“Us + Them”

By Anthony Timm

Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters is back with “Us + Them,” a concert film from his recent tour of the same name. 

To start things off, the sound mix is dynamic and immersive. You can hear Roger’s fingers trail across his bass’s fretboard. His backing band shines, especially during the concert’s lengthier excursions, such as “Dogs.” Of particular note is the singer Lucius’s powerful rendition of “The Great Gig in the Sky.”

Songs like “Pigs” and “Money” sound the same as they did in the 1970s, but Roger’s band plays underneath large screens displaying President Trump’s most deplorable quotes. It can be argued that such imagery dates these otherwise timeless songs, but this retrofitting helps the audience realize the message that Roger tried to convey all those years ago with Pink Floyd, and what his warnings against greed, isolationism, and misguided wars mean in terms of today’s discourse.

The concert’s encore was cut from the film, but in its place is an after-credits sequence. It consists of rehearsal and backstage footage. The content of this segment of the film is comparable to that of a YouTube video, including those Roger released on his channel before and during the tour. Despite this, it is enjoyable to watch.

Overall, the film gives an excellent concert experience for those who missed Roger’s tour. Some elements lose the grandeur they had in the flesh, but there are plenty of moments to savor on the silver screen from a true rock visionary.