Roger Waters Kicks Off This Is Not A Drill Tour In Pittsburgh

Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters finally launched his This Is Not A Drill Tour on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Waters and his band loaded the setlist with Pink Floyd classics, solo gems and a brand new song entitled “The Bar” along with a reprise of the tune.

The 23-song concert at PPG Paints Arena was performed in the round and split into two sets. Roger’s band featured Jonathan Wilson (guitar), Robert Walter (keyboards), Jon Carin (keyboards), Joey Waronker (drums), Gus Seyffert (bass), Seamus Blake (saxophone) and Dave Kilminster (guitar) as well as backing vocalists Amanda Belair and Shanay Johnson. The tour was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic.

Roger Waters interspersed the music and production with messages about current events. Fans were warned at the top of the evening by a message over the PA and displayed on the video screens reading, “If you’re on of those ‘I love Pink Floyd, but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people you might do well to fuck off to the bar right now.”

Waters opened with an acoustic “Comfortably Numb” and looked to The Wall for “The Happiest Days Of Our Lives” along with “Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2” and “Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3.” Next came solo cuts “The Powers That Be” and “The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range” off 1987’s Radio K.A.O.S. and 1992’s Amused To Death respectively. Roger then sat at the piano and welcomed fans to the concert. He noted he wrote a couple of new songs recently and went on to debut one of them, “The Bar.” The end of last night’s first set saw Waters & Co. reel off beloved Pink Floyd favorites “Have A Cigar,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts 6 – 9)” and “Sheep.”

Last night’s second set began with “In The Flesh” and “Run Like Hell” from The Wall. Next came the evening’s only offerings from Roger’s latest studio album, 2017’s Is This The Life We Really Want?, via “Déjà Vu” and the title track. Jonathan Wilson was then showcased on lead vocals for “Money” off Pink Floyd’s iconic 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon. Waters kept the focus on Dark Side with “Us And Them,” “Any Colour You Like,” “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse.”

The complete performance of The Dark Side Of The Moon’s second side was followed by The Final Cut standout “Two Suns In The Sunset.” Roger Waters capped the tour opener with a reprise of “The Bar” and “Outside The Wall.” The This Is Not A Drill Tour continues on Friday and Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Listen to a radio broadcast featuring last night’s performances of “Have A Cigar,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Shine On Your Crazy Diamond (Parts 6 – 9)” below:

Watch fan-shot video from the tour opener here: