Roger Waters – Target Center – Minneapolis MN – July 30th 2022

Target Center presents Roger Waters This is not a Drill Tour.

Review and photos by Kyle Hansen

After a 2 year wait the Roger Waters This is not a Drill is finally here at the Target Center. Now with a Roger Waters show you know what you are gonna get. Pink Floyd and solo songs, politics, an amazing stage show and one hell of a night. I am gonna break it down into those parts of the evening.

First I will bring up the stage show. Every time I have seen him it is amazing stage show. This time it was in the round. The stage went all along the center of the floor with the band in the center. It also has a massive screen that matches it above. It started with the screen on the stage and after the first tune it rose so you could see the band in the center. Roger used all the walkways to be in a different spot for each song. The screen on top is massive. With each song it is different expressing political views, really trippy images and a bunch of Pink Floyd images. It all depends on what song is playing. He and Floyd have always had a use of screens. Going all the way back to the 60’s when it was just oil and water through a lens to create trippy weird images. The Wall portion is still the best. The inflatable pig is even there.

The politics this time around are the same as he ever was. Depending on your views it might get to be a bit much. I believe in all human rights but that is all I will say this time around on politics. Just be prepared for his views all night long. He even has a funny statement before the show about people who like Floyd but don’t want to watch his politics.

The songs. This is the reason why we are all here. He does 5 solo songs including a new one called The Bar he wrote during lockdown. It is a heavy tune about life and very moving. The Pink Floyd stuff is that of a greatest hits. Again the screen above matches with each song. In The Flesh and Run Like Hell had it looking just like the wall tour. During Wish You Were here was a lot of old Floyd pictures and Syd shots on the screen. The opening number was Comfortably Numb in a different arrangement. I found this to be a big slow opening and not that exciting of an opening. The guitar solo in that song is one of the best in classic rock history and he did not include it in the new arrangement. My buddy and I discussed this after and did not like that he removed it. Other than that the set list is that a  Floyd fan would be very happy to hear.

The fans were amazing tonight. Most were sitting the whole time but it did not take away from the show. Roger had great interactions with every one all night. Making comments on the people yelling are the ones that have been very excited for 2 years to see this. Now don’t get me wrong there people dancing all over the place during all the Floyd tunes.

Overall this was an amazing show. If you are a Pink Floyd fan it is a must. If you are a Roger Waters fan it is a must. If you want to go cause you love rock n roll you will not be disappointed. Now any seat in the arena is awesome, so don’t worry about buying an expensive ticket. Just depends on budget. As we all know time is getting the best of our favorite rockers. So don’t regret anything and buy a ticket to this show.