By Chuck Darrow
It doesn’t matter where you stand on the subject of Pink Floyd, the revered British “space-rock” band whose enduring popularity is rivaled only by such giants as The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Queen. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, you have to admit the unit that gave us such epic albums as “Dark Side Of the Moon” and “The Wall” are a most unlikely candidate for immortality.
After all, much of the band’s earliest material—which boasted titles like “Astronomy Domine,” “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” and “Several Species of Small Furry Animal Gathered Together In a Cave and Grooving With a Pict”—were the antithesis of what was happening in much of rock music in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. The group vociferously pushed aesthetic envelopes and created music that was meant for quiet, even intense, introspection rather than celebratory partying.
In particular, the landmark “Dark Side” LP was a collection of songs steeped in ruminations on isolation, despair and the ultimate futility of human existence: As stated in the song “Time,” every sunrise people find themselves “one day closer to death.”
Nonetheless, almost 60 years after its founding, Pink Floyd remains one of the world’s most beloved bands. However, given the death of keyboardist Richard Wright in 2008 and the well-publicized bad blood between bassist-composer Roger Waters and guitar god David Gilmour, the group appears to be permanently defunct.
But its continuing popularity—including among young people–is such that Pink Floyd tribute bands constantly criss-cross the globe, recreating the group’s sound and tech-heavy live presentations. Foremost among them is The Australian Pink Floyd Show, which on June 28, lands at Tropicana Atlantic City. According to guitarist Dave Fowler, Floyd’s contemporary status as a titan of the rock music realm isn’t hard to understand.
For starters, he reasoned, Waters’ lyrics transcend generational lines.
“I think the topics that they address are still valid,” Fowler said during a recent phone chat. “I mean, look at ‘Us and Them,’ look at ‘Money,’ look at ‘Time’ (all of which appear on “Dark Side”). Are you telling me that there isn’t a kid who doesn’t need to hear [from “Time”], ‘And then one day you find ten years have got behind you; no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun?’
“It’s all absolutely as relevant as it was the day it came out [in 1973].”
Fowler also pointed to Pink Floyd’s embrace of what was then cutting-edge musical and recording technology.
“Compared to [many] other albums at the time, they were pushing the limits of what you could do with technology in a studio,” he said. “They weren’t shy about getting as much modern tech in, and playing with it and creating sounds that not many people had made before.
“I’m sure other people had made those sounds before, but, it certainly wasn’t the norm. The Rolling Stones weren’t really pushing boundaries–don’t get me wrong, they’ve done very well for themselves. But there were some bands that just were like, ‘No, we are just guitar, bass and drums. That’s what we do.’ And there were certain bands who really pushed: ‘We’ve got these [additional recording] tracks, and we got these synths and we got things that can do sequences.’ And there were other bands that were like, ‘Anything that makes a noise can be incorporated into our band.’ And those bands—like Pink Floyd—that pushed the limits still sound kind of fresher; they opened up sonic boundaries.”
Fowler, who has been in the band 14 years, noted that the 13 musicians who comprise the Aussie Floyd roster don’t attempt to clone a 1970s concert experience. That is, unlike say, The Musical Box, which utilizes the actual production props and equipment Genesis employed back in the day (which it rents from the band members), his group uses modern technology to achieve visuals that are in keeping with what Pink Floyd did on their tours, and what they likely would be using today if they were still active.
“We are still putting on a show that feels like a Pink Floyd show,” he said. “But we can get more lights in there because one light today can do what 10 used to do. And, I think we feel more comfortable innovating with [technology] than we would with the music.
“We don’t want to mess with the music,” he added with a chuckle, “because the music’s like the Bible. You can’t change that.
“But our fans trust us to tread that balance between keeping it as it was and bringing in some modern elements into the look. I hope we do it well; I think people think we do because they buy tickets, and that’s really the ultimate goal.”
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
