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Tampa/Clearwater Show - October 23

Well I've been reading reviews for a year now.  I figured it was my turn to say something.

I caught the Australian Pink Floyd Show at Ruth Eckerd Hall last night (October 23rd).  I was really looking forward to this concert as I had been blown away by their performance in Orlando last year.  This year I decided to take in two shows; one last night and the other in Orlando this coming Monday.

As for the set list, I won't go into details as it was much the same as everybody else has reported; The Wall Part 1, intermission, The Wall Part 2 and, finally, an encore set of various hits.

As for the performance I would have to say that it was a great show but last year's show was better.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't disappointed with the show at all and I had a great time.  But when I compare this show with the one last year, last year comes up on top.

I tend to be somewhat of a negative person so before I harp on the things I didn't like as much, let me say the things that I did like!

Comfortably Numb was amazing!  The music, the lights, all done to perfection. Everybody was standing and cheering by the end.  The music and lights just kept building and building until we were just out of this world.  Actually, the whole second half of the show seemed like they had kicked it up a notch.

Shine on... is my absolute favorite Floyd (actually maybe of any band) song of all time and the Aussies nailed it of course.  I pretty much loved all the songs they did in the encore set and they were all done to perfection.  By the way, Sarah Palin got the loudest audience response during Brain Damage (or maybe it was a tie with George Bush)!

The lasers are a nice addition that kicks in on the second half of the show.  As a whole, the second half of the show draws you in much more than the first.  I'm guessing it’s by design to build the excitement.

There are a lot more theatrics in this show which I could take or leave.  I tend to prefer the musicians playing and the music speaking for itself.  On the choice of Broadway show and rock concert, I would prefer the rock concert.

Now on to things that I didn't like as much.  I think I have figured out three things about this concert that made it a less intense concert for me.

First, the album.  I'm sure there are lots of people out there that are going to disagree with me but there are parts of The Wall that aren't so easy to listen to.  The vocals are strained and the music is meant to, well, rub you the wrong way (for lack of a better word).  I'm one of those people who turn the volume down a bit on some songs and turn it up on other songs when listening to The Wall.  The Aussies were, of course, playing the whole album at full force and I can't blame them for that.  But, for me, there were parts of the concert that I was pretty much just waiting to get to the next song.  So, on this one, its no fault of TAPFS, I just don't care for parts of this PF album.

Second, the light show.  The light show in this concert was awesome, but the light show in last year's performance was even better.  I really miss Mr. Screen.  In last year's concert it seemed like every song had its own signature light show.  I can almost look back and remember what the lights were doing on each song.  In this year’s concert there are a number of songs that have great light effects that go with them (Comfortably Numb will blow you away!), but on quite a few of the songs it seemed kind of generic.  I think part of it is that the Aussies have been playing most of the songs in last year’s concert for years so they have had time to develop lighting themes for each song (you could really see it in last night’s concert too when it came to parts of The Wall that they've played in previous concerts). I guess there was a lot of new material in this year's concert which hadn't had enough time to get as much of a specialized light show.  And, of course, the screen video played a more prominent role in many of the songs.  I know that some of the choices on the light/screen show have to do with the album, but I still liked the old setup better.

Finally, sound quality.  This one I don't really know if it was because of the venue or our seats.  Last year we were in Orlando and about 20 rows from the band and the sound was sharp and crisp.  Every note, every word was clear and sharp and the bass was literally shaking us in our seats.  This year we were sitting almost at the very back of the theater and the sound tended to blend together.  On many of the songs (especially when it was a loud song) you really couldn't distinguish the words.  It just kind of lacked clarity.  I'm hoping this was just the venue or where we were seated.  I've got row 16 tickets for the Orlando concert so I'm hoping yesterday was just a fluke and I'll get to hear the band like I did the year before.

Anyway, that's my review.  I hope it didn't sound too negative.  I don't want to give anybody the impression that the concert was a disappointment because it wasn't.  I had a great time for sure.  Most of what I didn't like really didn't have to do anything with TAPFS.  I just think TAPFS set the bar too high with last year’s performance!

Shine on...

Very nice and well presented review. Thanks and welcome to the forum. Keep posting

Many thanks for your review and for sharing your interpretation of proceedings with us.
              Welcome to the forum.
 

Thanks also and welcome - a very well scripted review and a great read. Shame Mr Screen was not there and I have seen them both with and without - I also prefer with! They do tend to vary the shows, depending on the abilities of the venue, so it's often never the same at differing halls.

But it's always pretty damn good  ;D

A well written review thanks. I think it is great that the TAPFS phenomenon has decided to do this album in it's entirety and taken an interesting theatrical approach. If you see them several times each year as a lot of us do here (and have done for years) I can imagine it must be a refreshing change. Just think how great it will be to see Mr.Screen back again on the '09/'10 tour, so enjoy this slight deviation while we can! Can't wait to see the full usual band with Ian upfront as Pink when they hit the UK.

Yeah, I like Mr Screen too, but in the contex of The Wall, I agree that it's better without it. Besides, I have it in my garage and it's great on party nights! 

It's great timing for the Aussies to do The Wall as next year is the 30 year anniversary of its release. Then maybe we will get some "Greatest hits shows" again. Either way.....


IT'S ALL GOOD EH!!