Roger Waters has announced that he will be hitting the road this fall to perform the classic double album, The Wall onstage in its entirety for the first time since Pink Floyd performed it in 1980. (Check out the tour dates at the end of this post.)
Here are Waters' comments as to why he is revisiting The Wall.
"I recently came across this quote of mine from 22 years ago:
'What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us to understand one another better, or will they deceive us and keep us apart?'
I believe this is still a supremely relevant question and the jury is out. There is a lot of commercial clutter on the net, and a lot of propaganda, but I have a sense that just beneath the surface understanding is gaining ground. We just have to keep blogging, keep twittering, keep communicating, keep sharing ideas.
30 Years ago when I wrote The Wall I was a frightened young man. Well not that young, I was 36 years old.
It took me a long time to get over my fears. Anyway, in the intervening years it has occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss with it’s concomitant inevitable residue of ridicule, shame and punishment, provides an allegory for broader concerns.: Nationalism, racism, sexism, religion, Whatever! All these issues and ‘isms are driven by the same fears that drove my young life.
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This new production of The Wall is an attempt to draw some comparisons, to illuminate our current predicament, and is dedicated to all the innocent lost in the intervening years.
In some quarters, among the chattering classes, there exists a cynical view that human beings as a collective are incapable of developing more ‘humane’ ie, kinder, more generous, more cooperative, more empathetic relationships with one another.
I disagree.
In my view it is too early in our story to leap to such a conclusion, we are after all a very young species.
I believe we have at least a chance to aspire to something better than the dog eat dog ritual slaughter that is our current response to our institutionalized fear of each other.
I feel it is my responsibility as an artist to express my, albeit guarded, optimism, and encourage others to do the same. To quote the great man, 'You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.' "
- Roger Waters, 2010
Roger Waters
Sept. 15 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
Sept. 20 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Sept. 21 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Sept. 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Consol Energy Center
Sept. 28 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
Sept. 30 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
Oct. 5 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Oct. 8 – Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
Oct. 10 – Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
Oct. 12 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
Oct. 15 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center
Oct. 17 – Ottawa, ON @ ScotiaBank Place
Oct. 19 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Oct. 22 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
Oct. 24 – Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Oct. 26 – Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
Oct. 27 – St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
Oct. 29 – St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
Oct. 30 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
Nov. 3 – New York, NY @ Izod Center
Nov. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
Nov. 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
Nov. 13 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
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