Even though the organisers had promised that Monday’s Roger Waters show would be more of a spectacle than a concert, the former Pink Floyd co-frontman and songwriter, who has also had a prodigious solo career, exceeded all expectations and dazzled – at times quite literally – the 13,000-strong crowd with audio-visual brilliance.

From diehard Waters and Pink Floyd fans to those not too familiar with perhaps the lesser known pieces from Monday night’s repertoire, the crowd stood or sat enthralled and mesmerised as Waters and his 10 accompanying musicians belted out classic after classic, while overhead projections illustrated the songs – from haunting sepia footage of Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd’s early days during the performance of Shine on You Crazy Diamond to imagery of the Iraq war and other current, controversial events and personas accompanying Brain Damage.

Eerily, it was announced late on Monday that Syd Barrett, to whom Crazy Diamond is said to have been dedicated, passed away on Friday. Waters presumably knew of Barrett’s passing but did not mention it during his performance.

Unlike many artists in today’s increasingly politically-split world, Waters did not shy away from political statements for fear of losing album sales, and the show was rife with scathing comments. The first sign was during The Wall’s Mother. When the eternal line “Mother should I trust the government” unfolded, Waters shook his head emphatically and the look on his face said it all. But more was to come.

Introducing Leaving Beirut, one of the two songs, along with Perfect Sense, chosen from his solo career and which turned out to be the show’s highlight for many, Waters laid his bass aside and, microphone in hand, proceeded to relate the story of when he hitchhiked from Beirut to London in 1961.

Penniless and hungry, he had been helped on his way through the kindness of destitute Lebanese strangers who sacrificed their own humble bed and meal to provide hospitality for an unexpected guest. The story was illustrated in pop art comic strip form and while the words and visuals spoke for themselves, during his introduction Waters questioned the validity of the UK and US action in Iraq and the devastating repercussions on such simple, generous people “when we went to war, to our eternal shame”.

Apart from the well-known socio-political undertones of the music played, the accompanying imagery was powerful and the Maltese crowd responded with boos when-ever images of US president George Bush were screened.

Waters’ 62 years certainly did not detract from his distinctive voice or from his energy on stage, where he was seen giving the perform-ance his absolute effort and energy – levels of enthusiasm that were amply shared by the crowd throughout the two-hour plus show.

Waters took the stage just as the all but full moon rose over the Luxol grounds and had the crowds in his grip from the first line of his opening number, In the Flesh: “So you thought you might like to go to the show”, all the way through to the encore’s closing strains of Comfortably Numb, by which time the crowd had worked itself into a frenzy.

Overwhelmed by the experience, several fans were seen shedding tears and emitting passionate outbursts of adoration. Follow-ing a full rendition of Dark Side of the Moon, the encore saw five songs from The Wall and the audience went into uproar when the track for which everyone had been waiting – Another Brick in the Wall Pt II – was played and all of Pembroke erupted with the chorus “We don’t need no education”.

Hats off to NnG Promotions for organising what was undoubtedly the most riveting show seen in Malta to date.