I just arrived home from seeing Roger Waters perform at Madison Square Garden. The seats we (Bryan and I) had were alright — down on the floor but a little far back.
The show was pretty much a total sensory experience:
SOUND
Of course, you go to a concert, you’re going to hear music. There was lots of it. And it was beautiful. Roger and his band understand how to craft songs in a way to make them not just songs, but complete soundscapes. They played some classics from Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall and some of Roger’s own newer stuff. The treat of the evening was Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. The speakers were set up quadrophonically, so if you were sitting in the right spot, you would hear different things coming from different directions. Unfortunately, we weren’t stting in the sweet spot, but it was still rather cool.
VISUAL
Behind the enourmous stage was a screen on which images were projected. They used four projectors to create a composite image on this screen. The imagery that is associated with the music is very original and innovative. If you’ve ever seen the movie The Wall, you’ll understand how important imagery and symbolism are to Roger Waters’ music. We were a bit far from the stage, and when you’re in an arena like the Garden, it’s good to have some sort of large projection.
SMELL
It wasn’t exactly smell-o-vision, but you could always tell what plant the people around you were smoking. One guy asked me if I had a joint to sell him.
TOUCH
I was standing up for the entire concert, which meant through the weight of my body and the sticky substances on the floor, my shoes would get stuck. Maybe I’m reaching here?
TASTE
Well, I wasn’t directly involved with this, but Bryan bought a hot dog before the show. There you go, total sensory experience.