Roger Waters, Jun 25, 2000 (San Francisco, CA)

by Mike Markley

Once again, an awesome performance from Roger and the crew. This is the fourth time I've seen them on "In the Flesh" and I'm still nowhere near tired of it.

There were slight changes to the setlist from last year - "The Powers That Be" was dropped, "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" and "The Bravery of Being Out of Range" were added, and "Each Small Candle" became a permanent fixture on this tour as well.

Roger seems much better with the crowd now than he did on the second show of the 1999 leg, in Chicago, IL. The music was executed with the flawlessness I've come to expect from this great band that Rog has put together. The wall set was enjoyable, despite the certain weariness that comes from a bit too much of something - between the 3 other shows, the couple of Floyd concert videos, and the new live Wall there's been a lot of live Wall stuff lately. The liquid projection during "Shine On" continues to seem real; it's been different everytime I've seen it. "Set the Controls" was awesome, and the Dark Side of the Moon set certainly left little to be desired and the crowd naturally loved the aerial view of San Francisco.

But as with the previous shows, the band really began to shine when it came time for Roger's solo works. As before, "Perfect Sense" (parts 1 and 2) built up to a roaring climax with maximum crowd involvement. "The Bravery of Being Out of Range" was beautifully executed, and "It's a Miracle" and "Amused to Death" were nothing short of moving.

The second set ended with "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" - I had seats on the grass as the Shoreline Ampitheatre, and everyone there had to cheer at the "lunatic(s) on the grass" lyrics. Roger didn't even bother with the formality of leaving the stage before Comfortably Numb; they took their bows and went right back to their instruments, yet again wowing us.

Roger did make us work for the real encore, though. After some cheering and a finger or two burnt by lighter mishaps, the band returned to the stage where Rog told the now-familiar story of how "Each Small Candle" came to be. The song was amazing, and sounded much more fleshed-out than the Kansas City version I'd heard; I'm even told that it varied among the back-to-back LA shows and the Irvine show the night before this one. I've heard some people complain that displaying the lyrics on the projector during the song seems a little self-indulgent or egotistical; I've also heard whining that the show ended on such a "low" note. To each their own, I suppose. I can speak only for myself, and I was moved by the song.

As usual, the show was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. I only wish I had the chance to see more shows on this tour; hopefully, however, another tour will follow not too long after the release of the new album. Until then, I'll just keep hoping.