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Earl's Court
As everyone knows, the first show of this venue was a disaster but all were extremely grateful that no one suffered any life threatening injury. It was a terribly upsetting experience for the band, especially for Mr. Gilmour, as his main concern was for the fans who were involved in the seating collapse.
The previous shows before the one of the 20th, were ones of technical iron-outs for the most part, but voices were another matter. Mr. Gilmour's was strained to the limit, and while honey and tea helped somewhat, the wear and tear could still be heard. We thought he did a fine job of it regardless. :)
We had been to other EC shows but knew this night was special because of the fact that 25 cameras would be "watching" the show from every angle and broadcasting live to many parts of Europe and recording all for the P*U*L*S*E video.
My mate and I arrived at Earl's Court about 30 minutes before Pink Floyd took the stage. We checked backstage real quick and found that everyone was really nervous. We had not requested seating for this show so we headed for the mixer. As always, we found ourselves pleasantly amazed with the fans there. The British sometimes are knocked for their "proper" behavior, but it has always been a welcome one for us especially when you want to actually hear and enjoy the music you've come for. It was always easy to spot the Americans in the audience, btw.
And while alcohol was served in Earl's Court as in American venues, the differences were astounding in how people handled themselves. I will have to admit however, that there were a few times that my mate and I got carried away and in good old fashioned US of A style, shouted out some endearments to Pink Floyd while they performed. :)
People there actually "listen" to the music. They do not spend the entire time talking amongst themselves or spilling beer all over their fellow fans....as we've noticed in every single American venue we have attended except New Orleans. Although present there, the rowdiness was at a minimum because the crowd seemed to be mesmerized.
The mixer at EC was arranged without the 3 tier setup they had used in the US. There was still alot of electronic equipment and computers everywhere and lights mounted around the mixer. There were cameras and equipment to do with the videotaping also. In front of the stage were two cameras mounted on remote control booms. I was told that additional lights and lasers had been added to insure that this night would be extra special. Earl's Court is a small venue and the stage looked huge. I found out that it barely fit into the building when they set it up. Pink Floyd banners were hanging from the roof and the feeling of anticipation was in the air.
The first several songs went very well, even though they were nervous with all those cameras present, and David's voice was cracking here and there pretty good. During OOTD he slipped away, under the stage, and took some honey to try to relieve his throat. It helped a little, and his voice did improve for the rest of the show.
During LTF lights on the sides of the mixer and at the top of the speaker towers were switched on and they scanned all over the building..the effect was wonderful combined with the lasers. Quickly following Dave's backlit wave to the crowd, lights swung down onto the stage and were blatantly late...the timing was really off and David noticed it. I was watching him closely then and he was not happy about that little goof.
The 3 lightning strike strobes were incredibly intense at the end of Tim's solo also....I love those strobes! The additional lights and lasers for this show were quite impressive, and we wish Pink Floyd had done this for all the shows of their tour.
At the start of ABITW2 the helicopter sound was fantastic, and it seemed to us that there really was a helicopter coming down from above! On the backdrop behind the band the word ENIGMA appeared with lots of math formulas. This I realized was additional proof that the Publius Enigma was genuine.The additional lasers were very evident at the start of this song, and it was the first song that brought the normally subdued EC audience to its feet, if I remember correctly.
Another impressive piece of drama was when the plane crashed at the end of OTR...from where we were, we couldn't see the plane at all after it exploded in that huge fireball...it was like it really did blow up and disappear!
The balance of DSoTM was as expected....great :) and, in this writer's humble opinion, even better than it was so many years ago...a jewel in the crown of the only band that counts. David then thanked his old "cohort" Roger for the great words that he had the privilege to sing.
An interesting side note: At one point during the EC concerts, when Roger was in the audience, David invited him on stage to perform, and Roger refused and left.
During WYWH, at one point you could hear a pin drop, the crowd was so quiet. Later, they joined in singing along with the band. During CN, as Mr. Screen hovered above the band, the mirror ball was lowered from the roof where it had been hidden by black cloth. During Dave's solo, 14 Gladiator spots and 12 powerful lights around the mixer, hit the ball from every angle. No one in EC was untouched by this effect.
And when the ball began to open, Dave took us into the "strat"osphere with him for a few magic moments. I literally watched him enter another dimension. As CN concluded the crowd leapt to their feet and the cheering was deafening. It sounded like we were back in a US stadium with 80,000 people.
During the intro to RLH, one of the guys in the mixer said to the others "get ready to give it all". And they certainly did! There were lights everywhere...above, behind, at the sides, in front, in back, and at one point I even thought they were coming up from the floor. As they built to a finale, with smoke, flame and light everywhere, the stage became so bright that it was like looking directly into the sun. The intensity of it cut into every heart and soul inside Earl's Court that night.
And then.............they were gone!
As we made our way from the mixer, the fans fell quiet again, but in a different way. Somehow they knew we had all experienced something very special, and it was evident on their faces. I'll never forget it.
Sandy`
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