Capacity: 38,000
Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: LTU-Arena-Straße 1, Düsseldorf, Germany. MAP

Website: www.espritarena.de

COMMENTS

This show in Dusseldorf was for some months, the show that was going to see the conclusion of Roger's European tour of The Wall. However, with the move of the Budapest show, this accolade was lost. Nevertheless it should still be a cracking show!

The RogerWaters.com presales began the week starting Monday, May 31st, with advance tickets available to those who had registered their interest in particular cities. General sale tickets went on sale on June 4th through normal ticketing agents including www.Eventim.de and www.GetGo.de. It is understood that all tickets have now been sold for this show, but it is worth checking with the official agents if you still need a ticket, as quite often "production tickets" are released close to the concert itself. The public sale will also see a limited number of VIP packages made available for each show on the tour.

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

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

Night fifty-one of the tour, and one of the few shows on the tour with the XL staging, featuring an additional extension at both sides showing footage shot of the musicians. If you went to this show, please let us know what you thought of the event, and if anything interesting or different happened if you've been to previous shows and can compare.

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Hans-Juergen

This show was my 2nd (and probably final) show of Roger's Wall tour. After the first night in Mannheim 15 days ago (see my review of this show), I had to travel a little bit more this time and because of the long way home booked a room in a hotel near the Esprit Arena.

Considering that I bought my tickets more than a year ago, I still can remember, that at the time Duesseldorf was meant to be the final show of this tour. So I expected something special for this night. But during the following months a lot of additional dates came out and Duesseldorf is no more the last erection of the Wall (not to speak about a possible follow up tour in South America and down under).

When I first heard, that Roger was going to perform the Wall again, I was frightened, that he could perhaps damage this myth severely. The Wall in Dortmund 1981 was my first Pink Floyd concert and a show to remember for a lifetime. Besides the fact, that I always thought, the Wall was Roger's theatrical masterpiece with a great storyline and outstanding lyrics, I still think, that this epos is musically a bit weak in some parts and doesn't stand with other floydian albums. Having said this, I must also confirm, that it includes some musically highlights. On the other hand, the song "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" is in my view one of the worst songs in the floydian catalogue and makes only sense as part of the whole Wall story.

With all these things in my head and the impressions of the Mannheim gig, I headed for Duesseldorf for a show on a bigger scale and a seating more in the back for a better overall view.

After these 2 shows, it's obvious, that for this event all musicians are more or loss replaceable. Even back in 1981, there was no difference between Pink Floyd and the Surrogate Band on stage. The audience didn't even recognize it back then! So in the end, all musicians did a great job (even Dave Kilminster, whom I didn't like in some of his previous tours with Roger), but, to be honest, you could replace all of them by other gifted ones and the show would be the same! This is caused mainly by the fact, that all the visuals are so overwhelming and the music itself has been at least a bit in the background.

For the best efficiency of the spectacular visuals, you should be placed near the middle of the wall up to the back of the arenas. From the sides and the ranks on each side it's difficult in the first half to see all projections. This is because of the circular screen in the back, that is included in the projections on the bricks, that are already erected. So from the side it's impossible to get an impression of this visual puzzle.

It's interesting to see the technical capacities of the projections and the software behind it: Not only that the size of the wall differs from show to show and all animations fit nevertheless perfectly every night, but you can also see, that every single brick is integrated in the projections at the very moment it's erected by the stage hands. So the software can handle every single brick in the wall!

During the show, I had the opportunity to concentrate on other details as on the Mannheim gig. So it was good to see it a second time to round it up in my memories.

The wall itself was really huge in Duesseldorf, so that they used additional video projection of Roger on both sides for all the people in the back to see Roger's performing in detail.

It was obvious, that Roger seemed to enjoy himself. He interacted with the audience a lot and wandered several times to both endings of the stage. You could feel, that this project is so important for him and that he wants to be understood by the audience.

What about his singing abilities? Roger was never a really perfect singer, but did always a good job. And so he did during these shows! But, and this will be for sure no big surprise, not everything was sung by him live, as he isn't anymore able to handle a few critical moments, where he did some lip sync and pre-recorded snippets were mixed in.

And the highlights of the show? Well, there are of cause musical, visual and emotional highlights throughout the concert. On the musical side, there is (for me) the new musical bridge and new lyrics (dedicated to Jean Charles de Menezes) at the end of "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)", a moving "Mother", the still underrated "Hey You", THE floydian live song and solo "Comfortably Numb" and the mysterious "Outside The Wall", that Roger still doesn't comment after some 32 years and that is open for your personal interpretation.

The most impressive visuals are the pyro start of the show with "In The Flesh?", the flower sequence in "Empty Spaces", Roger's visual demolition of the wall during "Comfortably Numb", the 3D effects in "Run Like Hell", Mr. Pig (navigated by fans), the marching of the hammers during "Waiting For The Worms" and of course the collapse of the wall at the end of "The Trial".

But and besides all the technical extravaganzas, there are still very emotional moments in the show: First of all, "Comfortably Numb" will always be a highlight in every concert, although I don't like others than Gilmour on guitar and vocals on that one. Then the final "Outside The Wall" with the red confetti (signs of Dollars, Shell, crosses and half-moons), where you can see for the first and also last time the band really on front of the stage.

Roger chooses very emotional pictures and videos of all these suffering kids and also the projections of the "Fallen Loved Ones" during the show and the intermission. What a great idea! I've been reading all these details about the men and women and even this 9 year old boy, who died in Baghdad and Roger's own father Eric Fletcher Waters, who died in Anzio back in 1944.

My personal highlight was this 28 seconds video clip during "Vera" about the girl in the classroom, who didn't know her father was coming home from war. She was trembling and crying and finally embracing him with all her love. This is simply heart-breaking ...

So, Waters' statement about our world today was absolutely clear and he wrote it on the/his/our wall in big letters including the quotation from Eisenhower. And to say it in Roger's own words: Bring the boys back home!

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Guntmar Ploetzke

We arrived at the Esprit Arena at half past five at this rainy and windy Saturday.

Looking forward to see The Wall amongst more than 35.000 people will be not the only new experience for me today.

After we had approached the area at the north-east corner we went to the wrong direction and reached NOT the north-west corner, where we had to get our tickets, which we bought last year from Livenation (by the way: thank you to Livenation. All tickets were the right ones and were ready to hand over to me as assumed).

So according to the weather conditions we entered the arena after saying hello to Kevin and looked for the entry to see one of the biggest (if not THE biggest wall of this tour). But NO! They even said strictly "NO" to my wish to just have one single look at the wall from here! We have to go back outside and downstairs and then in again at the floor, for we have tickets for the "Innenraum". Which means extra stands for softdrinks and beer, hot dogs and sweets, t-shirts and other merchandising and even the toilets were separated. Did I mentioned that there were an extra smoking area? Outside with no roof....and you have to be aware of cars that are crossing your way from time to time.

So finally we are inside the Innenraum and take a look at a wall with same height as ever (I think) which spreads from one side to the other. The additional endings left and right are looking the same as they were at Gelredome in Holland.

Opening began at 5pm so there is plenty of time until the Spartacus speech to begin. But there are many spectators to come and find their seats in this arena. At about 8pm the arena seems to be filled up and from our seats in row 17 in Block A4 looking back and upwards this looks like a sea of faces.

Finally at about 14 minutes past eight we are going to hear "I bring a message from your master. Marcus Licinius Crassus, commander of Italy. By command of his most merciful Excellency your lives are to be spared.........".

Bang and lightning, smoke and smell of the pyros and there he is coming through the smoke and waving "Hello". Glad to notice that the sound works good in this big hall too, so I am able to lean back with a smile to see and hear again his opening words "so ya...thought ya.. liked to...go to the show........."

Good!

And now into ABITW 2 to hear these new words which I missed in Berlin because I was there just the first night. This is a lot better than just this fading organ.... This new ending is about the murdered guy (by mistake!) in the Underground of London and reminds me of Flickering Flame and Bob Dylan.

All works really well and after an hour we are hearing Roger say "....there is nothing you can say. Good bye!"

During the Intermission most of the audience is trying to get out to toilets and buying some more drinks etc. Because for the Innenraum there is just one entrance / exit - this is a mess! What the hell was the organizer of the arena thinking about the security of the audience? All stood still at this one and only bottleneck!

They haven't learnt anything after Duisburgs Loveparade Tragedy in July last year which caused the death of 19 people!!!

But beside that tonight we are lucky enough to be able to hear Robbie sing "Hey you, out there in the cold getting lonely getting old, can you feel me?" And cold it is, indeed. And draughty!

Anyway, the show must go on and stayed on that overall high level that Roger Waters always delivers! Again a wonderful version of Comfortably Numb! Again everbody is on their feet during Run Like Hell..... And again everyone cheers with Roger "Tear down the Wall! Tear down the Wall!"

Not to forget there is something new (well, at least to me) during the animations of The Trial :

During the turn of the wall at "Crazy...toys in the attic, I am crazy...." I noticed on the left side of the Reg Troll a big red dollar symbol (like the confetti falling from the roof at Outside the Wall) and on the right side the line "no fucking way" like during "Mother".
-Back home again, I´ve learnt that this isn´t new. But there is really a lot to see during the show, I still haven´t seen the guy who is writing on the wall "we don´t need no education.."-

Overall, and after years I will remember this as one of the best shows ever (only beaten by the Wall shows in Hamburg 2011, Berlin 2011 and Dortmund back in 1981). In the Westfalenhalle in 1981 there were only 8.800 Spectators at each show and I have to say I do like these small Wall shows much better. Not even because The Wall needs no extensions but Roger mentally can tear down the wall between us and him in a much more realistic way.

So whenever I´ll get the chance to see this show again and I am able to choose I prefer to go the smaller venue.

And I must forget as soon as possible the "Guest Service" of the Esprit Arena.

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Simon Gibbons

This was the 4th time I have seen the new WALL tour.

I was lucky enough to se the opening and next night in Toronto and more recently in Saint Petersburg Russia.

This time - and sadly sadly - it will probably the last time to see the great man in action.

At the other concerts I have been towards the back of the arenas and for sure to take in the whole spectacle that's the best place to be. However in Dusseldorf I was in row 1 at the front middle stage.

While you cannot get the whole experience what you can get is close to the performers and also you can see the emotion from Roger.

I wont go into all the details of the show as its all been said before. What I can say is during Outside the Wall I was standing in front of the barrier with the great man and his band a few yards away - as they finally left the stage one by one I felt tears on my face. Guess there is not a lot you can add to that except THANK YOU ROGER !!

CONCERT REVIEWS and PICTURES by other BD CONTRIBUTORS

Hopefully coming soon - we welcome all contributions!

YOUR HELP NEEDED! We want to cover Roger's concerts the best we can, to share the experience with everyone, especially those who won't be able to attend the shows. We'd love to see ANY pictures, tickets scans, reviews, newspaper reports, and anything else you come across for this show - we look forward to hearing from you!