Not too long ago, I saw an ad for a Brit Floyd concert in Cleveland. I had never heard of Brit Floyd, but I figured it was a Pink Floyd Tribute band. I love live music, and I like Pink Floyd, so I put out a call on Facebook to see if any of my friends might want to go the show and feel that warm thrill of confusion, that space cadet glow. I had no takers, so I didn’t go. Little did I know then I would go to an Australian Pink Floyd Show concert in Akron.
While I never heard of Brit Floyd, I actually owned a live album by The Australian Pink Floyd Show. I had listened to the album, and I thought they were OK, nothing special.
However, I have listened to enough live albums to know it is hard to capture the essence of a show on a recording. Intuitively, I figured the band had to be better live. Oh, and they were. The show opened with “Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V),” and from the opening chord of the synthesizer, I was hooked. The band did an incredible job, and the concert was one of the best I have ever attended. Like Dream Theater, The Australian Pink Floyd Show did not interact much with the audience — it is more about the music.
The setlist appeared to be the same as the one they played in Boston a week earlier, and you can see it here. The show was a veritable greatest hits, though there were a couple of songs I have not listened to a lot, like “Sorrow” and “Pigs.” The albums “The Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here” and “The Wall” were well represented.
Something I had not considered while listening to Pink Floyd albums is the harmonies going on in many of the songs. This came out during the live show. While Roger Waters and David Gilmour (after Syd Barrett’s departure) were the primary singers, I was surprised to see Richard Wright had done some singing, too.
There were a couple of nice surprise moments before the concert began. As soon as we walked into the lobby of the Goodyear Theater, we saw a friend, Jim, from church there. He is a big Pink Floyd fan, and he, his cousin and his cousin’s wife attend many of the tribute band shows. Jim said Brit Floyd is better than Aussie Floyd (and that a couple of the members for the Oz group left to form Brit Floyd). If Brit Floyd is indeed better, then they must be spectacular because Aussie Floyd was awesome.
Also, after we were settled into our seats, a couple walked by in the row in front of us. My wife said, “That guy looks familiar.” I said, “That looks like Babette.” I check out Babette’s Facebook page, and, indeed, she and our neighbor, Bob, were attending the show.
I am glad we went. I had a great time. The music was great. The light show and laser show was a nice touch. There was not a bad seat in the house at the Goodyear Theater. For those in the Wooster/Akron/Cleveland area who like PInk Floyd, another tribute band is coming through the area. The Machine will be performing a free show at Lock 3 in Akron beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, September 2, 2016.
