BY MIKE METTLER – OCTOBER 13, 2016
All in all: Roger Waters exudes for Us (and Them). Photo by 1point8.
Roger Waters will return to North America in 2017 with a pioneering new tour, Us + Them, featuring classic Pink Floyd, some new songs, and solo work – and all in live quad, to boot. The tour runs through the summer of 2017, and is promoted by AEG Live’s Concerts West. Tickets go on sale on Friday, October 21, 2016.
Roger Waters – Us + Them will tour the United States and Canada, and will showcase highlights from Waters’ groundbreaking body of work. The title is, of course, derived from “Us And Them,” from the multimillion-selling, groundbreaking 1973 Pink Floyd album, The Dark Side of the Moon.
“We are going to take a new show on the road; the content is very secret,” said Roger Waters in a press statement. “It’ll be a mixture of stuff from my long career, stuff from my years with Pink Floyd, [and] some new things. Probably 75% of it will be old material and 25% will be new, but it will be all connected by a general theme. It will be a cool show, I promise you. It’ll be spectacular, like all my shows have been.”
When I sat down with Waters in person in New York in September 2015 to discuss Roger Waters – The Wall and the surround sound release of Amused to Death for Digital Trends, I also asked him what his future tour plans might be, and here’s how that line of questioning – most of it heretofore unpublished – went:
US + US: MM and Waters after talking 4.0 and 5.1 in NYC, 09.15.15.
Mettler: Will your next tour be as big a production as The Wall was?
Waters: I don’t see myself going out into stadiums again, but I could do an arena show where it’s more controllable.
Mettler: All original music?
Waters: It would probably be an hour of new theater and music, with probably nearly an hour of old music.
Mettler: Would you do a full album sequence, as you’ve done before?
Waters: No, what I would do is interweave old songs into the new narrative. Because – and I’ve been thinking about this – if I do go out again, I’m not sure people would want me to, or I would want me to, write 2 hours of stuff nobody’s ever heard before, and then go and do it.
I completely understand people would want to hear some new stuff, particularly if it’s got context; they get that. But I’m lucky in that, because I’ve been writing so long and people recognize my style, you can put “Us and Them” in there, or “Money,” or any number of songs from The Dark Side of the Moon or Amused to Death or Wish You Were Here, like “Welcome to the Machine” – any of that stuff that people want to hear, and want to remember. It all fits, simply because it all comes from the same beating heart. The bleeding, beating heart. (smiles)
Mettler: Well, now you have your next album title right there.
Waters: Yeah! So, I could do it, and it could be great. The last time I did “Us and Them” and “Money” was for the 12.12.12 Concert for Sandy Relief, and I had Ian Ritchie playing the horn. And to do those two songs again – that was one-off, one night, and it was fantastic to hear those tenor parts played again live: “Wow, that’s really great!” They’re so easy to play. That was cool. So I know it works. [Note that this conversation took place a full year prior to Waters’ appearance at the Desert Trip Festival.]
Mettler: And since you’re the master of making all those bird noises, you can put “Grantchester Meadows” [from 1969’s Ummagumma] in there too, and really make a go of it. But you will have to do those noises yourself.
Waters: (laughs) Yeah, yeah, exactly. Or “Several Species of Small Furry Animal Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” – one of the longest song titles ever! (grins)
Roger Waters – Us + Them marks the man’s first U.S. tour run since The Wall Live (2010-2013), Waters’ sold-out world tour that was seen by more than 4 million fans globally at 219 shows and remains the highest-grossing tour by any solo artist in history.
News of the Roger Waters – Us + Them North American tour 2017 follows a triumphant headline performance on Sunday, October 9 at the Desert Trip Festival in Indio, California. Roger Waters will return to Desert Trip for a second headline appearance on the closing day of the multi-weekend festival on Sunday, October 16.
VIP package sales and Citi presale tickets for Us + Them will begin on Monday, October 17. Citi is the official credit card of the Roger Waters – Us + Them 2017 tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets for U.S. dates only beginning on Monday, October 17 at 10 a.m. local time through Citi’s Private Pass Program. For complete Citi presale details, visit www.citiprivatepass.com.
Tickets for the general public will go on sale on Friday, October 21, 2016.
For more information about purchasing tickets, please visit RogerWaters.com or aeglive.com.
Roger Waters 2017 Tour Dates
May-26 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
May-28 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
May-30 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
Jun-1 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
Jun-3 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Jun-7 San Jose, CA SAP Center at San Jose
Jun-12 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
Jun-14 Phoenix, AZ Gila River Arena
Jun-16 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
Jun-20 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center
Jun-21 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center
Jun-24 Seattle, WA Tacoma Dome
Jul-3 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Jul-6 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Jul-11 Tampa, FL Amalie Arena
Jul-13 Miami, FL AmericanAirlines Arena
Jul-16 Atlanta, GA Infinite Energy Arena
Jul-18 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
Jul-20 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
Jul-22 Chicago, IL United Center
Jul-23 Chicago, IL United Center
Jul-26 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Aug-2 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
Aug-4 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Aug-8 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Aug-9 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Sep-7 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Sep-11 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
Sep-12 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
Sep 15 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
Sep-19 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena
Sept-27 Boston, MA TD Garden
Sep-28 Boston, MA TD Garden
Oct-2 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre*
Oct-3 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre*
Oct-6 Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre*
Oct-10 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre*
Oct-16 Montreal, QC Bell Centre*
Oct-24 Edmonton, AB Rogers Place*
Oct-28 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena*
San Antonio and Winnipeg shows to be added.
*Citi Presale not in effect
