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Wow, awesome show! The live Floyd neophytes I was with had their jaws on the floor throughout the show. One of them who wasn't actually a neophyte (having seen Floyd twice before) said they sounded better than Floyd!

We had a great crowd, and I actively talked up the group with others around me before the show and during intermission, wanting to harness their excitement for what they were about to see (or had seen already) so that the guys can continue to get bigger and bigger venues. I haven't been to the Fillmore before (formerly the Jackie Gleason Theater, where the Honeymooners was recorded all those many years ago), and it is a FANTASTIC place. Very classy inside, chandeliers, nice wood floors, and very spacious. Before the concert, it was a really nice evening out, and I lamented that it would have been great to have had the concert outdoors...but keeping it in a controlled environment was for the best, and it lets the guys not worry about what elements the day may bring (I say this after never having seen an actual Floyd concert where it DID NOT rain...).

The guys started about 5-10 minutes late (which worked out well, as some friends ran late and arrived during Breathe), with the heartbeat getting things going...slowly drifting in. The lights came down, and the Australian prism slowly drifted away on the screen. The crowd started to cheer and clap in rhythm with the beat. One thing I particularly liked was that the band used the early style Dark Side opening for "Speak To Me", with some of the noises used clearly being taken from some of Floyd's earliest Dark Side performances...stuff you don't hear on the album. That was a nice touch, especially after having seen Roger perform Dark Side twice in the last year!

One of the immediate comparisons to last year's tour was the arrangement of the band. Ian was brought from the left to the center, Jamie was moved from the right side of the stage to the left (I think for more than one reason, see below), and Jason was moved forwards. A nice layout, with the half-circle of lights being reminiscent of the Division Bell tour set.

Overall, Dark Side was performed flawlessly...the entire band just came together as one.

My two favorite parts of the performance were Great Gig in the Sky, which Ola and Amy performing flawlessly (unlike my camera's ability to capture audio in a heavy bass environment...now I know my camera's limitations!). The crowd gave a great (and very well deserved) standing ovation to Ola and Amy for their performance.

Two of the friends I was with were paying particular attention to the smaller details that the guys paid attention to, in particular when lyrics during Us and Them were supposed to echo and when they weren't. They were very very happy to see that extreme care was given with respect to the source material as they were performing it.

My other favorite part of the album and concert was Any Colour You Like, which, for me, is the most "loose" part of the album...the guys just jamming together...you can hear each one of them coming through in the performance, and enjoying it.

At the end of the set, the band received another standing ovation, and Jason announced that they needed to go get a few beers before starting the second set.

(As an aside, I talked with one of the ushers during intermission about what he thought of the show...he said when he came in and heard the bluegrass Wall playing over the PA, he was really really upset that that was what he was going to hear...but was very surprised and relieved when that turned out to NOT be the case!)

The second set began with the chords of Shine On filling the venue. It's always a classic opener...and coming off of Dark Side and then having the second set start with Shine On...it's felt almost like we were attending two separate, full concerts!

Next up, Learning to Fly, with Ian doing a spectacular job replacing Gilmour's vocals. He gets not just Dave's tone correct, but also the...quality/age sound...of Dave's voice...just perfect. If I hadn't been told, and all I had was a recording to go by, I'd swear that I was listening to Dave sing the song!

After that, Take It Back. Probably my least favorite song of the night, mostly because I really don't like the song to begin with. Too much of a U2 sound to the guitar (sorry, I'm not that much of a U2 fan...), but the guys handled the song well, and the lights timed with the music were great!

Now for a song that has been growing on me throughout the years...just appreciating it more and more each time I hear it: Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun. Once we got into the guitar solo...Jamie just rocked the house. (I watched him on the RAH DVD today, after the show...and wow...he just gets into the song...). Fantastic performance overall!

Then, a neat treat, and change of tempo...Nobody Home. Pretty much just Ian and Jason on stage, with Ian in the familiar sofa/lounge chair with the lamp next to it. The more you see the guys do individual songs from The Wall...the more and more you're convinced that they are certainly capable of pulling off the entire show!

OINK! OINK! PIGS (THREE DIFFERENT ONES)! The opening animation of the floating 'roo at Battersea (Great job, Bryan!), going into Ian's vocals...again, it was like Roger was there singing in front of you. Damian shined during the guitar solo, and did fantastic vocal work with the (egads, I'm going to get this wrong, I know!) vocoder...the guitar being fed through his mouth is what I'm getting at. Another reason I think Jamie was moved off to the left was to keep the giant inflatable pig from licking his head as he did last year. I can see why that would be a problem when performing the song.

Slowing things down a bit, we had Jamie and Damian lead the crowd in Wish You Were Here, each one of them playing wonderful acoustic guitar...always a good way to relax the crowd after a high energy version of Pigs!

New to my Floyd experience was hearing the second part of Shine On played live...other than recordings over the years, I'd never heard it performed live. Nice...relaxing...lead in to...

BUMMM BUMMMM BUMMM! Yessss! One of These Days! Damian on the steel guitar...and...SKIPPY! In all his grinning glory, hopping up and down to the beat! This song never gets old...and Damian played superbly, and Paul was just going nuts on the drums. I'm not sure how Paul lives through that song...

Suddenly, spotlights are searching the crowd...with people raising their arms up as the lights pass over them (except one of my friends, who played along and cowered in mock fear). Happiest Days of our Lives leading into Another Brick in the Wall, again with great animation projected on the backdrop...always a fun song and a crowd favorite!

Jason then took time to introduce the band to the crowd...

...before leading into Comfortably Numb. Damian's extended solo was just fantastic...and the mirror ball shining out over the crowd...just a dizzyingly incredible performance. So much so that, at the end, I turned to my friends, who at this point were..well...numb from everything they had seen, and I told them..."it's not over".

"What? THERE'S MORE?!?"

"Yes."

After a couple of minutes of the crowd cheering for more, they came back on and treated us to Hey You and finally ended with Run Like Hell. Ian, taking his cue from Roger's taunting the crowd during the original Wall concert, echoed Roger's words..."Are there any paranoids in the audience? Is there anyone here who's weak?!" Fantastic! I don't think the crowd got it as much, tho...I think in the context of a full Wall production (HINT, GUYS, HINT! YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER A FULL WALL PRODUCTION!), it would work much better. Nonetheless, I got it, and thought it was great! (I raised my hands as one of the 'weak' people...). Damian and Ian took turns alternating Rogers/Dave's vocals as they did in the Wall concert.

All in all...(another concert closer to the Wall...HINT HINT!)...a great, superb performance by the band. They just get better each time I see them, and I can't wait until their next North American tour!