Guest Post: Roger Water's 'The Wall' @ O2 Center, London 5-15-2011

Sunday night we saw a live performance what has been hailed as the 'Greatest Rock Show of all time' - Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' -  performed by none other than Roger Waters himself.  Now, I have been fired up for this for months - I've been known to go on periodic Pink Floyd streaks that border on obsessive, and this was essentially the first and last time this show would be performed live in its entirety for the first time in 30 years (sad-but-true fact: I started reading a 450 page book on the history of Pink Floyd to prepare for the concert.  And, yes, seeing that sentence in writing makes me feel like a a huge douchebag... Apparently I'm a Star Trek Uniform away from the Leonard Nimoy Fan Club).  Jannine on the other hand, was clearly biting the bullet because she saw how much I wanted to go.  That said, I'm not sure she was totally prepared for the spectacle she was going to witness......I think Roger managed to win her over by the end of the show....

Sidebar #1:  I'm writing I wrote this post from a Starbucks in London (on my iPad - dork status confirmed) .  I have seen a few starbucks sprinkled across Europe (airports, some in Paris, etc), however, London is approaching US level store density.  My curiosity finally got the best of me, so I had to check one out to compare and contrast vs the US (Sadly, no iced coffee, which i am dying for).  I considered going all 'in n' out burger' on them and ordering off my own 'secret menu', but the confused look I got when I asked for a 'medium coffee' made me think otherwise.  Bravo on the food selection though, and way better music - Howard Schultz take notice.  Anyway, back to the real post.....

So we hop The Tube to the O2 Center, and grab a bite to eat at Wagamama, which is basically like a Pei Wei, but healthier and more authentic.  It's t-minus 15 minutes to the show, and Jannine wants to eat. I am on the verge of having a nervous-wreck-meltdown because I think we are going to miss the start of the show.  Jannine is trying to figure out why I am so worried about missing the opening, and I try to explain that what we are going to see is more akin to a play or an opera than a concert... 'Would you miss the opening act of a play?!?!' I say, instantly realizing how ridiculous I sound (as an aside, I just ordered my Spock uniform, extra large).  Thankfully, the folks at Wagamama operate at lightening speed and we are in and out in no time (excellent spicy squid, for the record).

Enter the O2 center and I have to say, the place is outstanding.  State of the art entertainment complex with restaurants and the like, and absolutely huge.....I would guess it holds 25k or so.  At a $135 per ticket, my back of the envelope math says Roger is making a sh*tload of money this evening (ironic given what the wall is about).  Anyway, we find our seats on the floor and settle in....

Explosions at the opening of the show

For those of you unfamiliar with the Wall, it is part anti-government/anti-war/'big brother'/fascism protest, part an indemnification of pop/rock star culture, and partly a thinly- veiled story of Roger Waters' childhood and rise to fame. The record has 2 parts, that are meant to be listened to in sequence, which is how it will be played tonight.  

The show starts with Roger dressed in a military costume meant to evoke an image of a Nazi-like ceremony, and the fireworks literally start right away with a fake plane crashing into 'The Wall' and a series of impressive explosions.  

Over the course of the next hour, the wall will be built brick by brick, until it eventually separates the band and the audience completely (meant to symbolize Roger's feeling of isolation from the fans).  

Below: Great renditions of 'Another brick in the wall' and 'Mother' which were highlights the first half of the show.  This lead to the single greatest invention in rock and roll history--'the intermission'.

Another brick in the Wall

'Mother' 

Seriously, this happened

Sidebar 2:  Despite a packed house, the line for the bathroom was only about 5 minutes long, and the line for beer was non-existent.  dunno how this worked, but bravo O2 center. Second, in a country where the price of just about everything can best be described as ''exorbitantly expensive', beer and food at the O2 was surprisingly reasonably priced.  A pint was £4.5 (~$8), which is a fair deal by US concert venue standards.  Again, bravo O2!  Back to the post.

Second half of the show Features an awesome version of 'Comfortably Numb', more militaristic theater, and the spectacular falling of the wall.  The whole performance was something to behold -  a modernized version of the original, updated to reflect the wars of recent times (and even inferences that Apple is the new Big Brother corporate figure) with much more multi-media than I would guess they used in the 80s, but true to the message and the music in the end.   All-in-all awesome stuff....I'm pretty sure that is the last time any of Pink Floyd's members will do a Wall tour, so I'm pretty excited that we got to see it performed In The Flesh.....

Comfortably Numb:

The Wall Comes Down!

Next up, Cold War Kids @ Shepard's Bush Empire, London!


Jon






Here are more Pics of the 'The Wall' concert:

Start of The Show

The Wall Is Almost Complete

The Main Character 'Pink',
Projected on the Wall 

Just a Few Bricks Left....
And A Giant Green Creepy Puppet

Marching Hammers

The Completed Wall During 'Run Like Hell'

Three Days In Paris

Us at the Tour Eiffel

Bonjour!!

After eating at the Cafe Madeleine (named after an old church by our hotel), our Parisian journey started on foot walking through La Concorde and through the Jardins des Tuileries towards La Musee du Louvre (snapping pictures along the way), and continuing  along the Seine river.  Paris is great because no matter where you go, you’re surrounded by historic buildings and plenty of shops/cafes.  On one of the bridges over the Seine, we found a few things...  One was a man trying to channel aliens with his homemade ‘device’ which resembled a microphone stand with two CD’s taped to the top.  I know what you’re thinking but, I’d like to reassure you it was legit since he wrote ‘NASA’ on the base of the ‘stand’ in black magic marker... We also noticed a fence on the bridge full of locks with people’s names etc... The concept was neat so of course, we had to do it!  Now we’re forever in Paris, on the river Seine--which makes me so happy for some reason ;)

Forever on La Seine

After that, we continued down the street to find a bathroom but, instead found a Thai Massage storefront (of course Jon spotted this place from a mile away).....We had to go in and at least inquire.  I’m not much of a massage person but, Jon definitely is and since I’ve known him, he’s always said that the best massage he’s ever had was when he was in Thailand.  Walking into the store, we were greeted by a host of Thai women.  At that point, he was sold (as was I) and we decided to stay - I got a foot and leg massage and Jon got a foot and back massage. They whisked us into the back where we changed into Thai PJ gear and headed back to  a quiet serene room with individual reclining chairs.  We got our waters and felt....relaxed.  That’s when the turbine engine started. AKA: large snoring woman beside us who was apparently VERY relaxed.  She had feet like a Sasquatch and a snore like a lion's roar, but despite this distraction, nothing was going to stop us from enjoying this experience.  I must say, those Thai women really know what they are doing! I thoroughly enjoyed my massage and when Jonny finally came out from his back massage, he looked as if he had been beaten with a stick!  In all reality, he was so relaxed and happy that he looked exhausted (if that’s possible?!).  Anyway, we’ve probably talked about this experience everyday since.  He says that it was comparable to his experience in Thailand which is saying A LOT!  

After our massage, we continued down the street towards Notre Dame.  Before we make it there, we stumble across the “Great Canadian Bar” so, of course a stop was in order.  Even more so when I saw that they served Poutine! It wasn’t even close to as good as the ‘real thing’ but, it was a nice snack and reminder of my ‘home and native land’. Leaving the bar, we are still meandering when Jon starts walking faster and faster. “It’s around here, I know we’re getting closer” he says.  I have no clue what he’s talking about.  Finally he says “The last time I was here I had the best Gyro I’ve ever had in my life and  it was right around here!!” .  Sure enough, we turn the corner down this narrow street concentrated with Greek Gyro shops and he finds ‘the one’.  He orders the sandwich and I must say, I’ve had my share of Gyros but, this one looked extra good.  Sure enough, it's AMAZING!  I’m not sure if was the fries pilled on top or the meat but, whatever it was, it was so delicious!  At this point, Jon has had the best day of his life.  The only thing that would have topped it off would have been a Redsox game and a craft IPA. 

Best Gyro ever...

We get to Notre Dame and it was as breathtaking as I remember.  All the detail and grandeur of that church is just really incredible. This area is packed with busloads of tourists (of course), making even getting around the crowd to get inside the church a challenge. Finally, we get inside and I can't help but think to myself ‘they just don’t build things like this anymore’.  Snap some pics and head out for a stroll around the church. 

Kiss

To top off the day, we head back for another Gyro and sit on the terrace for some people watching.  All in all, a very action packed day full of random stops!

The next day, we grabbed lunch and walked the Champs Elisysee...(essentially full of tourist, similar to Michigan Ave. in Chicago--probably could have skipped this part).  The idea was to walk down the Champs Elisysee since it leads to the Arc de Triomph.  We got there and found out we could walk up to the top so, after a grueling 300 stairs, we made it and saw Paris from above.  Later that night we dined at ‘the Brasserie Flo’.  This was highly recommended to us by several sources. It's a bit hidden but, if you love seafood and champagne as I do, this is the place for you!  We had a nice dinner there and enjoyed the overall experience (minus the entire waitstaff and bartender getting into explosive verbal fights all night--awkward...). 

During our time here, we definitely got our fill of croissants, french onion soup, french fries (fyi--they serve fries with EVERYTHING!), and escargot for Jonny.

Aurevoir, Paris!

p.s. Here are some additional pictures from our time in Paris.

Jean (Jon)

Tour Eiffel

Me with our lock on La Seine

Notre Dame Cathedral

Guest Post: Random Parting thoughts on Danish Culture

Today  Wednesday---we left Copenhagen and Denmark, and as such, I thought I would share some of my observations on Danish culture from our brief, albeit action-packed stay.

Television:  Danish television can best be described as a ‘dog’s breakfast’ of programming.  What do I mean?  Well, lets just say that any 24 hour period on Danish TV stations can literally run the gamut of content......What follows is a real-life example of a programming lineup across a couple of stations available at a random hotel in Copenhagen.

• 9AM:  Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (a film where Jessica Simpson plays a ditzy blond movie star that enlists in the army and goes through basic training....pseudo hilarity ensues).  Yes, such a movie exists and yes, we shamefully admit to watching it.  Imagine ‘Legally Blond’ set at Fort Benning performed with the quality of acting found at a poorly executed 5th grade play.
• 9PM:  South Park.  As an aside, South Park seems to be pretty popular in Denmark.  Besides being on Danish TV, I saw several people watching on tablets/phones.  If this is where the Danes get their dose of American culture, God only knows what these people think of us.....
• Midnight: Flip on the same channel that we watched earlier in the day and what do we find?  Hardcore porn of course...  Based on the quality of the acting and empty plot, I wasn’t sure if we had stumbled upon an as-yet-unwatched scene from ‘Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous’. This however, was in fact an adult film - not in the Skin-a-Max sense, but in the all out, rented from the locked room at the back of the a shady video store sense.....go up one channel, and you guessed in....more of the same.  For those of you counting at home, that is 2 of 10 available chanels.  I can only assume there is big demand here in Denmark...I would love to see the Neilsen ratings for the 12AM hour...  

OK, so I guess the same could be said about the type of variety you would find on US TV, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to draw a connection between Jessica Simpson’s acting and porn. Cut me some slack. 

Cafe/Bar Scene:  So we got to Denmark on a Sunday afternoon, and went for a late brunch.  Everyone was out and about at the cafes, drinking wine and beer and enjoying the weather.  On Monday, we got a late start and headed out around 11 AM.  Everyone was out and about at the cafes, drinking wine and beer and enjoying the weather.  On Tuesday, we got an early start and settled in for lunch in the Christianhavn neighborhood.  Everyone was out and about at the cafes, drinking wine and beer and enjoying the weather.  The Danes either don’t work or, are allowed to have a few drinks at lunch...either way, I appreciate their style!

Late-Night Dining:  There is none.  If you want to eat after 10PM in Denmark, best of luck to you. Your options are:

1. Peanuts from the hotel fridge
2. Grab a hotdog wrapped in a baked on bun with a gelatinous sauce in the middle from 7/11.  

There is a huge business opportunity here, except for the fact that apparently tourists are the only ones that stay up past 10PM (the streets are literally empty after 10pm. Chicken or the egg argument I guess...). 

Much more to share, including restaurant service, tattoos and smoking, but, enough for now...

Until later,

Jon