The Wall live in Manchester May 21, 2011

I'm a bit late in publishing this review and I'm sure there are better reviews out there but this one is mine and is archived here my own sake. This gig was one of the most momentous moments of my life and fully deserving of a place in my blog.

It began back in May 2010 when my brother Carl, my sister in law Anne, and I bought our tickets. A year was a long time to wait and in that time my sister in law became pregnant. I was definitely not going to miss out but I was worried for my brother (whilst also trying to be happy for him) as the twins were due one week after the gig.

A new year dawned and by April the twins were born, 8 weeks premature. This was a tough time as they were in hospital for nearly 8 weeks until they were well enough to go home but by then brother and I were conscious of the fact that the way was now clear for us to attend the gig. Sadly my sister in law couldn't attend anymore so we had a spare ticket which we set aside for my other brother Andrew who by chance was in Manchester that very weekend for his work.

Travelling to gigs has always been a big thing for us; travelling to another city to see a gig makes it so much more of an event. Manchester has always been our favourite city because of its vibrancy and the fantastic acoustics in the MEN Arena, so seeing Roger Waters there was sure to be the ultimate gig for two Pink Floyd fans.

Manchester has a wider musical history which has also impacted on our lives over the years. As we drove into the city, we put Blue Monday by New Order on. It was gloriously uplifting and as we did so we went past the Salford Lads club, as immortalised in gatefold of the The Smiths Queen is Dead album.

The gig itself started off quite subdued as they brought on the 'Pink' dummy before suddenly exploding into action with a series of fireworks for the opening track 'In The Flesh'. From then until Another Brick in the Wall (pt 2) it was very emotional and I was grinning like mad, not only because I was finally seeing Roger Waters but also because of the clarity of the songs and the power of the band. That song was a clear highlight, especially because of the school kids who were brought on to chant that anthemic chorus at the giant inflatable Teacher.

Empty Spaces, like much of the entire performance, took on added meaning and context because of the viduals that were beamed onto the wall during the course of the performance. Water's is clearly anti-war and establishment and he should be commended for this. The interlude was very poignant, with images shown on the wall of those who had lost their lives in conflicts throughout the world.

It was strange to pay £85 for a ticket that basically had no view at all of the stage at the start of the second half but that is what The Wall is all about. Comfortably Numb was majestic in the way that you would hope it would be but Run Like Hell was my personal favourite from the second half with three guitars playing. Credit must be given to David Gilmour for writing such a memorable piece of music. The Wall was torn down at the end and I was stunned at how they did it. Some of the people in the front row came really close to being hit by a brick.

That wasn't the end of the story as the next day when driving home we were so animated as we discussed the gig that we missed out turn off on the motorway and were heading in the wrong direction. We also came close to running out of petrol because we forgot to fill up after leaving Manchester so it was a nervous drive to the next filling station!