THE...Best...Concert...EVAH!

Yes, I know, today is a workday. I should be there, making an important mark on the lives of millions of Canadians every day. Yet here I am, at home, on a Friday afternoon, posting this because it seems like the sort of thing one would do on his day off.

My choice of music right now is a blend of classic 70's rock and 80's superstars, all bundled into one. Let's start our story in 1979. The Vietnam was over 4 years ago, the U.S. and China established full diplomatic relations ever, Three Mile Island leaked radiation, and a rock band that has been thriving for 10 years was inspired to write a visual symphony of music and effects that followed a very specific storyline. This band was Pink Floyd, and the subsequent movie "The Wall" was a success among its fans. In addition to the never-ending eye candy that is normally associated with a pharmacology-induced transic state that one experiences listening to Pink Floyd, the movie drew parallels to the atrocities of World War II, through the eyes of a fictional army dude named Pink.

Through this storyline, we see Pink slowly building a wall around himself as he has to deal with his father's death in the war. Smothered by his mother, harassed by his prostitute girlfriend, and chastised by a society that doesn't like to let little boys cry, Pink falls deeper and deeper into himself, from childhood all the way to his attempt at suicide by overdosing on pills. He is rushed to the hospital, and begins hallucinating as an attempt to externalize and explain his depression.

In these hallucinations, our hero comes to terms with some of the horrors his father probably had to deal with on the battlefield. In addition to seeing the rise of the Third Reich in Germany (portrayed by a symbol that resembles the communist-type hammer and sickle normally associated with one of the most perverse characters of human history), we also see that Pink is slowly coming to terms with himself, and puts himself on trial to decide whether he should take the final step into insanity. In the end, we see that our hero has made the right choice, smashing the wall that surrounds him into pieces.

Fast-forward to 1989. That year, the Berlin wall, one of the most defining cold war symbols of our time, came crashing down in a euphoria of lights and sound. Surely, everyone in my generation can remember the timeless pictures of young German students taking hammers and picks hammering at a white wall, which had essentially imprisoning them for countless years. With the destruction of the Berlin Wall came freedom, and with freedom came Democracy.

What better way to honor this momentous occasion, then to let Pink Floyd hold their 10-year anniversary concert tour of "The Wall" at Potsdamer Platz. This large courtyard sat between the two walls which divided the city, and when the Berlin Wall finally came down, Pink Floyd had the honour to be the first band of the Free World to perform a live concert in front of thousands of celebrating Germans.

After all, one can easily see the similarities between the movie and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall: the war, the wall itself, the struggles within the wall to break free, fear of the outside world, and I can go on.

We see The Scorpions start the concert with a bang, performing their version of "In The Flesh". Let's not forget that it was them that wrote and performed the song "Wind of Change", which represented very well the international socio-economical climate of the time.

"The Thin Ice" was performed by Ute Lemper, along with Roger Waters.

Next came "Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. 1)", with the amazing talents of saxophonist great Garth Hudson turning the melody of the song into an explosion of raw talent, slowly playing each note as if Pink himself was singing.

After a group version of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives", Cyndi Lauper performs with a voice that has the perfect pitch to one of the most popular classic rock songs ever, "Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. 2)".

I was not surprised at all to see "Mother" performed by Sinead O'Connor. It made sense, after all: Sinead was always on the forefront of protests in support of capitalism and the fall of Communism, and she was, after all, a great feminist of her time.

But I was surprised to see Joni Mitchell perform "Goodbye Blue Sky". At first, the voice did not seem to fit with the melodramatic tone of the song. But as Joni sang the song like nobody else can, I realized I was wrong - she sang it on tune, on beat, and made the song seem real by adding her own spin on it.

I have never been a big fan of Bryan Adams (my sister was more into his music than I was), but boy, can that canuck sing! His rasp voice tore the very fabric of "Empty Spaces" and "Young Lust" apart, and thrust them into an unforgettable rousing chorus.

For the next 20 minutes, the fabulous Rundfunk Orchestra and Choir accompanies Pink Floyd in a triumphant sound of trumpets, Bass drums, violins, string guitars, and background voices. From "One of my Turns" to "Vera", the orchestra makes you forget you are watching a concert, immersing you into the story line.

The best song on this album, in my opinion, has to be "Comfortably Numb", performed by none other than Van Morrison. This was a perfect fit, to have such a fantastic musician to perform what may be Pink Floyd's best commercial success. Roger Waters and Van Morrison make it sound like they were made to play the song.

The theatrics were amazing! In addition to a "real" white wall being built around the stage, the show was dominated by lights, special effects, banners, blow-up animals, hundreds of people dressed up in Third Reich uniforms, some carrying banners, others walking in a single file on stage, with Pink Floyd rocking the audience from the stage, from a balcony, behind the wall, in front of the wall. During the encore performance of "In the Flesh", "Run Like Hell", and "Waiting for the Worms", Floyd-ish cartoons dominate the now 20-foot wall, giving audiences eye candy, making them think they may have taken too much acid.

In conclusion, this was...THE...Best...Concert...EVAH! It's too bad I was too young to be able to experience this fantastic event. Oh well, I guess, I'll have to settle on our local tribute band, Comfortably Numb. But until they come here, I'll be content onwatching The Wall over and over again.