re: Roger Waters check-in

Can we talk about how awesome the female vocalists were? I got chills during "The Great Gig in the Sky." And they were on point the whole night.

Good call, some good posts in there. I had completely forgotten that Waters is an actual anti-Semite, and has also gotten blowback from Apartheid victims on some ridiculous statements he has made. Looking forward to the upcoming documentary on his apoplectic bigotry with the likes of noted redneck broflake Alan Dershowitz.

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Can we talk about how awesome the female vocalists were? I got chills during "The Great Gig in the Sky." And they were on point the whole night.

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Yes, they were fantastic. I am almost positive I've seen one of those girls with another band. Did RW happen to say with whom? My wife thought he did but couldn't understand him.

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It was the way in which he chose to do it that was tasteless.

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That's who RW is; it's who he has always been. Whether it be in PF or solo, he has always been a "frick you" to those he dislikes. "fricked up old hag" in Pigs (three different ones) is a classless dig at Margaret Thatcher, so expecting him to show class regarding Trump is folly. I knew what this show would be the moment it was announced, and that's why I chose not to go. I don't get the anger at what he did. If you don't like it, don't go. It's that simple.

PROs:
- The audio was amazing. I didn't know it was possible to get that level of audio quality in an arena. Kudos to them for that alone.

- Visual - I would expect no less.

- Set list and performance. The two chicks and Gilmour clone did a great job.

Cons:
-The political crap. I knew it was coming. It certainly came across as unnecessarily crass and juvenile. The thing that struck me was the palpable anger you could see on his face during some of those lyrics during pigs. He just looked like a very bitter old man at those points. Typical liberal in that regard.

- The hypocrisy of criticizing Trump for greed while shilling your wears to unbelievable wealth.

- The hypocrisy of the Islamophobia claims while expressing your opinions in a manner that could never be done in an Islamic country.


That said, at least he kept his nonsense largely to visuals. No angry tirades on the mic or anything. Just some subtle lyric changes and visuals.

It was certainly the loudest show I've ever heard in the arena. One Of These Days made the building shake.

Haha I've never realized how much Johnathan Wilson looks like Gilmour til Saturday night. He and the Lucius girls are great in that band.

He definitely was. That whole pig routine on stage was kind of odd actually.

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An open letter from Roger Waters
August 1, 2013 at 10:35am
There has been some comment on the Internet about the Wall Show in Belgium to which I feel I should respond.

One Alon Onfus Asif, an Israeli living in Belgium, came to The Wall show in Belgium last week and being an observant sort of chap Alon noticed a Star of David on the Pig that is destroyed by the audience at the end of the show. Then Alon dutifully videoed our Pig on his phone, posted this video, and alerted Israeli Daily, Yediot Ahronot. This story was duly picked up by the ever watchful Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the entirely predictable resulting rant is attached here:

LINK /.

Often I can ignore these attacks but Rabbi Cooper’s accusations, are so wild and bigoted they demand a response.

Dear Rabbi Cooper,

I hold your outburst to be inflammatory and un-helpful and would suggest it can only impede progress towards peace and understanding between people. It is also extremely insulting to me personally in that you accuse me of being ‘Anti Semitic’, ‘A Jew Hater’ and ‘Nazi Sympathizer’

I have three specific points to make:

1). Your use of the adjective “ANTI-SEMITIC”.

First I direct you to an announcement by ‘The Anti Defamation League’ an American organization, who’s declared aim is to defend Jewish people and Judaism from attack. They recently said.

“While we wish that Mr. Waters would have avoided using the Star of David, we believe there is no anti-Semitic intent here.”

I should point out that in the show, I also use the Crucifix, the Crescent and Star, the Hammer and Sickle, the Shell Oil Logo and The McDonald’s Sign, a Dollar Sign and a Mercedes sign.


2). JEW-HATING? I have many very close Jewish friends, one of whom, interestingly enough, is the nephew of the late Simon Wiesenthal. I am proud of that association; Simon Wiesenthal was a great man. Also I have two grandsons who, I love more than life itself, their Mother, my daughter in law, is Jewish and so, in consequence, I’m told, are they.

3). NAZI? Not only did my father, 2nd Lieutenant Eric Fletcher Waters, die in Italy on February 18th 1944 fighting the Nazis, but I was brought up in post war England where I received the most thorough education on the subject of Nazism and where I was spared no horrific detail of the heinous crimes committed in the name of that most foul ideology. I remember my mother’s friends Claudette and Maria, I remember their tattoos, they where survivors, two of the lucky ones.

My Mother spent the whole of the rest of her life, involved politically to make sure the future for her children and grandchildren, in fact for everyone’s children and grandchildren, black, white, Gentile, Jew, Latino, Asian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, et al, had no Sword of Damocles in the form of the despised Nazi Creed hanging over their heads.

I for my part, as best I can, have continued along my parent’s path. At the age of nearly 70, in the spirit of my Father and Mother and all they did, I have stood my ground, as best I can, in defense of Mistress Liberty.

The Wall Show, so lamely attacked by you, is many things. It is thoughtful, life affirming, ecumenical, humane, loving, anti war, anti colonial, pro universal access to the law, pro liberty, pro collaboration, pro dialogue, pro peace, anti authoritarian, anti fascist, anti apartheid, anti dogma, international in spirit, musical and satirical.

It is not.

ANTI-SEMITIC or PRO NAZI

I have often come under attack by the pro Israel lobby because of my support for BDS, (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) which I won't go into here, anyone interested can access a speech I made at The United Nations on the 29th November last year.

However I will say this, in a functioning theocracy it is almost inevitable that the symbol of the religion becomes confused with the symbol of the state, in this case the State of Israel, a state that operates Apartheid both within its own borders and also in the territories it has occupied and colonized since 1967.

Like it or not, the Star of David represents Israel and its policies and is legitimately subject to any and all forms of non violent protest. To peacefully protest against Israel’s racist domestic and foreign policies is NOT ANTI-SEMITIC. Your contention that because I criticize the Policies of the Israeli government I should be lumped in with the Muslim Brotherhood is risible, and again a personal affront. I have spent my whole adult life advocating separation of church and state.

At every Wall Show I invite 20 vets from whatever country we are in backstage at half time to meet, exchange handshakes and good wishes and mementos. At one show, a year or so ago, an older vet, Vietnam era, at a guess, blocked my exit, he put out his hand which I took, he did not let go, he looked me in the eyes and he said " Your Father would be proud of you."

Tears burn my eyes.

The Wall is reaching out to you and all the other Rabbi Cooper’s out there.

Come to the show!

Love

Roger

P.S.

For the sake of some perspective. The inflatable pig that so offended young Alon has appeared at every Wall Show since September 2010, some 193 shows, yours is the first complaint. Also the pig in question represents evil, and more specifically the evil of errant government. We make a gift of this symbol of repression to the audience at the end of every show and the people always do the right thing. They destroy it.

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The question of whether he's ill-informed or not is certainly up for debate, but I don't get the vibe that he's a textbook anti-Semite...

Maybe he feels, politics and religion be damned, that the citizens themselves are more "compliant" with the status quo over there vs. the citizens elsewhere? I don't know, I'm just spitballing b/c I do agree that there's probably more to it...

In any case, I'm seeing him Sunday night...

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Roger Waters

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Can go frick himself with a red hot poker.....twice