Is anybody out there??
Welcome to the machine…

How does one put into words the performance that I just witnessed? It is tough really. I’m sure you are wondering what this is all about? Well, last night (Nov. 23rd), several of us went to see The Australian Pink Floyd Show (TAPFS), or Aussie Floyd for short. These guys (and gals) are a tribute band to the great Pink Floyd. But these guys are not just your run of the mill tribute band. These guys are “endorsed” by the actual members of Pink Floyd. It really doesn’t get any cooler than that! Aussie Floyd have partied backstage with Pink Floyd, they have played at David Gilmour’s 50th birthday party, and they have played with Pink Floyd. I don’t know too many (actually I couldn’t name another without doing any research) tribute bands that are endorsed by the bands to which they lay tribute.

Before we get to the review… I must say thank you to Matt Geraghty (and his dad) for even suggesting we see this show. I had not heard of this show before it was mentioned and there wasn’t much advertisement about the show. Matt was also able to get us great seats (14 rows back, stage right). And yes, seats…we sat down for nearly the entire show with very little obstruction (from big headed tall people). There was no opening band and at about 8:10pm the show began. The lights went dark and the dull thud of a heartbeat began to pound the theater. Slow and steady, a strong heartbeat with increasing volume. (I must say this was the first concert that I remembered to bring ear plugs. And they do make a difference. There is no ringing of the ears or pounding of the head. And we were able to still hear clearly. I think earplugs will be a staple at any concert I attend, especially since I need to hear for a living.)

The stage setup was quite authentic. A large circular screen (Division Bell-esque), center stage rear, surrounded by a circular lighting rig, was the main focal point. Here is where all the animation and video footage was directed. There were two projectors hung from the ceiling rig. One projector was dedicated for the circular screen, and the other was for the rest of the back drop. (or one was for backup.) Of course there were several banks of lights on the ceiling rig and then 30 or so multidirectional spot lights with multiple colors positioned strategically throughout the stage. There were also several smoke machines to increase the eerie effects that high powered beams of light can produce when cutting through the wispy smoke. And a Floyd show would not be complete without the large animal figures used to instill fear and drama to the melodramatic. In this show there were two – a large head of a pig (really a boar) and a large kangaroo. What would an Aussie show be without kangaroos? Also included in this show is the largest (largest I’ve ever seen) mirror ball known to man. That thing must’ve been 6ft in diameter, at least 6ft!! It was super impressive, especially when every spot in the theater was aimed at it.

On to equipment now…Drum kit on a riser on back just left of the circular screen. Dual bass drums and an assortment of cymbals and other percussion equipment kept the beat with conviction. On a riser in the back right of the stage were the keyboards—this guy looked like he was Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd with the long hair, beard and wide brimmed Hi-Roller hat.. Directly in front of the keyboardist was where the ladies of TAPFS stood, swayed in unison, and sang with power. Front stage left was the bassist and his rig (he was using Fender basses), center stage was a guitarist and his rig (he had dual Fender amps and used Fender Strats. He also had a rack of effects directly behind him. He also had this bionic looking mic stand that included his tuner, his slides, his talk box tube and who knows what else), and stage right was the other guitarist (from my vantage point I could tell what equipment he had up on stage, other than his Fender Strats and an obvious stop box/multi-effects pedals). Most of the vocals were done by the guitarist on the right side of the stage. The bassist and center guitarist also contributed with some vocals. I guess now would be a good time to introduce the members of the band instead saying guitarist right, guitarist center, etc. The drummer is Paul Bonney. The keyboardist is Jason Sawford. The bassist and vocalist is Colin Wilson. Okay, Colin from what i've read recently, Colin is not the bassist. Ian (don't know his last name is filling in). The lead guitarist and vocalist is Steve Mac. The rhythm/lead guitarist and main vocalist is Damian Darlington. I believe Damian also plays keys on a song or two. There was also a very animated saxophonist, who did an amazing job, but I didn’t catch his name nor is he on the website.

Back to the show…now as stated before, the showed stared out with the thunderous heartbeat…this started off the complete Dark Side of the Moon (DSOTM) album. I think every song was accounted for. The sound was impeccable. The bass response was very dominant…so dominant that my clothes were moving from the low frequency sound waves oozing from the large bass cabinets. The thunderous pounding was so deep that you could feel it throughout your bones and even made it difficult to breathe at times. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Following the completion of DSOTM album, Aussie Floyd took a break. This was probably my only complaint of the night … it just seemed odd that the band was going to take a break. The break lasted for about 20 minutes or so.

Towards the end of the break the crowd was starting to get agitated…but the agitation didn’t last long as the lights dimmed again. TAPFS started the second part with Shine on You Crazy Diamond, followed by a wonderful rendition of Sorrow. Sorrow was followed by a song that I had not heard before—The Fletcher Memorial Home. Another Brick in the Wall, Careful with That Axe Eugene, Wish You Were Here, followed in sequence. Bring on the pig….The following song Pigs (three different ones) brought out the giant inflatable boar with evil red glowing eyes. Heather is not a fan of pigs, so she didn’t look off to the right very much during this song. The next song was One of These Days, which brought out the large inflatable kangaroo, Skippy. Skippy bobbed up and down in rhythm of the beat…with human help of course. The last song in the main set was Comfortably Numb. Comfortably Numb is probably one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs and I was absolutely blown away with that performance. Words cannot describe how intense and wonderful this song was performed. Towards the end of the song emerged the giant mirror ball. The spectacle of dizzying lights dancing across the venue helped the mind take in the full sonic and visual experience. TAPFS took a short break before the encore. After Comfortably Numb, I was uncertain how you can finish as strong as the previous song.

Well, to be honest, they didn’t finish as strong…but it was still a great encore finish. They finished off the concert with a shout out to their road crew. Not many bands thank their road crews publicly, and I thought this was a nice touch. After all it is the road crew that is truly responsible for the visual look of the show, which is just as important as the sonic portion. In the Flesh and Run Like Hell finished off the show

Visit Tarik's website for a short review and some pictures.

I have never seen Pink Floyd before, and I’m not sure that I ever will. If I never get that chance, I can at least say that I saw the closest thing I’ll ever see to Pink Floyd and this show was truly an experience. I can’t say this was the best concert I’ve ever seen as I think David Bowie still holds that mark. But it was a close second or third. I will definitely be making their second stop in Houston…if they choose to come back this way.

High Hopes

Where is Finding Reason?

That's a good question. We've been on hiatus the past few months. But we're back in the studio pumping out lots of ideas. Our new goal is to meet weekly and work on a catalog of ideas as opposed to working on one song. So far this new method is working out. We've got several ideas recorded, probably 3 to 5 songs worth of music now. Nothing in a workable song structure right now, but there is a lot of potential.

I recently upgraded my guitar with new pickups. They sound great and give the guitar a whole new feel and vibe. I highly recommend Fender Lace Sensors. Anyway...i'm getting a sound that i've been trying to get and it sounds great through the Boss GT5. I'm able to do a lot more with the new pickups and it's stretching my tonal wings. Perhaps i'll get better at playing guitar so that i'm able to use my equipment to the fullest. And to get better, i'm thinking of taking guitar lessons soon...perhaps early next year. We'll see what happens there.

But Finding Reason is still out there...so there should be some material coming forth in the next few months. (I know, i've said that many times before.) Hopefully we will not disappoint.

Are Service Plans Worth it?

Well, it depends really. You don't want to buy a service plan if it is nearly as much as the item itself. However, for refrigerators and most digital cameras it is worth it. I have personal experience in both categories.

First the refrigerator: I had the refrigerator go out on me a couple of weeks ago. Well, the service plan was about $150 for 5 years. Well in addition to having the repair man come out for no charge, I am also entitled to $200 for spoilage. I think that has paid for the service charge right there. Had I not paid for the service charge i would be paying the repair man and still have to suffer the spoilage cost. So, lesson learned there...buy the service plan for large appliances.

On to the digital camera: I bought the service plan for my 2003 digital camera for $60 for 4 years. The LCD started acting up on me...so i took it in. Got it fixed and cleaned...total cost to me $0. Total cost to someone else $172. Well, that alone paid for the service plan and then some. Got it back and still didn't work...so i had them send it back. Again...another repair was done on the camera. Not sure of the cost of that one...but for me it was $0. Several weeks later, i see the camera needs repair. I get a call from best buy saying they aren't going to repair the camera...but i'll get a new one. I was hoping for store credit, but they wouldn't give it to me. So, I had to get a new camera. This is the one i got.



So far it has been a great camera. I wanted a digital SLR, but those are much too expensive right now. I had to compromise, so i went with a high zoom camera with an SLR type body. This camera has a lot of features and a great zoom lens. BUt i'll let you read the several reviews that i used to make my purchase...er exchange.

www.dpreview.com
www.dcresource.com
www.steves-digicams.com

So far, I haven't been able to test the camera to it's capabilities. But here are a few pictures that i took with the camera.

Here is a picture of the moon taken tonight (11-08-05). This shot was hand held, with full optical zoom (12X) and full digital zoom (4X). Not bad for a hand held shot.



Here is a squirrel on my fence...i shot this one through my french doors.



Here are the ducks at work chillin' in the shade. Not a great shot, but fairly cool, nonetheless...



Well, that's about all for now...but keep checking back...there should be more pictures posted soon. I hope to get better at using the camera and all it's features.
And yes, Service Plans are worth it...when you need it! Be smart and do what's right.