Capacity: 15,357
Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: 51 South Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12207. MAP

Website: www.timesunioncenter-albany.com

COMMENTS

Roger's tour of The Wall stays in New York, swinging over to Albany for the show at this venue. It was formerly known as the Knickerbocker Arena (1990–1997), and then the Pepsi Arena (1997–2007), when Roger performed there in 1999.

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 outlets can be found via Roger's website. The public sale will also see a limited number of VIP packages made available for each show on the tour. Our thanks to Elliot Tayman for the concert poster, shown to the right, and to Smokey Bob for the ticket scan.

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 sixty-two of the tour, and just ten left before the production wraps up and the crew (and band) get a well-earned rest.

From the local media, the Times Union, naming sponsors of the arena, were there. As their review put it: "If you build it, they will come… On Thursday night, former Pink Floyd mastermind-bassist-vocalist Roger Waters re-built his masterwork, the classic rock opera “The Wall” – both musically and physically – on the stage at the Times Union Center, and indeed the fans packed the downtown arena to capacity, despite a top ticket price in excess of $200.

"No surprise, really. Pink Floyd’s 1979 double-album, the 1982 film and the all-star 1990 live show that was staged at the Berlin Wall were all watershed moments in rock history. “The Wall” has become a classic rock classic. Waters’ has been touring this current production since 2010, and it’s an out-sized, over the top stadium production crammed into an arena. And I mean that in the best possible way.

"The storyline – basically the troubled tale of a self-absorbed rock star named Pink who descends into madness and isolation as he lashes out against authority and his own emotional traumas – is as confusing and unfocused as ever. But Waters has tried to broaden the scope of “The Wall” and make it more universal by giving it more of a socio-political spin. If the original was about a very personal sense of alienation, the current “Wall” is more of a symbol of the barriers that pide nations and provide the fodder for war. Again and again throughout the night, the wall that was constructed across the stage over the course of the first act was transformed into a memorial for war victims, beginning with Waters’ own father, who died in World War II.

"From a purely visual standpoint, the performance was simply stunning.

"The show included a perfectly choreographed fireworks display, gigantic marionettes (representing a trio of authority figures), a menacing, flying wart hog as big as a bus (a nasty twist on Pink Floyd’s trademark flying pig) and magnificently synchronized video projections that continually toyed with depth perception, texture, scale and perspective. At times – especially at the end of the first act – the video onslaught delivered a visual input overload, but that only served to heighten the descent-into-madness theme.

"Truth be told, most of songs from “The Wall” aren’t all that memorable, but the big 12-piece band – led by the triumverate of guitarists Snowy White, former “Saturday Night Live” bandleader G.E. Smith and especially Dave Kilminster – hit the fan favorites with deadly accuracy. “Another Brick in the Wall” was bolstered by the performance of 15 local teens chanting “We don’t need no education” as they rallied against the monstrous teacher puppet. “Comfortably Numb” was a standout with Kilminster unleashing a soaring solo from atop the wall while Waters stalked the stage below searching for a chink in the wall. “Run Like Hell” was undoubtedly the creepiest moment of the show, with Waters in stormtrooper regalia urging on the crowd, who responded in blind compliance to his commands. But “Mother” was the highwater mark, as Waters strummed an acoustic guitar to duet with a 1980-vintage video of his younger self.

"As presented at the Times Union Center on Thursday, “The Wall” was as much about the message, as it was about the music. And as sometimes messy and heavy-handed as the message was, it was written larger than life in a dazzling hi-tech theatrical spectacular."

If you went to this show in Albany, 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 VIDEOS by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Keith Herrador

Here are some videos that I took of the show from 28 June 2012, Times Union Center - Albany, NY:

CONCERT COMMENTS and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Raymond Baldwin

Great show!!! Last time I saw Roger Waters was for the Radio K.A.O.S tour, August 28th Saratoga Performing Centre Saratoga Springs, NY, USA. I did not take many pictures this time around... did not want to miss anything.

CONCERT REVIEW and PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Jock Ross

This was my 5th viewing of The Wall, my first outside of the UK. The venue is great and as always the sound was perfect. Probably the most enjoyable of the 5 performances I've seen due to the seats we had, just in front of the mixing/control area, perfect.

The reaction of people around me to the show was amazing, they'd never seen anything like this. Audible gasps throughout the night from all around me. The visuals to 'Spare Bricks' still take my breath away, and you could hear a pin drop during the quiet periods when the bricks start disappearing.

The projections of Roger in the second half are a great addition to what I thought was an already perfect show. All in all a great trip to New York and another fantastic breathtaking (still after 5 shows) performance.

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!