Review: Roger Waters, This is Not a Drill
Pink Floyd is one of the bands that has been most formative for my own musical tastes and remains one of my favorites. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the David Gilmour led Pink Floyd twice back when they toured in the 80s and 90s and Roger Waters (Floyd’s former bassist and vocalist) now for the third time. Waters, always the most politically minded of the Floyd members, has been stirring things up once again with his This is Not a Drill tour. I recently took it in in Orlando and figured it was worth a review. There are two aspects worth looking at…first the music but also Waters’ political messaging.
The Music
First, a bit on the music. Waters’ concerts have always been both musically and visually stunning. Visually, This is not a Drill delivers, with an odd quadrant style stage and theater in the round setup. Lasers and such were few, but the audience was delighted with flying sheep and pigs, and visuals projected onto the quadrant screen.
Musically, Waters delivered best when diving into Floyd classics including a haunting organ and vocals version of Comfortably Numb (minus the soaring guitar solos) and Run Like Hell. Truly satisfying were deep dives into neglected Floyd tunes such as the second half of Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Sheep, and Have a Cigar.
