one of my greatest regrets in a life full of amazing live music memories is not seeing pink floyd in their heyday. back in 1977, as an already-music-obsessed 13-year-old, i was living in atlanta, georgia. in the span of one week, both led zeppelin and pink floyd rolled through town, both playing at the omni. the pink floyd show, however, was on a school night. and as cool as my mom was back then, there were a few rules. and late-night concerts on school nights were generally verboten. led zeppelin, on the other hand, were playing on a saturday night. so i got to see the mighty zep, but missed out on floyd’s “in the flesh” tour in support of the album “animals.” in hindsight, i’d have to say i made the right choice. word on the street was that pink floyd got booed for not playing loud enough, and waters’ bitterness toward rowdy audiences was what inspired “the wall.”

all of which makes for a rather lengthy intro to the video posted below. last tuesday, i went to the beautiful fox theater in oakland to see the australian pink floyd show (TAPFS). now, i’m not normally one for ‘tribute’ bands. but after discovering the truly amazing dark star orchestra a couple of years ago, i’m no longer a dismissive snob. well, about tribute bands anyway. so after reading and hearing about TAPFS for a couple of years, i thought “what the hell.” sometimes a ‘have a cigar’ is just a ‘have a cigar’.

i have to say that i came away mightily impressed. i don’t think i’d go see them again; for my money, it’s not that kind of a band or show (though i met a few people there who had seen them multiple times). but for a one-off, it was an incredible night of music. a live greatest hits, if you will. highlights for me were the selections from “animals” (“pigs (three different ones)” and “sheep”), a stunning “shine on you crazy diamond (parts I-V),” and stirring versions of earlier works “set the controls for the heart of the sun,” and “one of these days.”

these days i’m carrying around a flip HD video camera to record small snippets of shows. i managed to keep the arm steady for the entire performance of “time,” and thought i’d share it with my faithful big micro readers. (all five of you.) enjoy.