Pink Floyd's Musical Spectacle

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Is it true that Pink Floyd is back? What a joke! But in 1994 they returned on stage, it was on March 30, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. "Inside a 1994 Surrealistic Musical Spectacle" an article written by Vernon Fitch, and originally published in Japan in the Japanese music magazine Marquee, volume 054, June 1994. The purpose of the author on writing this article is to talk about this legendary band, and their great spectacle in 1994. He describes this concert and the feelings he experienced during this great musical event.

Vernon says that the ones that were touring were David Gilmour, Mason and Richard Wright. Waters wasn't with them anymore, everyone knows by now about the problems the Pink Floyd and him used to have. Duing the concert they had collaborators playing and singing along with them too. Tim Renwick on guitar, and Dick Parry on sax. Jon Carin on keyboards, Guy Pratt on bass, and Gary Wallis on percission. There were also three female backgound vocalists, Sam Brown, Durga McBroom and Claudia Fontaine. This concert, like many others from them, was sold-out. They was a crowd of 63,000, waiting under the rainy night in Miami, for the band to come out. This can only be a Pink Floyd thing.

The writer describes the stage as a big half shell that encompassed a quarter of the side of the stadium. The edge of the shell was a flat surface on which were projected the eyes of Pink Floyd. On either side of the shell were towers with large clusters of speakers mounted on each one, and additional speakers were also mounted throughout the entire stadium. Something that sounds impressive is that there was a large mixing/computer control center, looking almost like a giant insect. The author says that as the people were making their way to their seats, animal sounds emanated from all around them. When they were already seated, lights dimmed and the eyes of the Pink Floyd ominously stared, unblinking, back at the audience.

Because the shell was like a projector, on the interior of it worlds flew by. The audience was taken back in time and space, back to the beginning of Pink Floyd; when Syd was with them. The stage turned blue and a psychedelic liquid light show, reminiscent of the sixties, bombared their senses. It was when Astronomy Domine, one of Syd's greatest hit, filled the huge stadium. After the song was over, they were being turned into the previous era. Multicolored lights filled the shell as fog emanated from the rafters to engulf the band. Lasers appeared too, shooting beams of green and golden light in triangular patterns. The author says that gold lasers are very rare and banned in many parts of the world due to their high intensity, but Pink Floyd used them. You know, they got money. These lasers sparkled in a surreal quality due to the light rain that was falling. " One could only wonder whether the rain had been orchestrated by the band as part of the show."

This show was full of light. Colored lights washed over the band as lasers shot out into the night. But sound and lasers weren't the only thing that Pink Floyd had to offer their audience. There were also inflatables, two giant pigs poking their faces out of the enclosures at the top of the towers on each side of the stage. The author describes these two pigs as having glowing eyes and wicked grins, dancing wildly in time to the song the Floyd was playing. After a time playing they decided to take a slight intermission. The audince sat, breathless, with vicions of delight etched on their retinas. That's what the author says!

At the time when the Pink floyd started their "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" song written for Syd; they were presenting a new extremely surrealistic film. This film was describing Syd's life during his childhood, as a young man, and grewing into manhood. But the song that made all the crowd go crazy for, was "Wish You Were Here" which they sang along with the band. The show kept going with the impresive lasers and the magnificent sound. then the band bid their audience fairwell, but at the same time the audience screamed furiously for more. So the Pink Floyd returned onto stage. The author says that by that time, the crowd was in "ecstasy" singing along word for word the song the Floyd was playing.

As the lights came up on the band, the circular screen moved into a horizontal position over the band, shooting spots of beautiful colored lights down onto the stage. Lasers shot out of the sides of the stage, while the Pink Floyd airship beamed messages from above. Vernon says that the whole concert was brought to a stunning "climax" with fireworks display above the band. One of his freinds was shocked to see something like that, something that he had never seen before. Something that only Pink Floyd concerts can provoke. "Their concerts stand unmatch in the worlds of music. They are the surrealists of modern musical presentations, using large stadiums as a canvas for their unique artwork." I wish they could begin their work once again. Only by listening to their music in a simple CD, one can experiment that ecstacy that Vernon is talking about. I can't even imagine what would be like to attend to one of their concerts. I know it must be tight.