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Roger Waters responds to Anti-Defamation League complaints

Posted by madhack on Oct 5, 2010

A few weeks back, the Anti-Defamation League accused Roger Waters of antisemitism for his use of imagery of Stars of David and dollar signs in the videos used during The Wall Live.

Roger has responded on his site's news page:


... The point I am trying to make in the song is that the bombardment we are all subject to by conflicting religious, political, and economic ideologies only encourages us to turn against one another, and I mourn the concommitant loss of life.

In so far as The Wall has a political message it is to seek to illuminate our condition, and find new ways to encourage peace and understanding, particularly in the Middle East.

Incidentally, being from England, I had never heard of the ADL until today, but I have googled them and I see from their mission statement of 1913 that their brief is not only to defend the Jewish people from defamation, but also, and I quote, " to secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike and to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens". Perhaps we should all focus on that lofty ideal and stop cowering in our corners throwing stones at one another.


San Jose date change

Posted by madhack on Oct 1, 2010

The December 6 The Wall Live show in San Jose, California has been rescheduled to December 7. From the official announcement from the concert promoters:

Tickets for the show on December 6 will be honored on December 7. Refunds are available at point of purchase for any fans unable to attend the new date. Deadline for refunds is Friday, November 5. Live Nation apologizes for any inconvenience this may have caused.


Updated tour dates are always available on our Tour section.


Photos from "The Wall Live"

Posted by madhack on Sep 18, 2010

An Iranian-Canadian photographer has posted photos from the September 18th The Wall Live show (with more at Flickr) in Toronto. Great pics for anyone who's looking for a preview of the coming shows.


Roger on "The Wall" and the hopes for a reunion

Posted by madhack on Sep 17, 2010

As part of the media blitz for The Wall Live, an interview with Roger Waters has appeared on Gibson.com with some tidbits on The Wall's development and on a reunion.

As for the reunion, Roger doesn't think there's any chance of a tour, but seems to be holding out hope for a show here and there. That said, there aren't any indications right now that it's in the works, and he's probably quite busy for the next couple of years, but I'm sure many fans are glad to hear about any openness to a show featuring the remaining three Floydians.


A review of "The Wall" in Toronto

Posted by madhack on Sep 16, 2010

ABC has posted an AP review of the The Wall Live's kickoff in Toronto last night. Though there's no new insights from Roger himself, it's a fun preview of what's to come for those of us who won't be seeing the show for weeks or monthsso if you're looking to be surprised by the visual aspects of the performance, you'll want to skip this one.


The Wall Live kicks off

Posted by madhack on Sep 15, 2010

Today marks the start of the Roger Waters The Wall Live tour, with a show in Toronto (complete dates, as always, can be found in our Tour section). If you're going to this show (or any of them), we'd love to post your well-written reviews for all to see.

Coinciding with the start of the tour is the latest issue of Rolling Stone, featuring Roger on the cover. There's a preview on their site.


Video of the Waters/Gilmour charity gig

Posted by madhack on Aug 24, 2010

Roger's team has already gotten the word out, but I wanted to mention it here (better late than never, right?): The Hoping Foundation has a full, high-quality video of Roger's and Dave's surprise gig at their fundraiser. Click on their site to see the whole four-song set, or view the teaser below:


Gilmour's Comfortably Numb promise

Posted by madhack on Jul 14, 2010

Big news from a note on the official Facebook page for Roger Waters and the Wall Live tour: David Gilmour, while attempting to convince Roger to attempt "To Know Him Is to Love Him" at the HOPING Foundation event, has promised to play on "Comfortably Numb" at one stop of the tour. From the page:


Some weeks passed with David cajoling me from time to time, telling me how easy it would be, but I clung resolutely to my fear of failure until one day he made one final entreaty. I quote "If you do 'To Know Him Is To Love Him' for The Hoping Foundation Gig, I'll come and do 'C. Numb' on one of your Wall shows". Well! You could have knocked me down with a feather. How fucking cool! I was blown away. How could I refuse such an offer. I couldn't, there was no way. ...


Roger goes on to say that David will choose the gig, but this will clearly be an enormous event for one lucky bunch of concertgoers, and I will certainly be selfishly hoping for one of the shows I'm attending. Call it the ultimate lottery for a Floyd fan!

I'd be remiss not to mention that there are plenty of other interesting bits in the post about the charity gig, and it sounds like Roger had a good time and has enormous respect for David. Clearly, though, for fans, the promise of at least one more reunion is the big news in the post.


HOPING Foundation reunion photos and more from Polly Samson

Posted by madhack on Jul 13, 2010

From the Pink Floyd Facebook page comes a link to the official website of Polly Samson (Gilmour's wife and co-writer of parts of The Division Bell). Her photography page houses a number of photos she took of the HOPING Foundation appearance by Dave and Roger. Call me crazy, but they actually appear to be having a good time.

Also there are photos from the On An Island sessions, including what I think are some rather good shots of the late Richard Wright and some random Live 8 reunion photos sprinkled in. Very much worth a look.


Dave and Rog Reunite!

Posted by pulse on Jul 11, 2010

David Gilmour and Roger Waters reunited on stage last night to raise money for the Hoping Foundation, a charitable organization based in England that strives to raise money and awareness for improving education and living conditions of Palestinian youths. The event, organized by Bella Freud and Karma Nabulsi, took place at Kidlington in Oxfordshire, England and raised over 350,000.

They performed four songs before 200 guests, accompanied by Guy Pratt (on bass and acoustic guitar), Harry Waters (on keyboards), Andy Newmark (on drums), Chester Kamen (on guitar) and Jonjo Grisdale (also on keyboards). The songs were "To Know Him Is To Love Him," a regularly featured non-Pink Floyd tune used in sound checks way back when, followed by Pink Floyd favorites: "Wish You Were Here," "Comfortably Numb," and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two)."

Here's a picture from the rehearsal and more from the event. You can read more over at David Gilmour's page.


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