PITTSBURGH,None — Roger Waters, the co-founder and principal songwriter of the archetypal progressive band Pink Floyd, has announced the return of the historic production of "The Wall" to North America in 2012 – including a stop at Consol Energy Center on July 3, 2012.
His aural and visual masterpiece of alienation and transformation will be performed in-its-entirety featuring a full band and state-of-the-art production. "The Wall" live has played more than 120 shows around the world for more than 1.6 million fans making it one of the most successful tours of 2010 and 2011.
Tickets ($57.75, $78.75, $104, $209) for "The Wall" 2012 in Pittsburgh go on sale Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. via Livenation.com, Ticketmaster or the venue box office.
"Thirty years ago when I wrote ‘The Wall,' I was a frightened young man," Waters said. "In the intervening years it occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss with its concomitant inevitable residue of ridicule, shame and punishment, provides an allegory for broader concerns: Nationalism, racism, sexism, religion, whatever! All these issues and ‘isms are driven by the same fears that drove my young life."
Waters' first reinvented his iconic stage production of "The Wall" in 2010 utilizing modern day technological advances and special effects which have been embraced by audiences around the globe with countless sold out performances and multiple-night stands including a record-breaking 9 sold out shows at the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "The Wall" remains one of the most influential albums in the history of recorded music with a profound effect on pop culture, resonating with multiple generations of music fans.
Prior to 2010, "The Wall" show was simply too large to contemplate a tour, but new arenas and advances in touring technology have solved that dilemma. Waters has updated the look and feel of the show to ensure it matches the astonishing theatrical extravaganza that The Wall's live incarnation became so legendary for - thus allowing yet another generation to be inspired by the grandeur of the breathtaking visual and aural spectacle. The 1980 original production of the "The Wall" had been performed live-in-its-entirety just 29 times during Pink Floyd's 1980 tour in support of the album and once in Berlin in celebration of the fall of the Berlin wall.
The Associated Press described opening night in 2010 with, "Roger Waters tore down the house Wednesday night in Toronto…He walked out to thunderous applause beginning with the first track of the seminal concept album, ‘In the Flesh', and the adulation never stopped." While during the New York stop, the New York Post declared, "When Roger Waters finished building "The Wall" in its entirety, at Madison Square Garden, it was just another brick on what was the best arena concert I've ever been to. Period."
In addition to Roger Waters (lead vocals, bass), "The Wall" live touring ensemble includes: Snowy White (Guitar), Dave Kilminster (Guitar), GE Smith (Guitar & Bass), Jon Carin (Keyboards), Harry Waters (Hammond Organ), Graham Broad (Drums), Robbie Wyckoff (Vocals), Jon Joyce, Pat Lennon, Mark Lennon and Kipp Lennon (Backing Vocals).