Roger Waters To Take The Wall On The Road

The Wall has been previously performed live in its entirety by Waters just 31 times including Pink Floyd's 1980-81 tour in support of the album. A spectacular Roger Waters solo staging and performance of the rock opera in July 1990, celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall, drew nearly a half million fans to the Potsdamer Platz. Roger Waters' The Wall North American Tour, produced by Live Nation, will open September 15 in Toronto and runs through December 13 at the Anaheim Honda Center (please see full itinerary following).

Waters posted the following on his website to explain why he decided to tour this tour: I recently came across this quote of mine from 22 years ago: " What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us to understand one another better, or will they deceive us and keep us apart?"

I believe this is still a supremely relevant question and the jury is out. There is a lot of commercial clutter on the net, and a lot of propaganda, but I have a sense that just beneath the surface understanding is gaining ground. We just have to keep blogging, keep twittering, keep communicating, keep sharing ideas.

30 Years ago when I wrote The Wall I was a frightened young man. Well not that young, I was 36 years old.

It took me a long time to get over my fears. Anyway, in the intervening years it has occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss with it's 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.

This new production of The Wall is an attempt to draw some comparisons, to illuminate our current predicament, and is dedicated to all the innocent lost in the intervening years.

In some quarters, among the chattering classes, there exists a cynical view that human beings as a collective are incapable of developing more 'humane' ie, kinder, more generous, more cooperative, more empathetic relationships with one another.

I disagree.

In my view it is too early in our story to leap to such a conclusion, we are after all a very young species.

I believe we have at least a chance to aspire to something better than the dog eat dog ritual slaughter that is our current response to our institutionalized fear of each other.

I feel it is my responsibility as an artist to express my, albeit guarded, optimism, and encourage others to do the same. To quote the great man, " You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

- Roger Waters, 2010

September 15 Toronto Air Canada Centre
September 20 Chicago United Center
September 21 Chicago United Center
September 26 Pittsburgh Consol Energy Center
September 28 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena
September 30 Boston TD Garden

October 5 New York Madison Square Garden
October 8 Buffalo HSBC Arena
October 10 Washington DC Verizon Center
October 12 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
October 15 Hartford XL Center
October 17 Ottawa ScotiaBank Place
October 19 Montreal Bell Centre
October 22 Columbus Schottenstein Center
October 24 Detroit Palace of Auburn Hills
October 26 Omaha Qwest Center
October 27 St Paul Xcel Energy Center
October 29 St. Louis Scottrade Center
October 30 Kansas City Sprint Center

November 3 New York Izod Center
November 8 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
November 9 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
November 13 Fort Lauderdale Bank Atlantic Center
November 16 Tampa St. Pete Times Forum
November 18 Atlanta Philips Arena
November 20 Houston Toyota Center
November 21 Dallas American Airlines Center
November 23 Denver Pepsi Center
November 26 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
November 27 Phoenix US Airways Center
November 29 Los Angeles The Forum

December 6 San Jose HP Pavilion
December 10 Vancouver General Motors Place
December 11 Tacoma Tacoma Dome
December 13 Anaheim Honda Center