Longevity Meets Innovation: Roger Waters And Phil Collins Concert Reviews

By Author: Brian McMahon
Total Articles: 1
Comment this article

Waters much anticipated latest effort, Is This the Life We Really Want?, was released earlier this year. In support of this project, Waters recently kicked off the Us + Them tour just before its release. Performing the first concert in Kansas City, Missouri, Waters provided fans with a politically-charged performance. Waters began his set with a slew of classic Pink Floyd tracks including “The Great Gig in the Sky” and “One of These Days.” One concert review notes that Waters used the concert as an excellent opportunity to preview some of the tracks off of his forthcoming album. Waters played “Smell the Roses,” “The Last Refugee,” “Smell the Roses,” and “Deja Vu,” all tracks from Is This the Life We Really Want?.

Concert reviews of Roger Waters’ performance also note the concert’s stunning visual components. The visuals became especially pointed while Waters performed “Pigs (Three Different Ones).” A concert review written in The Kansas Review described the video projections during “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” as “... a devastating piece of anti-Donald ...
... Trump propaganda. Borrowing from the lyrics, the word ‘charade’ splashed across the screens as unflattering illustrations of the commander-in-chief cycled in and out.” The concert review goes on to describe the videos projected during “Money,” noting the images of failed Trump casinos and Kremlin members. Though highly political, the concert crowd did not seem to be put off by Waters’ bold actions. But the concert review argues that Waters’ not-so-subtle antics paid off, as “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” garnered one of the largest cheers of the evening.

Phil Collins, another storied rock presence, also began a tour recently — his first in almost a decade. The “Not Dead Yet Tour” comes at the end of an almost year long effort by Collins in which he wrote a memoir, also called Not Dead Yet, as well as a massive reissue campaign. This slew of upcoming concerts marks a comeback of sorts for Collins. His last major concert appearances were in March of 2016, for a quick benefit concert in Miami, and in August, where he sang “In The Air Tonight” and “Easy Lover” at the opening ceremonies of the US Open. A concert review of Collin’s first stop on tour explains that Collins played two separate sets as well as an encore. Collins opened the concert with “Against All Odds” and concluded the evening with “Take Me Home.”

The concert featured staples of Collins’ catalogue — such as “I Don’t Care Anymore” and “Can’t Turn Back the Years” — as well are more rare selections. Collins played “Wake Up Call,” a track that he rarely performs live, as well as Genesis’ “Follow You Follow Me” and “Invisible Touch.” While offering up a wide range of tracks, Collins performed almost all of the concert sitting down. “...60 years of drumming messed up my back and hips,” Collins said of his physical condition. “I’ve had back surgery to sort it out but it’s left me with a dropped foot.” Collins son is playing drums on the concert tour.