Can a “cover” band be as first-rate as the original? YES! It does not happen often but when it does what a treat it is for the fans that missed past tours of their favorite bands. A great example would be local favorites “The Musical Box” a band that recreates the early Peter Gabriel Genesis years. You walk out feeling you were just brought back in time to see the real deal. The attention to detail is very impressive.
This brings us to last nights Australian Pink Floyd Show at The Bell Center. The core band includes 5 solid musicians with three back up singers and a sax player showing up when needed. The highlight of the show was the first set, which was a full cover to cover playing of “The Dark Side Of The Moon” When the lights came up for intermission there were 5000 fans simply left speechless. It seemed all you could do was look at your neighbor and smile, as we knew it was huge, indescribable really. It was a perfect recreation of Pink Floyd’s 70’s sound.
The second set seemed to focus on the after Roger Waters era, in they way songs were played and song selection, it was more like the tours of the 1990’s. Highlights included, “Wish You Were Here”, “One Of These Day’s”, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, “Welcome To The Machine”, “Another Brick In The Wall pt.2”, and a mind blowing show closing rendition of “Comfortably Numb”. Not Only did these guys prove they could play any era of Pink Floyd’s catalog but they also brought a huge Pink Floyd production with them. From sound to lights to the huge screens and may I add an inflatable Kangaroo this was pure production at it’s best.
For those who missed this show or the last one the good news is the band said “this is our second show in Montreal and it just gets better, we will be back”. I highly recommend not missing this band if they do return. The Australian Pink Floyd Show was a huge treat for anyone that loves Pink Floyd.
