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Very good  ;D

They did 'a bunch of Floyd' and something about a Wall.

Haaaaaaaaa.......... good review Tim!

Don't you go over doing things will you great gig.
      Go and have a sit down and a bit of a rest. It must really have been an awful strain writting such a long and action packed review
    For the benefit of our friends in America the paragraph above is a prime example of English sarcasm. 

Lol . . . .  and well understood too bigdog, just as I am sure you understood the subtleties of what has prompted such a response 

Ha ha, sarcasm is one thing but stating the blindingly obvious is something else !

A bit late with this - had to get Charley back home to Dorset yesterday, so it was a busy weekend

Like gerald_mouse, this was my first APFS since last summer at Ipswich. 9 months is too long without a 'fix'. The wait was well rewarded however. I'd read other peoples reviews, spoken to a few friends who'd seen the show, so I knew what to expect. Thing is - it wasn't like that. This show is so good and I enjoyed it very much indeed. It exceeded my expectations by some distance, even allowing for the fact that we have become used to the aussies raising their own standards year on year.

I think, as much as anything, my enjoyment was heightened because this show is so different from anything else I've seen the aussies perform. More a musical? theatrical production? I'm not sure of the best words to use. The movement around the stage as the story was acted out, seeing the girls taking a more high profile role, the changes of costume, all made such a difference. And naturally, I felt that Amy's invitation to a bath was a personal one just for me ;D. Ian seems to throw himself into his role with great enthusiasm - I wonder how demanding it is physically? I thought Carl's appearance in mortar board and gown was poetic. I discovered through speaking to him after the show that in a former life he was head of music in a school ;D. And the visuals - just amazing. Those responsible take a bow. For this show it was the correct decision to sacrifice the circular screen, the lighting arch, the lights across the front of stage etc. The rectangular backdrop is exactly what The Wall requires and it fully does it justice.

As for the venue, The Brighton Centre is principally a conference facility. It is very wide, thus there are fairly extensive areas at floor level either side of the stage which meant that we enjoyed inflatables on both sides. The pig with the tusks first and then Skippy and the pig with the nose ring later during One Of These Days. Unless he's had a severe makeover, we appear to have a new Skippy on this tour. The sound was just fine for my 60 year old ears - credit again to the talent of Gareth. Knowing that The Wall would be best appreciated from some way back from the stage we opted to book seats in the first raised row of the terrace behind the 'flat' front stalls. This was a good choice - we could see all that was happening on stage and we had a clear view over the heads of those in front, which was important for Charley.

So, to sum up. Someone asked me after the show "how did it compare to previous APF shows". My reply was that I couldn't make a comparison, it was so different. I said with all honesty that I have always enjoyed whatever the band have deemed to perform. Sure, like all of us, I've got my favourite songs, but I trust the band to do the right thing and after seeing them over a period of some 10 years they've never let me down yet, and neither do I expect them to in the future. As others have commented, The Wall has never been my favourite album either. However, having been at the performance on Saturday I now see this album in a new light. A phenomenal amount of work must have gone into staging it and I applaud all those involved.

I'm looking forward to Bournemouth tomorrow night. See you in the bar beforehand Tim!