Archive
IN PRAISE OF THE DARKSIDE
August 2008
Roger Waters' tour comes to an end after two mammoth years on the road.
I recently did a very rare thing by going to see a show, not with the intention of documenting the production team’s heroics, but simply to enjoy an evening of entertainment at the kind invitation of one Mr. Andrew Zweck. A lig, you might say.It wasn’t just any entertainment, mind you... we are talking about a live performance of one of the greatest albums of all-time — Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon — performed by its principal writer, Roger Waters, at the O2 Arena in London.
It was around two years ago that Waters’ Dark Side tour sprang into life, and I witnessed an early version of the show in Hyde Park that summer, 12 months after the miraculous Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8.
This time, however, the music and cues had been honed to perfection, and the experience was nothing short of bliss. In the safe hands of Trip Khalaf (also Waters’ tour manager and Queen’s engineer), the 360° i-4 system provided by Clair Brothers sounded like no other line array I’ve ever heard, but, as they say, success in audioland is often down to the source material, and this was an amazing line-up of musicians.
Featuring Jon Carin, Snowy White, Dave Kilminster, Graham Broad, and singer P.P. Arnold amongst the line-up, the band delivered a soulful and astonishingly accurate reading of the classic 1973 album and other gems from the Waters/Floyd canon.
The iconic pig made its traditional appearance along with a giant inflatable astronaut, but arguably the most impressive visual ‘gag’ was a Dark Side prism constructed from LED elements and a laser system from Lightwave International that fired a full spectrum beam... just like the famous album cover.
This was one of several ideas imported by lighting guru Marc Brickman, who came onboard to make enhancements to Jonathan Park’s original show design. Also contributing to the production were PRG and XL Video, who provided full video kit and editing facilities for the truly stunning content.
The O2 shows were followed only by one further gig, in St. Petersburg on June 6, before the two-year tour came to an end.
The tour’s agent, Sensible Events’ Andrew Zweck, recalled some of the highlights. He said: “We played absolutely everywhere — the U.S., Australia, China, India, Russia, and South America, you name it, and had some huge sellers, such as 55,000 at the Peace Village in Israel, and 100,000 in Buenos Aires’ River Plate Stadium where the audience was so hardcore!
“My overall favourites, however, were the four nights at the Hollywood Bowl, probably my favourite venue in the world.
“The enthusiasm from people everywhere for the show and for the songs made everyone proud to be associated with the tour. There was such a positive spirit and atmosphere throughout the whole team which, of course, comes down from Roger himself. It was a very satisfying and fulfilling project.”
Mark Cunningham
TPi
Crew photo courtesy of Sensible Events
Show photography by
George Dodworth & Mark Cunningham
The Roger Waters tour entourage... and their porky friend.Back Row: Michael Dunwoody, Nick Fry, Dave Hall, Myles Hale, Bob Weibel, Mark ‘Kahuna’ Candelario, Ross Colledge, Clarke Anderson and The Spaceman.
Front Row: Graham Broad, Eddy Butler, Colin Lyon, Robin Fox, Tim Myer, Dave Kilminster, Michael Zweck, Snowy White, Mark Grega, Colin Barton, Chris Kansy, Carol Kenyon, Steve Arch, PP Arnold, Mark Risk,
Andy Fairweather-Low, Nick Mason, Roger Waters,
Katie Kissoon, Bob Rice, Aimee Moreault, Jon Carin, Harry Waters, Rob Simenoux, Ian Ritche, Al Domanski, Don Baker, Sharon Ashley, Rob Maloney, Marc Brickman, Dave Brierley, Icarus Wilson-Wright, Steve Walker,
Dave Rowe, Andrew Zweck, Darrell Ives,
Sean Jacobs, Jason Ramer and Trip Khalaf.
