Before I thought I might like to go to the show, I checked out Think Floyd on YouTube. Very good, but just not Pink! I was still looking forward to it though; a couple of hours of very familiar music sitting next to an old friend can’t be bad.
We got there. A small stage, with the usual: several guitars (including lap steel and the inevitable Fender), drums, keyboards, speakers and mikes. Great seats, middle of row 3. Close to the stage, we would be able to see the fingers bending the strings and the musicians wouldn’t just be small figures in the distance.
A great start with Shine On You Crazy Diamond (what else)? This was really, extremely good. Too often, cover musicians try to put their own touches to great songs … and ruin them.
A few more great Floyd classics, then the show progressed through the whole of The Wall. Taking a natural break after Goodbye Cruel World, I was able to turn to my friend and honestly say that I was totally blown away. What seemed to be missing in the YouTubes I had seen, was definitely there in the live performance. The whole band were excellent. Just six people on stage producing such a fantastic sound. Only one female vocalist (doing all the parts)! Great sax solos, spot on keyboards, a drummer who can sing well at the same time as beating the skins, and those guitars. Great to see and hear the Talk Box in use (a la Frampton). The unseen technical team should not be forgotten. (Nor should the batteries ;-) You’d need to have been there to get the joke).
I do know The Wall particularly well, having seen the film many times on the big screen when I was a student (and experienced it since on VHS, cassette, CD and DVD) and this was a faultless reproduction of the music. It is just a shame that it wasn’t a bit louder. Then my neighbours might not have heard me singing along to all the words. There are some politically incorrect parts and Think did give a warning about them before the start of the second half. I am glad that they left them in though, as that part of Pink’s life does play an important part in the building of his wall. I hope that people will have taken them in the context of the album and were not offended by them. It does make more sense if you know the story from the film rather than just the music!
After the Wall, we were treated to some more classics before it ended, all too soon.
Given the small stage, the lighting was very good – no big round screen, tumbling lights and massive pigs, but the lasers were great. As for the sound, when I closed my eyes it was like being back in Earls Court listening to Pink Floyd.
Incredible that after all that time and energy spent on stage, the band themselves were straight out to the merchandise stand, happy to chat to fans. What legends?!
For me the two highlights of the show were Comfortably Numb and One Of These Days. The best guitar solo ever and the best song ever to show off a bass.
As a surrogate band Think Floyd do very nicely indeed!
