Brit Floyd returned to Syracuse on Monday, May 5, with a sold-out performance at the Oncenter’s Crouse Hinds Theater. The performance was a part of the “50 Years of Wish You Were Here” World Tour, which has spanned the United Kingdom and across the United States.
Monday’s performance in Syracuse was extra special, as it served as a homecoming for Ian Cattell (vocals, bass guitar), a founding member of the band.
The city streets surrounding the Oncenter were buzzing hours before showtime, as eager concert goers made their way to the area. The corridors inside the venue looked like a hall of fame exhibit, as concert t-shirts spanning decades of Pink Floyd tours could be spotted.
Promptly at 8 o’clock the house lights went dark and a video montage began playing from the circular video screen behind the stage. Dramatic stage lighting illuminated the stage as one by one, each band member joined, as the notes of “Signs of Life” dispersed through the theater. The pulsating drum and bass intro of “Learning to Fly” would soon follow, sending the crowd in to a frenzy.
For the uninitiated, it became clear early in the set they were experiencing more than a typical cover band. Dubbed “the world’s premier Pink Floyd Experience”, Brit Floyd has mastered the Pink Floyd sound, all the while delivering a stunning visual experience one would expect to see if the band’s muse toured today.
For the first set, the band performed an array of tracks from the Pink Floyd catalog, including “High Hopes”, “Empty Spaces”, and “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2”. The set closed in dramatic fashion, during “Pigs” when a massive, inflatable pig took flight over the stage.
After a short intermission, the band returned to perform the complete “Wish You Were Here” album, in order. The audience greeted the opening guitar notes of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” with a thunderous roar. That roar would later become deafening, with the opening strums of the album’s title track. One by one, laser lights would frame band members Edo Scordo and Damian Darlington, as the two performed, while the audience illuminated the theater with the lights on their phones. The second set would close with a dramatic rendition of “Comfortably Numb”, which saw a giant disco ball drop from the ceiling during the song’s anthemic solo.
Though all great things must come to an end, the band was not quite done yet. They closed out their nearly three-hour set, with a three song encore, including Dark Side of the Moon favorites “Brain Damage”, “Eclipse”, before closing with “Run Like Hell”, the later of which allowed for one last stunning laser light show.
The “50 Years of Wish You Were Here” Tour will come to the Broadview Stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on August 19. It is a can’t miss event for Pink Floyd fans of any level.
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