The Great Gig in Mumbai! A Review of the Roger Waters' Dark Side of the Moon Live Tour

Bracing ourselves for the biggest concert that we are going to attend was no easy job. We had to think of ways and means for sleathily sneaking in the camera, the smokes and heck, if it were totally upto me, a bottle of vodka too! Then there were the hours of sulking about not having enough dough for the tickets that will take us a whisker away from the stage…

So it’s only fair to say when the time finally came, I for one could not keep all the excitement brimming up within myself! That would explain the profanity or two that was generously imparted to that lady at the guard who frisked me first and dug my bag deep enough to find the camera, which was tucked away between several strands of newspapers! (Oh c’mon, when was the last time any of these security dudes/dudettes actually rummaged through the contents of your bag thoroughly??)……

Histrionics notwithstanding, we did NOT manage to get an enviable place close to the barricade. The barricade which served as a cruel reminder of the gap of distinction that existed between the 3K Haves and the 1K too-shorts! So after hurling a few wantedly-loud abuses at those large monsters who hogged every perceptible space between me the barricade, I wandered about in search of a strategically better position...For a while, we rested our asses sometime behind the sounds console and then finally found the best possible view near the fag end of the barricade....It was not fair, to say the very least, that not for having shelled out a mere 1 K (that 1 K wasn't that mere when the tickets were bought :P), we were being punished a wee bit too harshly! Even though the space for the 3 K-ers was half filled, there was no attempt being made to move up the barriers and so, what divided 'Us' from 'them' was some vast empty space, otherwise unimaginable in Bombay!!!!

Then, Sweeeeet Justice! It was but fitting that the golden opportunity to break out of the man-made walls that had kept us chained came when Mr. Waters took centerstage and the opening riff of 'In the Flesh' broke out! With some help, my ass was hoisted across the barricade and soon we found ourselves running across the open field to assume our rightful positions closer to the stage! What an exhilirating feeling that was! And the rest, as they say is history....

The gig itself was the single most involving, enchanting and heady piece of entertainment I have ever experienced. The show started on such a high note (even more so for us, what with the Great Escape!!) with the 'In the Flesh', before rolling into one of the oft-hhe eard Floyd tracks ever, 'Mother'.....Ours was probably the loudest voices amongst other section of the crowd, probably to the point of being annoying for some (Probably because they realized they weren't as much Floyd fans we were :P)....One of my favorite pieces, 'Set the Controls...." came next and then, even before the first fret movement took place, I knew what was to follow would be my favorite portion of the entire gig. Waters took complete command of the abridged rendition of "Shine On....." and the hair on the back on my neck was upright, when the giant Sun which had taken over the backdrop slowly tranformed itself to a picture of Syd Barrett! I don't know about the others, but at that point of time, I felt like there was nothing between me and that divine face and the song itself was like a medium of connection between me and Him. (Yes, he deserves a capital H!!)

'Have a Cigar' and 'Wish you were here' tranformed the audience into a hungry bunch of hounds, gulping down some very delectable dishes...I guess I was at screamy best especially during "By the way, which one is Pink" and '...For a lead role in a cage'! What ensued was a host of songs I have not heard much, but surprisingly they probably were the defining moments of the gig itself - Southhampton Dock, The Fletcher Memorial Home and Perfect Sense..

'Leaving Beirut', a single released by Waters in 2004, saw his anti-war campaign come out very vehemently . Waters talked about how the song was based on the hospitality shown by an Arab Family, on one of his adventurous expedition in Lebanon in 1961. The backdrop had a comic tale set-up with the story being recited with the help of caricatures, bubble-conversations and the works...The audience understandly was such a high note due to some liberal dose of Bush-bashing ( The track even has a line - 'Oh George! Oh George!That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small')...Close on the heels of this outpour came 'Animals', which had the most anticipated accompaniment - Lo and Behold! The Flying Pig! Graphittied all over with messages like 'Impeach Bush' and 'Sarva Jhati Ek Hai (In Hindi script)', the pig itself was symbolic of what an experience the gig was turning out to be - Huge, High and Fabulously entertaining!

The best part was apparently still to come - when we had a small break between the two Acts. We of course, refused to budge from our places - about three rows from the Stage. Waters had pleased our thirsty souls by coming to our side of the stage now and then...We were close enough to feel the heat when the explosions occurred on stage as part of the act and there ain't no way we were getting out of there! At this point of time, my neck was already sore, but who the heck cared! The end-to-end DSOM setlist was to follow!

When Waters started with 'Speak to me', I was brimming with all that bottled excitement! (Man, this is DSOM L.I.V.E!!!)...'Breathe' , 'On the Run' and then one of most popular sing-along Floyd tracks, 'Time'...The reprise of Breathe and The Great Gig in the Sky were obviously next, with some mind-blowingly beautiful wails by one of the back-up singers. 'Money' with that signature chimes and the opening riff gave way to one of my two most favorite DSOM tracks, 'Us and them' . The other favorite song, 'Brain Damage' came after 'Any color you like' before the end came with 'Eclipse'.

Then , there was much cliched encore dramatics....Waters and Co left the stage before coming abck again to do - 'Another Brick ', 'Vera' and 'Comfortably Numb'. By this time, we were exactly that - comfortably numb. Only surprise, this was not because of any of the common mind-numbing accessories! Yep, Numb with Delight and excitement of having been to the biggest concert yet and having seen and heard Waters - In the Flesh!

After all, the entire college phase would have been rendered meaningless if I were to take out the memories of all that Floyd playbacks - be it before while ghotting for tests, as part of Music Nites, or as general plays at the Sounds booth, during Oasis or heck! mostly during sleeping! I remember having the entire discography right from Piper to Pulse lined up back to back on my winamp and this used to play back to back throughout the day, the night, the waking hours!

Thanks, Mr. Waters for the biggest gig yet! And of course, to an umpteen million more memories!