer, Paul Mashburn

Five of us from the East Tennessee area drove down in two cars for the concert – even fighting our way through an hour backup on I-75 north of Atlanta.

After checking in to the Holiday Inn in Decatur, GA, we promptly found a wonderful little pub call The Brick Store and began the evening’s festivities.  It was about a 20 minute MARTA ride from Decatur to the front door of the 21,000-seat arena.  Inside we found the nearest BASS ALE tap to our Portal 5 entrance.  Before going in, I stood in line for about 30 minutes to get a 2007 Tour t-shirt, and made $10 for also ordering for a stranger who stepped up beside and asked me to oblige…and, for $10, a third of the cost of my shirt, I ordered for us both!

Inside we found that our seats were directly above the portal entrance, which meant no one could stand up in front of us!  The rail also helped in steadying the camera for the included existing light shots!

Wonderful set list, which included all my favorites except “Young Lust,” wonderful stage set, and wonderful lighting and special effects.  I am so glad I went!

When the (spoiler alert) background screen comes alive with a hand retuning the radio, picks up a cigarette and lights if off screen, then comes back for the glass of scotch, you know it’s about to become a HAPPENING!  The hand tunes the radio a couple of more times then settles on “In the Flesh,” and you see the 6’4” Roger Waters standing on stage, you’re off!

I began the concert still wishing Doyle Bramhall III would be there, but by the end of “Mother” I was ready to party with Dave Kilminster and Snowy White.  They did not miss a lick and believe me we have them memorized!

CONCERT PICTURES - courtesy of BD contributer, Rick G

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Warren Wright

I have been reading concert reviews for Roger Water’s Dark Side of the Moon Tour since it kicked off its first leg of dates in 2006. I have memorized the set list, some of the effects, and some of the reactions to the songs played.  Roger finally came to my neck of the woods last night, now giving me the chance to leave my (rather lengthy) review of one of his latest endeavors.

I arrived at the CNN Center (attached to Philips Arena) about 2 hours before the concert with my father, mother, and brother.  We had dinner and then went over to the arena about an hour before show time (8:00pm).  We avoided the first overcrowded souvenir stand, and made our way to a second one.  We picked up our shirts and a program, and then found our seats (two sections up, stage right – an excellent view!).

The pre-show radio backdrop was fantastic!  The HD quality made it seem like the radio, plane, and everything else was actually there!  As previously reported, the hand changing the station, smoking, and getting a drink was a nice lead-in to the show.  The show started at about 8:30pm (30 minutes late).  The set list was the same as past reports.  A few notes before I get into the rest of the show: The mics didn’t seem to be turned up all the way at some points in the show, causing the instruments to drown out those singing.  The same goes for the mix at some points, where you couldn’t hear or understand Roger.  Next, the screen projections were all second to none in quality and their ability in reinforcing the subject matter of each song.

Now, on to the show itself…  While the show is divided into two parts (due to the intermission), I would actually divide the show into 4 sections.  I’ll explain each, as I review them below.

The first 6 songs (“In the Flesh”, “Mother”, “Set the Controls”, “Shine On”, “Have a Cigar”, and “Wish You Were Here”) make up what I consider the first section of the show.  The majority of the people knew these songs by heart and seemed to enjoy listening (and sometimes singing along) to them.  “In the Flesh” is a great opener and was performed most excellently!  “Mother” seemed to go off a bit quiet.  I loved the burning away of the screen for “Set the Controls”.  It was great to see Syd on screen for “Shine On”.  “Have a Cigar” was another excellent performance.  My Dad noticed that the projection showed a radio and a large man smoking a cigar for most of the song.  He wondered if it was a cut on Rush Limbaugh.  I didn’t notice this until he mentioned it to me, nor have I confirmed it, but it may have very well been.  “Wish You Were Here” was one of the most powerful and well-received performances of the night!

The next 6 songs (“Southampton Dock”, “Fletcher Memorial Home”, “Perfect Sense Parts 1 and 2”, “Leaving Beirut”, and “Sheep”) make up the 2nd part of the show, which I like to call ‘Roger’s World’.  Each of these songs ventured into political issues, which I knew to expect from Roger in some form or fashion.  As soon as the band started into “Southampton Dock”, there was bee-line around the whole arena for the restroom.  People kept coming and going from their seats during this section of the show.  I don’t really blame the politics, as much as I do that all of these songs are not the most recognized or favored among Pink Floyd Fans of all types (except for “Sheep”).  I enjoyed hearing “Southampton Dock”, “the Fletcher Memorial Home”, and “Perfect Sense parts 1 and 2”.  Each was performed extremely well.  I didn’t quite understand the inclusion of Regan and Bush’s pictures during “Fletcher”.  I mean, I understand why they were put in, but where was Thatcher’s pic, or some of the others mentioned in the song?  The astronaut seemed to retreat rather quickly after “Perfect Sense” started.  The explosion (when the torpedoes are fired) during this song was awesome!  When it came to “Leaving Beirut”, I went to the restroom during the first 4 minutes or so (I was back in time for all of the Bush-bashing).  Regardless of the political messages, I don’t really care for this song at all (it’s a bit boring and not my type of song in structure/sound).  His messages came off really strong and were met with several boos from the seats surrounding me (after the song ended).  “Sheep” was an awesome performance!  I could have done without the writing on the pig, though (especially the comment about religion).  Before I leave this section, I just want to say that I know Roger likes to voice his own opinion, along with several other artists, but I, along with several others I talked to at the concert, really don’t enjoy hearing it.  Roger has the freedom to do so, but we’re the ones who paid $100+ for tickets to hear him play the music we love, not to preach to us.  While I feel this way, by no means did this ruin the show!

After intermission came the highlight of the night: ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ performed in its entirety!  Each song was performed well, save for the issues I mentioned at the beginning of this review.  “On the Run” scared the crap out of my bother and I, with the added sound effects and video.  While all of the projections, performances, and other effects were awesome, “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” (my favorite Pink Floyd song(s)) stole the show with the giant, rotating prism in the sky!  When the “rainbow side” of the prism light flew over us, it reminded me of being scanned by the Borg on an episode of Star Trek!

The fourth and final part of the show was the five song encore, aka ‘The Wall: Redux’ (“Happiest Days”, “Another Brick Part 2”, “Vera”, “Bring the Boys Back Home”, and “Comfortably Numb”).  “Happiest Days/Another Brick Part 2” were awesome and started with the normal helicopter sounds occurring immediately after the band intros wrapped up.  This was another strong highlight of the show, with everyone singing and clapping along!  The performance was great, along with the graphics (though it could have been a bit more Wall-like to me, in the sense of the movie, music video, and artwork).  “Vera” came off well, along with “Bring the Boy Back Home” (which had awesome mini-explosions throughout – landmines?), which lead directly into the final highlight of the night, “Comfortably Numb”!  The song came off without a hitch, again with everyone singing along.

Overall, it was a great night, creating lots of memories for me to hang onto.  Considering I’ve never seen the real Pink Floyd (and probably won’t – thank you very much, Mr. Gilmour!), this may be the closest thing I’ll ever get to see (though I have seen the Pink Floyd Laser Show twice and Aussie Floyd once).

To sum things up, I would give the entire concert a rating of 9 out of 10.  It was loads of fun and I highly recommend it to Pink Floyd (and Roger Waters) fans.  The experience will blow you away, but be prepared for a few political asides here and there, whether or not you agree with them!

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES - by BD contributer, Perry

I saw this show last year in Chicago and will see it again next month in Chicago on the 9th. I sent my kids to Atlanta to see this one. They were both freaked out and overjoyed at how great it was. By the way, I can’t understand the screwballs that act surprised at Roger’s politics. I guess they haven’t been listening. Dolts.

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Jeff

I must say I was blown away. The energy of the crowd was amazing and Roger seemed thrilled to be there. His voice sounded as good as it ever was, and he really had great energy. The show was amazing and I cried three times. I remember thinking to myself in the weeks leading up to the show that I wish the whole band was there, but what I realised is that Roger is Pink Floyd and in my mind that's what I saw. It was the night of my life.

CONCERT REVIEW - by BD contributer, Allen Barnowich

I was completely frustrated for being late and missing the first 4 songs at the West Palm Beach, FL show (1 hour sitting in traffic only a couple miles from the site) so I decided to see Roger at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.  A 10-hour drive may be a little much (I couldn’t make the show in Tampa) but I’m happy to say that I was in complete awe with the Atlanta show.  Atlanta, I love you!  Of course I was constantly comparing the 2, but the main difference was the outdoor pavilion versus the indoor arena.  The sound quality at Philips was astounding, in spite of being in the 300 section (near the roof and directly opposite the stage).

Not only was the music crystal clear, but when Roger spoke I could hear every word.  Although I was high up and about as far from the stage as possible, it was a joy to have the entire arena before me, and a direct view of the stage and screen.  For $43 tickets, I considered it a great deal.  In West Palm Beach the sound quality wasn’t bad, but I couldn’t understand a word Roger said when he spoke, literally not one word.  I was in a section left of center near the back of the covered part of the pavilion.  There I paid $120 for tix and I ended up feeling completely ripped off.  I was on the aisle, 5 feet away from the $80 seats in the section to the left.  There was a large support pole about 10 rows in front of me, and so the very left side of the stage and screen were blocked.  Since I was on the aisle, there was an orange light shining down from above right next to me, and so the frustrating and constant “aisle-walkers” were illuminated for me while they toted their beers and snacks back and forth.

I know it happens at concerts, but it seemed like an extraordinary amount of people walking around at West Palm Beach.   I’ve been to more than 100 concerts in 25 years and I’m happy to say I’ve never been one of those people.  I’m not happy to say that they’ve never bugged me like they did that night.  At one point, some guy even walked past pointing to a bunch of us saying ”I can’t believe you’re all sitting down!” as he walked AWAY from the stage toward the concessions.  And conversely, there was the obligatory whiner behind me yelling “Sit down!” periodically, to whom, I don’t know, I sat through most of it.  Thank God I went to Atlanta because I had a really bad taste in my mouth from the West Palm experience.  I don’t think I’ll ever see another concert there, not anyone I really care about anyway.

In Atlanta, one of the songs I was most eagerly anticipating, “In The Flesh”, was as heart-stoppingly awesome as I expected it to be (from seeing it on the “In The Flesh” DVD), in spite of a small guitar flub during the opening sequence.  Roger’s voice was nearly perfect throughout the entire show, as opposed to the West Palm Beach show, where it got scratchy early on.   There was a glitchy moment during the second verse of “Comfortably Numb” in Atlanta, where Roger kind of faded out for a couple seconds and came back, then out and back.  I don’t know if it was a technology issue or if he was trying not to burp or something, no biggie there.

I think the backup singers are so instrumental in bringing these songs to life and giving them such strength and vitality and they didn’t disappoint here.  The only less-than-perfect moment from the backup singers was during PP Arnold’s “Perfect Sense, Part 1” solo.  It sounded like she struggled to keep up with the music while singing “And the Germans kill the Jews and the Jews kill the Arabs and the Arabs kill the hostages and that is the news”, but it was far from an actual error, just slightly rough.  She covered it very well.   I don’t know exactly what happened but I came out of it feeling like she was a consummate professional.  Also, I really missed their 3 voices for the full chorus of “Southampton Dock” (She stands upon Southampton dock, with her handkerchief and her summer frock…”).  The girls came in on “…Bravely waves the boys goodbye again…” which was still moving, but I got goose bumps from the “In the Flesh Tour” version of that.

Politics and the Pig:  In West Palm, EVERY moment of the full concert experience was pretty much a downer except for the actual performances of the musicians (thankfully!).  When the pig came out, the majority of the people in a 20-person radius surrounding me turned and watched that pig from the moment they saw it until it disappeared in the back of the place.  It was a full 5 minutes or so of watching heads turn in slow motion while cell phones and cameras documented its travels.  It was actually pretty stupid. How long do you need to watch the pig before you realize that you’re no longer  watching the show?  Maybe I was just bitter at that point; the entire audience was my enemy now.  I had read the graffiti in about 30 seconds, and didn’t need to be distracted from the absolutely spellbinding rendition of “Sheep” that was happening before my eyes and ears.  “Hmmph!  Sheep indeed!” was all I could think by the time the thing disappeared.

In Atlanta the crowd seemed much more responsive to the political messages, both the ones written on the pig as well as those on the video screen.  I got the impression they thought it was cool, but I’m not really sure how Roger expects the crowd to react to images of Bush in the company of other asinine and/or murderous political figures, as in “The Fletcher Memorial Home”.  If you see an image of a person you don’t like, do you boo?  If you boo, are you booing the image, or are you showing your distaste for the condemnation of the people on display?  Do you cheer if you think that putting them on display is a condemnation?   Not wanting to cheer an image of Bush, and not wanting to boo anything Roger was doing, I did neither.  I loved/hated the images of the wall that Israel is building through Palestine, and I reflected on how sad it is that “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” is still as relevant as ever, nearly 30 years later.

I’m thrilled however, that Roger Waters is still as relevant as ever and hope to see him again.