Liverpool sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The arena show is one where the Rock gig transforms into the spectacular, and if done with a sense of thought can be the point where an audiences’ eyes are collectively opened. Whilst a performance in a smaller venue will always feel intimate, an experience that is captured in the close up and detail, the arena show delves into the psyche as one might feel if they were so inclined to look upon as comparable to the preacher engaging with the masses, every nuance and word delivered greeted with a cry of hallelujah and amen.
Some shows though offer a more complex arrangement, one that expands upon the detail and makes you feel as if you are the one being directly spoken to, not being preached upon but the imploring nature of belief in the neighbour from across distant lands, the fate of all rather than just someone’s selfish greed, and whether you like Pink Floyd, regardless of your thoughts on Roger Waters, there is no doubt that he can command an audience in a way that so few others could muster.
For anyone who caught the Us and Them tour as it rolled across Europe in 2018, it arguably became a moment of joy fused with anger, bitterness with polished elation of spirit; on a par with the immense reworking and modern day creation of The Wall live a few short years before, Us and Them was, and remains arguably Roger Water’s defining period since he left Pink Floyd.
The issue with arena shows, is that the spectacular and wide engagement means that for the most part the audience is not able to see the intimate detail, the view is skewed, there is no place like the front row, and for those unable to venture into that particular bear pit, all you are left with is the sideshow offered by the preacher, you join in with the hallelujah, you receive the blessing of the amen but the sermon as a whole just passes you by.
The cinematic release of a gig offers a greater in depth view for the audience, and whilst nothing can replicate the live performance, what it maintains is the chance to relive the scene and to notice, perhaps for the very first time, those nuances and actions which the performer intended. Roger Waters’ film version of Us and Them matches the desire and then adds further context to the songs in a way that catches the spectre of the world’s apathy to the suffering of the displaced, of the refugee that has lost their home thanks to the actions of Governments and despots in suits.
Nothing can replace the live experience, however as songs such as Dogs, Pigs, One Of These Days, Welcome To The Machine, Picture That, The Last Refuge, Money and of course Us and Them, what comes across is the absolute relevancy of the music to the sheer and systematic breakdown of the beautiful ideal we believed, that we hoped would come, that instead we have dug ourselves deeper into the abyss that comes with control, with dystopia and with hatred in our hearts.
Directed by Sean Evans and Roger Waters and with a band consisting of Jon Carin, Dave Kilminster, Bo Koster, Ian Ritchie, Gus Seyffert, Joey Waronker, Jonathan Wilson and Roger Waters and Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe on backing vocals and percussion, Us and Them is a reminder of the power of the progressive mind that exists and the fight we all must maintain to see balance restored in a world hell bent on being destroyed by, as Roger Waters says with fire, fury and elegance, the Pigs in charge. Hard hitting and thoughtful, a concert that lives long in the memory.
Ian D. Hall