Brit Floyd
Cedar Park, TX
June 29, 2016
Tribute bands are an interesting breed. On one hand, you’ve got a guy like the Chris “Izzy” Cole (played by Mark Wahlberg) character in the movie Rock Star, living someone else’s dream. On another hand, you’ve got talented, real musicians performing hits for an appreciative audience – many times playing songs that no one can hear anywhere else (with the original bands long gone or not touring). In the case of Pink Floyd music, if you want to hear the hits, you might wait several years or never hear it again.
Though I’d heard good reviews of this particular touring outfit, Brit Floyd, I proceeded with caution. One off-key vocal or an unnatural guitar tone would send me running. This was in a mid-sized arena capable of seating 8,500 people. You wouldn’t put a Kiss or Iron Maiden tribute band in a place like this, would you? No way! At best you’d hope to fill a club with such a show – if and only if they had a good reputation or a fiercely loyal audience.
Cue the giant video screen. Cut the lights. The crowd roars. A keyboardist comes out and a giant round video screen at center stage projects some water scenes under various color hues. “Signs of Life” set the concert into motion and we were all transported skillfully into the world of Pink Floyd. At no point did I full feel like I was watching Pink Floyd, but not for an instant did I feel like I was being bored by a bunch of musical hacks. This was stellar entertainment at a high level. I was impressed.
Various eras were preceded by a video image of a year and/or album cover. Tunes like “Learning to Fly,” “Shine On” and “Machine” were faithfully reproduced at full volume.
The thing I liked best about the evening was not the vocals – though they were stellar no matter who was doing the singing (bassist Ian Cattell did the lion’s share and guitarist and musical director Damian Darlington sang lead on several – not to mention the lovely and incredible vocals of the backup singers that danced and hit some beautiful notes). It was the guitar tones. The sonically perfect tones and soaring guitar lines written by David Gilmour really put Pink Floyd in a category all their own. Well, guitarists Darlington and Edo Scordo have that perfect tone I was expecting and hoping for. Bravo!
Coupled with the awesome visuals (each song had video accompaniment or killer intellibeams), this was an enjoyable experience. I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a laser lightshow or what, but I was pleasantly surprised.
“Brick in the Wall Part 2,” “Mother” and “Pigs” got the audience roaring with approval. The trippy “Echoes” was performed in its lengthy entirety and the tail end of the show included hit after hit: “Time,” “Great Gig in the Sky,” “Money,” and “Comfortably Numb.”
Each of these songs were incredible high notes. “Great Gig in the Sky” got a standing ovation with the atonal vocal histrionics of Angela Cervantes. Her voice was as magical as the amazing guitar tones heard two songs later in “Comfortably Numb.” Definitely an emotional high.
The band left the stage, but no one was fooled. Two encores were given: “Wish You Were Here” and “Run Like Hell,” which was packed with layers of sound. Quite a grand finale.
So, it wasn’t the real deal. Nevertheless, it was a great show.
Stay tuned for reviews on One Bad Pig, Stryper and Dashboard Confessional.
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