On a crisp Tuesday New Years Eve evening, Mike Gantzer (Aqueous, Death Kings) paid tribute to Pink Floyd with the help of Evan McPhaden on bass (Aqueous, Fluffy Fingers), Max Davis on keys and vocals, Matt Kellen on drums, Bill Bratek on guitar and vocals, and Craig Abraham on saxophone at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo.
It has been two years since we have seen members of Aqueous (Mike Gantzer and Evan McPhaden) play a sold out fanfare for New Years Eve at Town Ballroom, so this event was a special treat for Aqueous and Pink Floyd fans alike.
Buffalo native, Max Davis (Tortoise Forest) is no stranger to playing with Gantzer and McPhaden at Aqueous’ The Great Flamingle. The show was even more special with artists Matt Kellen (former drummer of Mungion) travelled from Chicago and Craig Abraham from Rochester to join the line up.
The stage was also shared by Buffalo’s Billy Bratek, who was Mike’s first guitar student many moons ago, thus adding to the intimate dynamics the audience was able to experience throughout the show.
Often when you see a tribute band, the setlist reflects only the hits, but Gantzer took the crowd on a journey across Pink Floyd’s discography from the psychedelic Syd Barrett days to the timeless musings of The Wall and of course, played Dark Side of the Moon as intended, from start to finish.
Gantzer and Friends triumphantly began the show with ‘In the Flesh,’ ‘Young Lust,’ ‘Pigs’ and obscure tracks like ‘Wot’s Uh the Deal?’ Once the band launched into ‘Have a Cigar,’ it sounded like the band had been playing together for years. This synchronized rhythm carried them through Pink Floyd favorites, ‘Fearless,’ ‘Sheep,’ ‘Hey You,’ ‘Echoes Pt. 1’ and ‘Comfortably Numb’ to close out the first set.
The second set was more of what you expect from a Pink Floyd show with grand openers like ‘Shine on you Crazy Diamond,’ ‘Run Like Hell’ leading right into Dark Side of the Moon. And yet, the set sounded unique to Gantzer and company.
Max Davis provided his own spin on key heavy tracks like ‘On the Run’ and ‘Any Colour you Like’ and Craig Abraham brought the vocals of ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ to life with his saxophone and the help of the crowd trying to accompany with vocals. Despite the album being released in 1973, the band reminded us that this album sounds fresh and relevant today despite being 50 years old.
Buffalo can only hope to see more of Gantzer and his friends in 2025.
Gantzer Does Pink Floyd – Town Ballroom, Buffalo – December 31, 2024
Set 1: In the Flesh> Young Lust, Pigs, WoT’s Uh the Deal, Have a Cigar, Fearless, Sheep, Hey You, Echoes Pt. I, Comfortably Numb
Set 2: Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Run Like Hell, Breathe, On the Run, Time, Great Gig in the Sky, Money, Us and Them, Any Colour You’d Like, Brain Damage, Eclipse
Encore: Let There Be More Light, Wish you Were Here
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