......for this is what the show at Folkestone on 13th June should be known as.
What do I mean by that? Well, first, the set list courtesy of Gareth Darlington.
1st Set
In The Flesh
The Thin Ice
Another Brick Pt 1
Happiest Days
Another Brick Pt 2
Learning To Fly
Money
Set The Controls
Mother
Sheep
2nd Set
Shine On 1-5
Time
Great Gig
Goodbye Blue Sky
Empty Spaces
Young Lust
Keep Talking
Hey You
Nobody Home
One Of These Days
Wish You Were Here
Comfortably Numb
Encore
Run Like Hell
As I've said before, Folkestone is a very small venue and a strange one at that, out of proportion in that it is much wider than it is deep. I knew it was going to be a challenge for the crew to fit all the band on stage, let alone the 'gear', but they did an absolutely marvellous job. The fixed stage was extended with sections to give extra width and that meant the band lined up, left to right, with Colin, Mike, Steve, Damian, Ian, Amy, Jacquie and Ola (Emily was absent) all virtually in a straight line. Paul and Jason were behind the rest on a raised dais.
There were no lasers, circular screen, semi circular arch, 'footlights', no skippy of course, no mirror ball for comfy (although there was a fixed mirror ball in the ceiling above the standing crowd, but it wasn't lit up as in the arena shows). The lighting was generally scaled right down from the normal and the visuals were played onto a rectangular backdrop at the rear of the stage, but were quite hard to appreciate due to the congestion on stage and the low ceiling.
Thing is though, none of this mattered a jot. This was the aussies playing as I first saw them 10 years ago, coincidentally, also at The Leas Cliff Hall and thats what I mean by them being back to their roots. The 600+ mostly standing crowd were able to get really close to the band which gave a very intimate atmosphere. I was standind 2 metres in front of Damian and was able to clearly see all band members and appreciate close up as they went to work. Because the venue is not very deep, the crowd were backed hard up to Gareth's sound deck, who in turn was jammed right in at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the small gallery that has seating for about 80 people.
The band seemed to really enjoy themselves and it's my belief that they also embraced the intimacy of a having the crowd close up. At the 'good evening' introduction by Steve mac he remarked how good it was to see people having a good time with a beer in their hands, qualifying it by saying he was, of course, referring to the crew!! His humour reflected the general mood I feel. We got the usual 'bunch of floyd' at the interval, although Jason did not introduce all the Bruce's and Sheila's as has become customary, confining himself to a more general "glad to be back in Folkestone after 5 years etc" and then moving swiftly on to remark to some poor sod standing right at the front that he (the poor sod that is) looked as though he had been stood there all that time waiting. As he was staring me straight in the eyes at the time, and laughing his socks off, I guess he must have been directing his remarks at me. ;D We did get the group bow from the band at the end of the show, although how they managed to tiptoe round the stage to get to the front is beyond me.
I was very surprised, and delighted, when the Folkestone date was announced. I thought that now TAPFS is such a large production, they had well and truly outgrown the likes of Folkestone and we would never see them back again. Folkestone was the first night of the so called Summer Tour and maybe the band just wanted somewhere small to get back into the the swing of things before the big venues throughthe rest of the Summer? I don't know - but I'm sure as hell glad they played 'cos it was a fabulous evening. I just think that it proves there is a place for TAPFS at the big arenas, with the fabulously spectacular shows that they stage, as well as occasionally playing the small backwaters and giving the genuine Floyd fans the benefit of what you might call the more personal touch.
My thanks to all concerned for an exceptional evening, which incidentally, I was able to enjoy in the company of 3 generations of my family.
