The Aussie Pink Floyd show was held at Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Performing Arts Center. Before the band played as people were filing in and finding their seats a CD was playing that was like a faster rockabilly collection of Pink Floyd tracks and I found myself hoping the live band sounds more like the real thing and from the very first note I definitely wasn’t disappointed
As the lights fell, a pulse began to sound in the room, a current on the screen followed by an eyeball, the earth, a keyboard. You can feel the pulse moving through you, a heartbeat or a clock ticking away before the band appears in a bath of psychedelic lighting as they open their set.
The lights are visually stimulating as they ease into “Time”, which is flawless and an obvious crowd favorite. The song is expertly covered. Three girls take the stage handling the now famous vocal parts, when the Main vocalist finally began to sing I got chills, it was eerie how true to the original it all was.
Their solo vocalist does an incredible vocal performance on the intro, what an incredible range that girl has, hitting every note perfectly she is simply amazing. The crowd cheers out of control when she is finished, so loudly you can barely hear her. She has a searing intensity to her as she handles the microphone, pulling off the highest notes.
Next up is the legendary sound of a cash register, the opening to the song “Money” and it is expertly delivered. I love the Sax player and the Guitar is simply beautiful, engaging and melodic. The Sax player is captivating, as he seems to be pulling notes out of himself.
Then they play "Us and Them" and the music is larger then life, the whole scene is fascinating, the crowd hypnotized and emotions running high in the room. Then “Dark Side of the Moon” with its rampant political imagery, followed by “Eclipse” where the band is given a standing ovation at the end, one of many before the night is over.
After a brief intermission, they are back with “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” followed by “Welcome to the Machine”, “Division Bell”, and the classic “Pigs On The Wing”. The lights are so bright at times, I have to close my eyes and just listen. It is haunting, eerie, and even powerful. I love all the vocal effects; this is such technically difficult music to recreate.
There is just so much going on you don’t know where to look, especially as they lead into “The Wall”. They brought the music back to life, resurrecting a legend. They end the night with “Run” and a final standing ovation before leaving the stage.
They encored with my absolute favorite, “Wish You Were Here”, so many people were singing you couldn’t even hear the band. It was a still frame moment for sure. Then they followed that up with “Comfortably Numb” as a huge disco ball drops down and fills the room with dazzling points of light and color.
Overall, it’s a stunning display of theatrical light and music. This is not simply a tribute, but an actual recreation. The Aussie Pink Floyd Show does a wonderful job of bringing it back to life.
