In another sign of age, I failed to notice that the original Ticketek prome for Roger Waters current tour was about a recreation of that historic live show. Only a few days ago I chanced across a mention of remaining dates at Rod Laver and discovered a seat right up the back could be had for a hundred. While one or two utilities might have expected me to preference their demands, at that price I wasn't willing to miss the final Melbourne show on Saturday night and was fortunate to be able to divert just enough of the monthly flow through my accounts.

The view three rows from the back has to have been as good as anywhere else. I even have a few pics to prove it, which I don't normally think of at such events, but this one I had a fair idea what to expect, and somehow playing with the camera did not detract from the experience.

What I still can't work out is why a show like this sold out four times in Melbourne has had such minimal press. Are they waiting until it gets to Sydney Tuesday-Wednesday this week? Surely there isn't a conspiracy to avoid mentioning the strong anti-war messages that Waters has seamlessly integrated into the 32 year old show?

But an even greater question can be asked of my own unanticipated reaction. Why at interval did I look around and suddenly think that maybe a lot of individual humans have more real worth (not monetary) than I have lately been allowing them? Was it the power of ritual to inspire social appreciation? I wrote at greater length about this almost a decade ago and that seems to have stood the test of time, even while I've been becoming more concerned by seeming stalemates in our systems running on autopilot.