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Capacity: 12,802
Concert starts: 8pm

Address of venue: King Edwards Rd, Birmingham, West Midlands B1 2AA. MAP

Website: www.arenabham.co.uk

Note: Previously known as the National Indoor Arena (NIA), the Genting Arena, and the Barclaycard Arena.

COMMENTS

Roger's Us + Them tour heads into Europe following the successful 2017 shows in the US and Canada. At the original announcement, the following was revealed:

"We are going to take a new show on the road, the content is very secret," said Roger Waters. "It'll be a mixture of stuff from my long career, stuff from my years with Pink Floyd, some new things. Probably 75% of it will be old material and 25% will be new, but it will be all connected by a general theme. It will be a cool show, I promise you. It'll be spectacular like all my shows have been.”

The announcement notes that "Roger Waters' legendary live performances are renowned as immersive sensory experiences featuring high class, state-of-the-art audio visual production and breathtaking quad sound. This new tour promises to be no exception; following months of meticulous planning and visionary craft, US + Them will inspire crowds with its powerful delivery and take the audience on an unforgettable musical journey."

Those who have attended - or have seen pictures/video of - the US and Canadian shows, will know just how spectacular and moving this new production is, and how it is a show you really shouldn't miss! 

For the regular sale of tickets, which started on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6th at 9am BST (local time), visit Ticketmaster.co.uk - use this link to see any presales that may be happening prior to this date. Using our links also helps toward the ongoing running costs of this site, and is appreciated!

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD!

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

Well, from the heat and sunshine of Hyde Park, to the heat of Birmingham and back indoors for Roger and his band. The current hot weather in the UK made itself known though, in an unusually stifling venue. A great show though, even if the heat resulted in a quiet audience! Our review of the show will be here very shortly.

First, here's the video from the show from Roger's official Facebook page…

The hot weather affecting the UK was showing no sign of abating, and despite this show being indoors - unlike its predecessor, which was held under a baking sun in London's Hyde Park - the venue gave many of its attendees not that much respite from the heat.

Those situated higher up in the venue suffered in particular. After all, heat does rise, but it did seem as if the venue either didn't have much in the way of ventilation or air conditioning, or it wasn't working. A number of people in the seats at the sides, heading toward the roof, seemed to be affected by the heat, and some were moved to vacant lower seats.

The general atmosphere and audience reaction seemed curiously muted, but I suspect it was purely due to the high ambient temperatures; there was a buoyant mood in the city generally after the England football team had won their World Cup game earlier in the afternoon, taking them into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in 28 years.

The Birmingham Arena is a nice venue in a central part of the city, typical of many fairly modern arenas, but smaller than most - this is an advantage for most concerts, as even with the worst seats in the house, you're not miles away from the artists. Curiously the desk on the floor was quite far forward, leaving a noticeably large empty area behind it. One wonders if the connections/hook ups are situated centrally, giving them little choice over where to site it. There were also large spaces around the laser relay towers, which other venues I've been to have tended to fill with seats right up to their mini barriers.

With an unchanged set list, little to surprise on that front. Mother, or the closing trilogy from Is This The Life We Really Want?, now seems to be the norm to be missing from the performance - so those who DO get either of these, should count themselves lucky! The band clearly noticed the restrained reactions from the audience, with Dave Kilminster noting afterwards that "it felt a little low key (possibly due to the heat!!!)" on his Facebook page. It wasn't until Happiest Days/Brick 2/Brick 3 when the crowd shook off their heat induced torpor and started reacting in a more expected manner.

With the imminent appearance of US President Trump on our shores next week, who will be met with various protests, the images within Pigs delighted the crowd, many of whom seemed to be new to the show and unaware of what would be performed, and how the songs would be presented. Suffice to say, the West Midlands audience seemed wowed by the show, and no doubt gratifyingly for Roger, many seemed to know his new material. It certainly has more power and impact in a live setting, and it can be interesting to watch people's reactions to it - especially those attending for the Floyd stuff, with a disinterest in his solo material. By the end of his new songs, their demeanour seems to change markedly!

As shows go, it seems to rattle through at good pace (signs of a good set list, and absorbing staging), and before we knew it, confetti fell on the central floor area (with little sideways spread) as we were urged to RESIST.

If this is Roger's final UK show - and I sincerely hope not - he has gone out on a definite high, with a visually and sonically compelling show, an excellent band, and audiences taking true notice of the messages in the show.

We'd love to know from those attending how they felt the concert went. How was the show for you, if you were one of the fortunate ones to attend? Let us know what YOU thought!

CONCERT PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Rob Whitmarsh

CONCERT COMMENTS by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Steve Williamson

Our grandson Tyrell Williams was one of the 12 members of the choir chosen to sing with Roger on-stage at the Birmingham Arena July 7th 2018. Despite how worn out he must have been, Roger was great with the kids back-stage and they all received a T-shirt and a signed photo from Roger. Our grandson is in the video clip that Roger posted on Facebook where he is chatting to them after the show. I am a Pink Floyd fan and was not able to see the show, and envy our grandson in the nicest possible way.

CONCERT PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Paul Gribble

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!