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By Dave Miller

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When Pink Floyd released The Wall, they played the double album live in just two American cities, New York and Los Angeles, in 1980. Thirty years later, Roger Waters is giving the rock opera another hearing. And why not? The album has sold more than 23 million copies and only a tiny fraction of the people who bought it ever had a chance to see The Wall performed live. Now the many Pink Floyd fans who missed out on the performances of the classic album the first time can finally see one. It’s not the band playing the album now, but Waters playing it is the next best thing. The album was his concept and he wrote most of its songs.

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Waters may be 67 now, but the gray-haired bassist wears his age well. The same can be said of The Wall thanks in part to its timeless theme of isolation. Waters successfully pulls off bringing the story into the 21st century by updating it, adding a world view to his personal one. Images of wars and their victims play a prominent role in the show in addition to the animation from The Wall movie. Additionally, sounds of bombers and helicopters surrounded fans in the arena. Phrases such as “Trust Us,” “Everything Will Be OK, Just Keep Consuming” and “You Better Run” were projected in Big Brother fashion.

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Thursday’s show at the United Center, the third of four sold-out nights at the venue, contained nearly two hours of music divided into two acts with a half hour intermission. The first act sees the wall built with the last brick sealing off the band from the crowd during the closing “Goodbye Cruel World.”  The second act started with the band playing behind the wall on “Hey You” and “Is There Anybody Out There?” It was mentally jarring to be in a packed arena listening to musicians that couldn't be seen, which drove home the barrier between performer and audience. Some people continued to stand. Others sat. The wall slowly deconstructed before it toppled in a big finish.

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The massive wall was the star of the show. It stretched along a baseline of the arena and high into the seats from one end to the other. The wall, even while it was being built, served as a video screen. What I can’t understand is how the video was projected on the bricks, which I read are made of collapsible cardboard. Each time a new brick was laid, it became part of the screen. Unlike LED screens at other concerts, this one collapsed at the end. I can’t figure out how the wall was hi-tech enough to serve as a video screen yet versatile enough to collapse in a heap at show’s end. In any case, the wall was a spectacular visual.

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The iconic music held its own against the massive marvel. Highlights included “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2,” “Mother,” “Is There Anybody Out There?” “Comfortably Numb” and “Run Like Hell.” Giant puppets of the teacher, mother and wife characters looked like they stepped straight out of the animation of the movie. On “Mother,” after Waters sang “Mother, do you think I should trust the government?” the screen answered “No fucking way” to angry cheers. The Pink Floyd flying pig made an appearance, looking like an overfed Benny the Bull that flies in the venue during NBA games.

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When the wall collapsed, Waters and his large group of musicians that included guitarist G.E. Smith walked in front of the wreckage and played as a rag-tag street band on the closing “Outside the Wall.”

Sure, you can argue the album is bloated, but so much of it is classic. You have to admire how Waters took his concept and ran with it to rock excess, commenting on the effects of it in the process. The show is a triumph. This version of The Wall has been compared repeatedly to a Broadway show, especially with its top ticket price of $250, but I’m sure nothing on Broadway compares to it. Music fans are voting with their wallets. In a bad economy where many tours are struggling with some being cancelled altogether, Waters is filling the United Center for four nights. The final show is tonight. If you like The Wall, I recommend doing everything you can to be there. You'll witness rock-and-roll history.     

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The setlist:

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In the Flesh?
The Thin Ice
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2
Mother
Goodbye Blue Sky
What Shall We Do Now?
Back to the Wall
Young Lust
One of My Turns
Don't Leave Me Now
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3
The Last Few Bricks
Goodbye Cruel World
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Hey You
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nobody Home
Vera
Bring the Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb
The Show Must Go On
In the Flesh
Run Like Hell
Waiting for the Worms
Stop
The Trial
Outside the Wall

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Start: 8:15 p.m./Finish: 10:35 p.m. (includes 30-minute intermission)
Totals: 28 songs, one hour and 50 minutes of music

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