Capacity: 21,000
Concert starts: 8:00pm

Address of venue: Manchester Arena, Victoria Station, Manchester, M3 1AR, England. MAP/JOURNEY PLANNER

Website: www.ao-arena.com

COMMENTS

The European leg of Roger's new tour - THIS IS NOT A DRILL - has now been announced, and is a new production. The show will be presented "live in the round" - a departure from Roger's previous shows. The production has already been seen in the US and Canada in the latter part of 2022, showcasing both the new visuals, and the new set list. More details of that can be found in the show pages for Roger's 2022 tour - but don't go there if you don't want to have any surprises spoilt!

Those who have attended - or have seen pictures/video of - Roger's previous tours, will know just how spectacular and moving this new production is likely to be, and how it is a show you really shouldn't miss! From comments Roger has made in recent interviews, it could be his final tour...

There is a Live Nation presale from 10am on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20th (details here), and for the regular sale of tickets, which starts on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21st at 10am (local time), CLICK HERE. Using this direct link 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!

Night forty of the 2023 This Is Not A Drill tour for Roger Waters, his band, and crew, who were back in Manchester for the final show on this leg. Towards the end of the year the tour resumes with South American dates.

It was a venue familiar to Roger, having played there on his previous tours (albeit under different venue names). It's a well set-out, modern arena, with good sight lines and decent acoustics - perfect for a show like Roger's. There were no special guests, or alterations to the set list, for this final night - and final outing of the "in the round" staging, but it wasn't a totally normal performance.

One small, unexpected difference for this particular show: during the rendition of The Bar, he was visited by an uninvited guest, as the Manchester Evening News reported.

'The music icon paused his show half way through - after a Manchester bee decided to position itself on his hand while he was sat at the piano. He had been performing song The Bar when he noticed it. Looking visibly astonished, the 79-year-old music man lifted his hand with the bee still attached as he told his thousands of fans what had happened. He said: "That is unbelievable. That has been on my hand for the whole last chorus."

'Inspecting the insect calmly sitting on his hand, Waters decided to give it a cheeky chat up line. He said: "Hey darling, sweet thing. Do you come to these concerts often?" He then said he would blow on it to see if it would go and sit on someone else as the big screens showed the bee.

'Dutifully, the bee responded. And Waters let out a rock 'n' roll "Yeahhhh" before continuing his show.' They also note the significance in the city of the bee. 'The worker bee has long been the symbol of Manchester, due to the city's heritage built on industry. But the Manchester bee went on to represent the city's indomitable spirit following the Arena bombing on May 22, 2017.' The Arena that suffered that atrocity was repaired and Roger performed there in 2018 and now, in 2023.

Initial reports from the fan community are that the show was as expected from last year's experiences of Roger's latest production, but as always, we value your first hand views on all the concerts - so if you went, please let us know your thoughts!

BD visitor Richard Collins was one of those at this show, and Richard called it a "fantastic show. Very emotional though."

CONCERT REVIEW by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Heather Fenton

We made it! Once again the long journey north was well worth it and on a weekend that Manchester was heaving. Never mind 50,000 at Parklife or going out for an early meal late Saturday afternoon where the pub we go to was like walking into the Etihad Stadium, lots of happy footie fans singing their hearts out and enjoying a few pre match beer in the sunshine. Another first for me was the ‘Your phone is your ticket’ which caused numerous sleepless nights as I’m not tech savvy but once I got the Ticketmaster App and the comforting guidance of the Arena staff all went well. At least we remembered to make a note of our seat numbers unlike some poor souls!

The configuration of the stage was a brilliant idea even if at first we were somewhat confused by it but so much better than Roger and band being no larger than the bee that wanted to join him.

As for the show itself a mixture of excellent music, Rogers personal political statements and a lot of mellow reflection going back to his old friend Syd and a tribute to his brother who died earlier this year. Very poignant and sad and again touching on loss. Two Suns in the Sunset was a disturbing end with accompanying graphics but if it kept fans awake all night at least Roger had given us a lot to think about!

Of the tracks played Sheep was again outstanding as was Have a Cigar and his old favourites from The Wall. In fact though there were no weak numbers amongst them and along with the satire Roger was on fine form and some lovely humorous touches. If this is going to be his final show then I am so glad we saw it...we are not wearing as well as Roger is and it was a fitting finale to the fantastic shows we’ve seen since 2007. But, as I said in 2018, if he was to do Manchester again.......... it was brilliant!

CONCERT PICTURES by BD CONTRIBUTOR, Jonathan Burrows

 

 

 

 

 

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!