Capacity: TBA
Concert starts: 8:45pm

Address of venue: One Citizen's Bank Way, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19148. MAP

Website: www.citizensbank.com/ballpark

COMMENTS

The 2012 US leg of Roger's tour of The Wall comes to its conclusion in Philadelphia at another sporting venue. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and the ballpark was built to replace the now-demolished Veterans Stadium, a place that Pink Floyd performed in back in 1988 and 1994.

The RogerWaters.com presales have taken place, with advance tickets available to those who had registered their interest in particular cities. General sale tickets went on sale on November 14th at 10am through this link to Ticketmaster.com. Exact dates and other outlets can be found via Roger's website. CLICK HERE for a seating plan of the venue.

The public sale will also see a limited number of VIP packages made available for each show on the tour. Our thanks to Mick Burke for sending over the ticket scan shown to the right.

Our thanks as well go to Elliot Tayman for the concert poster seen to the right - click the thumbnail to see it in more detail.

NJ.com/Gloucester County Times have posted a great preview of the concert. They have a number of interesting pictures of the staging under construction, and also share some fascinating stats on the event.

"The performance will be facing home plate in the stadium, while images from the original tour and movie adaptation will be projected onto the face of more than 1,000 bricks that comprise the symbolic and metaphorical wall. In one of the remarkable features of the stadium show, the dramatically enlarged wall was built up to 500-feet wide and stands 40 feet above the ground — double the width of the wall used for the indoor arena shows.

"The wall will have 41 video projectors, compared to the indoor production’s 19 projectors. The wall itself will be covered by a custom, double-wide “super-roof,” which is two roofs, side by side. The roof, especially designed for the outdoor show, is over 250 feet wide and stands nearly 90 feet tall, providing cover over an area of 17,000 square feet. Each of the 8 legs that support the roof weigh three tons. The roof itself contains 124 pieces of truss, the lightest weighing 100 kilos and the 24 heaviest pieces weighing 900 kilos each.

"It required a 15-man touring crew and 40 local scaffolders four days to erect. Later, the set up will take more than 24 hours to take down..."

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 seventy-one of the tour, and the penultimate show of the 2012 dates. Despite the tour starting back in January, the shows have felt like they've passed really quickly; just the one performance left, in one week's time, in Quebec. Initial reports note how good this show was, so despite the band and crew probably keen to get home now to friends and family, just as much passion and effort is being put into these final shows, as was the very first shows way back in 2010. A slight hitch in the middle of Hey You, as you'll see in the reader reviews below - slightly unexpected that this error would happen as everything is so tightly choreographed...

The Philadelphia Enquirer were there and gave the show a bit of a reluctant review. "Given the efficiency with which commercial success trumps contradiction, it was perhaps inevitable that Pink Floyd's The Wall, an album inspired by Roger Waters' distaste for stadium shows, would find its way back into ballparks, more than three decades after its initial release.

"But even when there was nothing to see but an unbroken faux-marble expanse, the capacity crowd remained on its feet, in thrall to one of the most elaborate concert spectacles ever staged.

"Given that The Wall eventually draws a pointed analogy between rock excess and Fascist spectacle, the sprawling, thoroughly immodest production was awash in unintended irony. "In the Flesh" staged a rock concert as Nazi rally, climaxing with Waters machine-gunning the crowd, who heartily cheered their own mock execution. During "Bring the Boys Back Home," the stage behind Waters flooded with images of poverty and famine, climaxing with a photo of what looked like a starving African child; the image was disturbing but also deracinated, torn from its specific time and place to make a statement so broad it verged on generic. Onscreen quotes referenced Kafka and George Orwell, but there was something disconcerting, even grotesque, about the obeisance Waters' own spectacle demanded. With its enveloping surround sound, The Wall made surrender seductive, not the natural endpoint for an evening that began with a speech from Spartacus."

Following on from their preview (see above), NJ.com/Gloucester County Times were there, and gave a much more enthusiastic review. "Citizens Bank Park’s seats and field were packed to the brim as the founding Pink Floyd member brought the legendary rock opera “The Wall” to more than 40,000 anxious people on his second-to-last stop in an almost two-year-long tour around the world. “Doesn’t terrify me, of course. I rather like it,” Waters playfully remarked about the massive turnout.

"From start to finish, Waters had the audience eating out of his bass-playing hands. And how could he not? The first number alone - complete with the copious use of pyrotechnics and an airplane soaring through the stadium and crashing into the stage - set the tone for the rest of the night. Highlights from the provocative songs and thought-provoking visuals included images of fallen soldiers and rampant consumerism strewn across the 20,000-square-foot wall.

"By the grand finale, the wall came tumbling down in dramatic Pink Floyd fashion, along with most viewers' expectations for any other production to rival what had just occurred. Once many spectators lifted their jaws from the ground, they were heard muttering things like, "best ever" and "hands down" or "where's the bathroom?" In reality, Waters' performance and the marvel that is "The Wall Live" was clearly not just another brick in the wall. "Thank you," Waters humbly said at the end of the show. No, Mr. Waters. It would appear thousands from the region have you to thank."

If you went to this show in Philly, 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 and PICTURE by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Jon Rosenbaum

[In the run-up to the start of the show, Jon very kindly sent in a picture of the pig chilling out backstage...his views on the concert follow below]

This was our first time visiting Citizens Bank Park, and we were extremely impressed with the venue and the people. It was truly a Floyd crowd in attendance, at times roaring along with the lyrics.

The show was just as wonderous as all the others we have seen thus far. It's clearly evident they really thought about what was necessary to adapt the set to outdoor stadiums, and they pulled it off quite adeptly.

The only minor hiccup was during Hey You - the video crew fired off the "madman rush" animation a bit too early, requiring them to do it again at the scheduled time (right after "the worms ate into his brain").

Roger's vocals and theatrics were spot on. There's nothing I can think of that could've made this a better experience (hmm.... Gilmour?).

Jon also recorded some video of the concert, and you can see his playlist here.

CONCERT COMMENTS and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Eric Jokinen

An awesome night in Philly, Roger and the band got the loudest ovation I've ever heard. Great show, minor trouble launching the pig and the wall opening on Hey You was about fifteen seconds early. Pre show Dave Kilminster was mingling in the crowd, what a surprise!

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Alan Rickert

This was my third time seeing The Wall and my second time this week, having been to the previous show in DC just two nights earlier. When Roger announced that he'd be doing a few stadium shows this summer, I knew I'd need to see at least one of them and Philadelphia was the closest one to me. I'd also seen Pink Floyd three times at the old Veterans Stadium in 1994, so it brought back a nice reminder of those shows.

My biggest concern going into this show was the weather, as they had been calling all week for a 30% chance of thunderstorms on Saturday night! When the time of the show arrived, however, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature could not have been more perfect for an outdoor concert.

Tonight, I was in row 17, dead center stage. For this show, I really can't imagine a better seat in the stadium: any closer and you'd miss the experience of the expansive wall, any farther and you'd be straining to see the stage better. I saw Simon Wimpenny before the show and we chatted for a bit. This was in all likelihood to be his last US show for The Wall. I also found out that I missed meeting David Kilminster by about 15 minutes! Oh well, next time!

Some people noted a few mistakes during tonight's show, but I didn't notice them. I thoroughly enjoyed the stadium version of the show and was just concentrating on taking it all in and noting all the little differences. It truly is a different experience than the arena shows, but I couldn't choose one I like better.

Citizens Bank Park is directly across the street from the site of the old Philadelphia Spectrum, where Roger was injected with tranquilizers for stomach cramps by a doctor in order to be able to play a Pink Floyd show in 1977 on their 'In the Flesh' tour. This single incident became the basis for the lyrics to 'Comfortably Numb' and I was certain that Roger would address this at some point during the night, but he never mentioned it.

As this was originally to be the last show of the entire tour, I thought that they may make a mention of the tour overall or how they hope to come back to the US soon, but none of that happened, either. Instead, Roger made the same remarks as he did in DC saying how much he is enjoying this tour and how he's not the same grumpy guy he was when he wrote 'The Wall'.

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Mark LaPointe

I've the time now to discuss my whirlwind tour following Roger and his FANTASTIC band. I'll try to make it short, but my memories of these truly incredible shows are not.

1st show: Hartford, Ct
Well, I can honestly say that I have never had better seats at a show, 4th row with Roger directly in front of me. A surreal experience indeed. My friend took a pic of me with Rog in the background singing Mother (and even in the circular screen). This will be on my wall very soon. To boot, we even had the most attractive identicle twins I have ever seen directly behind us. Felt like I was in a Bud-Light beer commercial. One of them had the hots for David K and he noticed them at the end - ha.

Anyways the show was fantastic and the house cheer for Rog at the end was louder than Fenway and Philly combinded. Seriously - that loud. The only crowd to match was when I saw him in Providence, RI in 1999. Roger was touched, I could tell.

2nd: Fenway
Sound was fantastic, crowd was a bit meat-headishy. Everyone should have drank maybe three less beers (that cost $9.50 a pop) than they did. Roger was happier than I'd ever seen him. You should have seen GE Smith beaming with Rog at the end. Roger hugged him when he sang "some gather together in bands". I think GE is the new Andy Fairweather Low in Roger's life.

3rd show: Philly
Certainly the best show of the three. The band was ON that night and the sound was out of this world incredible. The night before I met a few of the roadies, at the Holiday Inn, and we drank together all night. They shared some fantastic stories (that I will not share for obvious reasons) and said the tour was nothing they've ever witnessed. One guy said he was to tour with Springsteen after Quebec - which he called a vacation compared to this tour - haha.. 23 trucks carry the load each night with 24 hour work-in two shifts. The guys I talk to were carpenters by trade and one a long journey man that worked for the tour company Roger employed. I saw the tour booklet they carried around. It has nine pages of credits at the begining! Over 200 people employed!

Anyways, the most important thing I heard was that Roger was a gentleman and he treated them all very well. He would even stop in and have lunch with a few of them he liked, and he talked to EVERYONE. That was certainly nice to hear. Way to go Rog, or was it Reg?

I certainly hope they filmed Philly because it blew us all away - especially the people that have seen the show before. The highlight for me was...everything. It was that good. Just an amazing show. So sad to see it all end. I think there is a slim chance Roger will tour his next album, but of course I will be there if he does. Haven't missed a tour since 1984. The best of the shows I've witnessed over the years was the 84 show with Clapton and Kamen and this Philly show.

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURE by BD CONTRIBUTOR, David Williams

Here's a shot as we were walking in and seeing the stage for the first time.

We were pretty close. This time I felt a strong breeze at certain points in the show. I'm not sure if it was Mother Nature or another effect from the stage. I saw all four shows of The Wall in Philly.

This show outdoors was amazingly awesome. I saw all three nights in Philly on his initial visit but I must say this was better I think partly because of the sound and atmosphere. The only drawback was the ambient light from the stadium concourse made total darkness impossible affect the brick take away during Run Like Hell for example.

But I tell you that I will probably never be so happy amongst forty thousand souls again as I was on this night of July 14th 2012.

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!