MAY 18th, 19th & 20th - BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Foxboro (Patriot's Stadium)

Reader Review by John Bachers

The scene around and inside the New England Patriots' Stadium revealed Floyd fans of every shape and style. Having seen shows in five prior Floyd tours beginning with the Dark Side of the Moon Tour in 1973, we were glad to see the youthful crowd was substantially dotted with graying loyalists.

The music? Sort of disappointing, all in all. It was hard to avoid the impression of a monumental yet routine production. Lots of tunes, hits that seemed to satisfy a lot of enthusiastic people. But there was little of the old Floyd magic - those intuitive instrumental space explorations that web from music into physics, religion, and things without names, joining the audience in a unified consciousness everyone recognizes as high and special. The one time the concert appraoched it was in closing the first half with One of These Days, and what seemed at the time like a touch of Careful With That Axe Eugene.

You could tell it was the real stuff - the continual yelling subsided to a quiet attentiveness. Extravagant visuals, sure. The lasers, the inflatables, and an old psychedelic favorite that always works... the slowly rotating mirror ball. But the film seemed uninspired and the visuals didn't compensate for what the music lacked.

I kept thinking of what someone said about the Stones' last stadium tour, about watching Charlie Watts take a break and lay down his drum sticks, while the drum track kept rolling out of the sound system. Was this real Floyd? Not by comparrison to past performances in my opinion. Listening to Great Gig in the Sky was painful, recalling how Claire Torrey's Dark Side tour version sounded as if she were successfully seducing God. And good riddance to Roger Waters who made his early contribution, but then convinced himself that the band was a session backup for his neurotic rantings. Space is curved - we're left with relics. Pink Floyd, circa 1971, wish you were here.

Semi-apologies to those who refuse to be deprived of their Floyd experience by an old geezer who sounds lost in the past and too old to rock and roll.

Reader Review by Tammy McCrohan

I went to all three shows at Foxboro - they were the most incredible nights of my life! The light show was amazing and the videos they played were "out there"! There were 22 songs played each time with the only change being a different song from The Division Bell played each night (Poles Apart, Coming Back to Life, and A Great Day For Freedom).

At the end of the final show on the 20th there was a plane which flew over the stadium with huge lit letters spelling "PINK FLOYD". It was phenomenal - definitely worth the $50 each night. As a matter of fact, I loved it so much that I bought a ticket to go to their last North American date in New Jersey on July 18th!

MAY 22nd - MONTREAL, CANADA
Olympic Stadium

The hot rumour was something about Nostradamus and a prediction that at this point in history there would be a significant three-day event, and many people would die as a result. Well, unless you count the two inflatable pigs that fell to their doom as Pink Floyd closed out the first half of Sunday Night's Big O (Olympic Stadium) show, there were no fatalities in the 61,002-capacity crowd.

But Nostradamus had one thing right: predictable.

Which is not to say that the first of three Floyd launchings from the Big O pad didn't achieve the main thrust of its purpose: visuals worthy of Skylab, lasers to polish 120,000 corneas and a light show which put the aurora borealis at the service of Silicon Valley. But David Gilmour made the ultimate comment on his own show months ago, when he and the band limited interviews on the tour to an absolute minimum. It was fitting because Pink Floyd doesn't have much to say. But, oy, the way they say it!
(Taken in part from Montreal's The Gazette 24th May 1994 by Mark LePage from M-J Bourget.)

A Commentative Setlist by M-J Bourget
First half:

Astronomy Domine (great visually, bad sound!), Learning to Fly (better sound), What Do You Want From Me (Gilmour spoke to us in French during the whole show - he's very good!), Poles Apart (very good musically and visually), Sorrow (Gilmour's guitar work was just fantastic for this song), On the Turning Away, Take It Back, Keep Talking, One of These Days (the best moment of the first half as the crowd went wild!)

Second half:

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Wow, fantastic! The sound was great - one of the best moments of the show), Breathe, Time (excellent film), Breathe Reprise, High Hopes (this song is going to be a classic - everday we hear it on Quebec radio), Great Gig in the Sky, Wish You Were Here & Us and Them (these two songs were unbelievable! Everyone of 60,000 fans sang along with Dave. THE best moment of the show!), Money (partytime!), Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2 (partytime!), Comfortably Numb (I have witnessed the best guitar solo of my life!)

Encore:

Hey You (it was a surprise that they did this song, but I was still happy), Run Like Hell (again, Gilmour just fantastic!) I simply loved it, visually unbelievable from start to finish, and musically it was almost perfect!

MAY 26th & 27th - CLEVELAND, OHIO
Municipal Stadium

...Pink Floyd add a rainbow of colours to their video package, with a light show that might be the best ever created for a rock tour. The arched stage was lit up like the mother ship from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", while emerald and gold lasers criss-crossed through the chilly night air, making the stadium seem like a giant light-saber battle scene from "Star Wars". The band members stand in front of eight, pyramid-shaped light columns that give the stage the feel of a space-age Greek temple.

Gilmour and company are still capable of cooking up that Pink Floyd groove in concert, but the new songs lack the memorable hooks and lyrical muscle of the classic 70's material. The band obviously misses the input of Roger Waters.

The band seemed like props in their own production. But that's probably unavoidable in a production of this scope. Gilmour played particularly well and Mason's drumming was as precise and rhythmically infectious as ever.

The sound may have been the true star of the show, however. No rock band can match Pink Floyd when it comes to making a stadium show come off sounding like its being held in your living room.
(Excerpted from Cleveland Plain Dealer 5/27/94 by Michael Norman from Dave Taylor)

JUNE 2nd - PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Veterans Stadium

Astronomy Domine, Learning to Fly, what Do You want From Me, On the Turning Away, Take it Back, Poles Apart, Sorrow, Keep Talking, One of These Days, [Intermission], Shine On (1-5), Breathe, Time, Breathe reprise, High Hopes, The Great Gig in the Sky, WIsh You Were Here, Us and Them, Money, Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2, Comfortably Numb, [Encore] Hey You, Run Like Hell.

JUNE 3rd - PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Veterans Stadium

Astronomy Domine, Learning to Fly, What Do You Want From Me, On the Turning Away, Take it Back, A Great Day For Freedom, Sorrow, Keep Talking, One of These Days, [Intermission], Shine On (1-5), Breathe, Time, Breathe reprise, High Hopes, Great Gig in the Sky, Wish You Were Here, Us and Them, Money, Another Brick Pt.2, Comfortably Numb, [Encore] Hey You, Run Like Hell.

JUNE 4th - PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Veterans Stadium

Astronomy Domine, Learning to Fly, What Do You Want From Me , On the Turning Away, Coming Back to Life, Sorrow, Take it Back, Keep Talking, One of These Days, [Intermission], Shine On (1-5), Breathe, Time, Breathe Reprise, High Hopes, Great Gig in the Sky, Wish You Were Here, Us and Them, Money, Another Brick Pt.2, Comfortably Numb, [Encore] Hey You, Run Like Hell.

Reader Review by Jay Lieberman

About seven years ago I saw my first Pink Floyd show at the colossal JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The band opened up with Echoes (possibly for the last time), and from that moment on I was a die-hard fan. That stadium has since been demolished, but Floyd is still going, and it seemed only natural to catch all three shows. So I braved stop and go traffic, ridiculous parking fees, and mobs of wasted posers to witness the heroes' return. The massive stage took up most of Veteran Stadium's outfield, and I felt a premonition that the boys were going to outdo themselves this time. My suspicions were confirmed...

The sci-fi fury of Barrett's masterpiece, Astronomy Domine, kicked into the ecstatically received Learning to Fly, as most of the awestruck crowd got their first glimpse of Floyd's overpowering laser display. The music was equally strong as well, a pattern that followed on the next two numbers What Do You Want From Me and On the Turning Away, which were both preceded by Gilmour greeting the audience.

The set varied from night to night after that with the new single Take it Back and a lumbering Sorrow (probably the low point of the show) mixed in with a different selection from The Division Bell each night. The second set included brand new Hipgnosis film, perhaps the best I've ever seen. High Hopes, the one song if any, that can measure up to the older material was situated accordingly within a DSOTM medley of Breathe, Time, and Breathe reprise. It sounded progressively better each evening, highlighted by Gilmour's pedal steel solo and another breath-taking video. A feeble sounding Great Gig in the Sky was next as the two rookie singers failed to measure up to their predecessors.

JUNE 10th - BRONX, NEW YORK
Yankee Stadium

Review by Jeff Jensen

Being my first time in New York City, I (and a most excellent companion) cautiously headed underground to brave the subway ride into the Bronx - an interesting experience - one I will forego in the future. I must admit however, being a huge baseball fan, I was more excited to see historic Yankee Stadium than Pink Floyd.

The initial shock of the evening came as we approached the stadium. I've been to countless heavy metal concerts where it was necessary for security to hold a high profile, but this was ridiculous overkill for a pop-rock concert. Police were nearly shoulder-to-shoulder surrounding the venue. They were in full-force throughout the subway system near the stadium. They mingled within the masses. They were everywhere... except inside. And Yankee security hardly ruled within - their presence failed to deter the numerous fights that broke out all night.

Our seats were a few rows off the field behind the First Base Dugout, while the stage rested comfortably in center field. The show, as expected and as usual, started 45 minutes late to allow the sun to fully set. Astronomy Domine opened the show, after which the band plowed through their familiar North American setlist. while not offering any surprises, the Floyd continue to impress even through my most critical lens.

Whether it's because Yankee Stadium was more compact and personal or that we sat more centered to the stage, the sound quality was remarkably superior, clean and crisp - not deafening. Each set rolled smoothly with few, relatively unnoticeable technical glitches. One of These Days (1st half finale) experienced some timing problems at the end as the song concluded before the pigs fell from their perch, and then only one fell. I may have been the only commoner in the crowd who noticed (or cared about) the other minor occasional glitches of out-of-sync lasers and lights, but that's just my feeling obligated to find at least something wrong.

Of all the shows I've caught this tour, the fans in New York were BY FAR the loudest and rowdiest of the lot. Personally, I love seeing people jumping around, screaming, whistling, and letting it all go free, which no city did better than New York, leading to this show being my favourite of the tour. The band was tight (and seemingly in a great mood), the visuals were par brilliance, and the crowd was at times more entertaining than the band! A killer first night in the Big Apple, aside from a poor choice of post-show dining. (I hate Chinese food Elliot!)

JULY 12th - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Soldier Field

Review by Jeff Jensen

With 19th row, dead center seats provided us courtesy of the most noble Jim Monaco of CPI, this was to be my closest vantage point this tour. Dragging along family members this time, Steve and I just couldn't wait to see their expressions as the show kicked in. Also joining our party were major BD contributor Ron Fleischer and his beautiful wife Marsha. We marched around Soldier Field for what seemed like hours trying to find our seats, with each "usher" pointing us in a different direction. But, like a beacon placed to guide us, we caught sight of a 40-something guy standing on his chair, surrounded by major clamor, laughter and applause. From hand to mouth, he antoagonized the eager crowd with what was surely a foot long joint. Yes, that was row 19!

As 9pm rolled around, the Floyd took the stage and ammered through yet another typical setlist. Of course enjoyable for us fans, but how they maintain THEIR sanity through this repetition is quite remarkable! As a side note, one of the most frustrating things was the constant stream of people climbing over us throughout the entire show, either trying to find (and re-find) their seats or trying to locate "Mr. Popularity" for an inch drag.

Unlike at previous shows, there was a major technical breakdown during Money, which caused the show to break to a near halt. Gilmour was quite animated as he walked towards Guy Pratt, threw his hands in the air, and then rested them at his waist. While Pratt was more reserved in his response, Dave seemed a bit angry about something. Meanwhile, a steady but slower drumbeat and relaxed keyboard continued as the only audible instruments. The girls stopped gyrating and the lights stopped dancing. After about two minutes, Gilmour flew back to his perch, shuffled some cues to the band, and the song rocked back into motion. What seemed like a great opportunity for Mason and/or Wright to do some, ummm... improvisation, the moment was lost and wasted.

By the end of the show, our group was awe-struck and overflowing with praise for who has now become their favourite band - Pink Floyd.