They say that no matter who is
playing at a concert, it has to have that so-called ‘X’ factor. That
bit of something extra. That unique thing that makes the gig special.
The thing that only comes around once in a blue moon.
You could put Elton John, U2 and
Madonna on stage with The Who, Sting and Paul McCartney, but without
the ‘X’ factor, the concert is merely average.
Pink Floyd is the ‘X’ factor.
Rephrase. Pink Floyd with Roger Waters is the ‘X’ factor.
Pigs really flew when Pink Floyd reunited with Roger Waters after a 24-year absence at July 2nd’s Hyde Park Live 8 concert.
In the name of poverty, the famous feud between Gilmour and Waters seemed petty. Even Gilmour agreed. Wow.
Walking on stage to the
unmistakable Breathe introduction, the Live 8 crowd went bezerk. And
after 12 hours of standing in the most cramped conditions that was
quite an achievement. (Trust me, I was there.)
Waters, obviously out to prove a
point, grinned from ear to ear as the band belted through a set list to
make any Floyd fan’s mouth water.
Naturally, the band steered well clear of the post-Waters stage, opting for Breathe and Money to open their 23 minute set.
Money, led slightly out of time by Waters at the start, proved to be one of the crowd favourites of the evening.
Wish You Were Here followed, with Waters adding sentiment to the evening.
"It's actually quite emotional,
standing up here with these three guys after all these years. Standing
to be counted with the rest of you. Anyway, we're doing this for
everyone who's not here, particularly, of course for Syd," he said.
Then, who would have guessed.
Comfortably Numb. I think the song title simply speaks for itself. And
if it doesn’t, then there’s just one word. Amazing.
Gilmour was pulled to centre stage by Waters for a bow to finalise the performance, met with a seal of approval from the crowd.
Putting a Faithless replay from
Berlin on the screen to keep the crowd occupied before Paul McCartney
finished the evening seemed somewhat of an insult. Nothing would top
that, so why did they try?
After my video recorder failed at recording Floyd, I’ve settled for a mediocre internet copy. It’s been on loop all day long.
No concert will seem the same again. Unless... Pigs fly again?
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