I Want To Live On The Dark Side Of The Moon
Aussie Floyd Deliver!!!!
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JoeUser Forums
On Saturday night I went with Tink to go see Aussie Floyd at the Hummingbird Centre. Aussie Floyd is a Pink Floyd tribute band. I was listening to Q107 last month, on my way to work, when the disc jockey mentioned the upcoming concert. I've been listening to Q since I was a wee lad, and I knew that the jockey was a big Floyd fan and when he said that "this was the closest thing to Floyd itself," I knew I had to see this concert. I told Tink that my Valentine's Day gift to her, would be to buy her a ticket, and from then on, the plan was set. I would buy the best seats I could, and spare no expense on the evening. Before the show started, we got a taste of what was to come, when we heard a middle aged guy meet his friends a few rows back and say "Hey (Guy's Name), You bring any doobage?"
The seats were pretty good, except that an upstage light behind "Roger Waters" would blind me whenever he took a step back. They show was divided into 2 parts, with the first half consisting of a performance of Dark Side of the Moon, in it's entirety. The second half consisted of selections from Pink Floyd's discography, most of which, could be found on Echoes.
The Dark Side performance was phenomenal. It was just like the album, note for note. I couldn't have asked for a better performance, if it wasn't for the sax player. Now don't consider me an obsessive person, but he played a sax riff sharp, instead of flat. That and he did this weird "head twitch" every time he took a deep breath. The only reason why this pisses me off, is that every other performer took the care to produce Dark Side "exactly" as it was recorded, even the singer who performed the vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky," which is screaming on key for 5 minutes. Not an easy feat.
As the music was pounded into me, I couldn't remember the last time that I was that happy. Mind you it might have been from the occasional smoke that passed my way, and I ain't talking 'bout stage effects. Snap! The Dark Side performance was, bar none, one of the greatest things i have ever witnessed......and I've seen some messed up shit. There was a video screen displaying the band's virtual interpretation of the music, which followed a storyline revolving around a lunatic in a hospital bed as he loses his mind. All of my fears were destroyed. Would it not be exact? And would I have to sit through 42 minutes of music that doesn't please me? Would I fall asleep after working all day with no sleep? The answer; NO! NO! NO!
INTERMISSION!!!
I spent my intermission buying an Aussie Floyd T-shirt (I'm a t-shirt junkie. I love memorabilia!!) that looks like this:
They didn't have any Dark Side shirts with their logo, but I'm happy. I also bought their DVD Promo. Yes that's right. I bought a DVD.....and I don't own a DVD Player. Dark Side was that good. It's still sitting in my room, unwatched. Soon, my precious.......
I grabbed a pop, and a small can of Pringles (they obviously anticipated the crowd's "needs"), and Tink got an Oatmeal cookie to tide us over, since we missed dinner in the rush to find my Wall shirt. I'm glad I searched for it, because I was proud that I didn't see any other people wearing something about The Wall. Most of the old fogies were dressed in their "Elderware," and only the occasional pot-smoking teen had a Dark Side shirt or sweater.
The second half was excellent, but could not be perfect. With so little time to perform, there was no way that they would play all of my favourite songs. They played the classics like "Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2" preceded by "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Comfortably Numb," but most of their second half performance was eaten up by "Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pt. 1-7." They also played "The Fletcher Memorial Home," "One of These Days," "High Hopes," and "Run Like Hell," which I was delighted to hear. There were a few others but I can't remember them. My dad used to work for IATSE, the big union that works all the major rock concerts, and I finally understood what he meant about the volume at those concerts. I think it was during "One of These Days," when I realized that these shows aren't loud......they're LOUD!!! AND I LOVE IT!!!! If I ever wanted my chest to explode, I would want it to be because of a guitar solo.
The two non-performance related events that I loved were 2 seperate guys. One was in his 50's and sat right in front of me. He was really into the music, and you could tell that he has been a Floyd fan since he was a wee lad. Throughout the show I would glance over and see the sheer happiness on his face, and as I told Tink, many a time, "I just know I'm going to be that guy when I grow up." The other guy made his appearance halfway through Crazy Diamond. All of a sudden, he jumped up and started "feeling" the music as he danced up and down the aisle. I feel confident that acid was involved somewhere. After 5 minutes of dancing, a few of the ushers started exchanging nervous looks, and one proceeded out to talk to Dancin' Man He didn't get within 10 feet of him, when a security guard by the stage yelled "Let him dance!" The usher retreated and Dancin' Man kept on dancin'! Two minutes later, an usher came to talk to him, but as if through some pre-determined choreography, Dancin Man' plopped down in his seat, just as the usher reached him. I quickly returned to the performance. When Aussie Floyd came back out for their encore,Dancin Man returned. When AF reached the climax of "Comfortably Numb," he jumped up and began to flow through the seats. As soon as the audience began to focus on what was going on, we all gave a huge cheer. I knew where he was coming from. Pink Floyd isn't just music. It's more than just a band that likes sound effects. Pink Floyd, no matter where you are, is an experience that gets under your skin, and throughout that concert; I had goosebumps.
