Hi everyone!
After discussing it with Daniel. I've decided to start a new topic, regarding art and music events around Dublin. I have the pleasure to start this post. Anyone who wants to share their opinions and tell us about art/music experiences they’ve recently had are welcomed.
THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW (25/04/2009, O2 Arena, Dublin)
A couple of days ago I got a chance to see The Australian Pink Floyd Show. The band was formed in 1988 in Australia and it is a tribute to Pink Floyd. Although I’m not a fan of cover bands, I decided to buy the ticket for this gig. My friends had told me that APFS are very good and sound like the original Pink Floyd. Also, I had heard many good reviews of this band, so I didn't hesitate to go and see the show.
I came to the O2 at 7:30 by the O2 bus, which was not very comfortable, but quite cheap. I was positively surprised there were so many people to see a tribute band. The O2 can cater for 9,300 people seated. This evening, the arena was full of people, so I presume that there were around 10000 of APFS fans. The concert started a few minutes past 8 p.m. The lights suddenly switched off and the show began. APFS played all the material from "The Wall" album, from the song "In the Flesh?" to "Outside the Wall". It's a concept album that centers on the character "Pink". Pink struggles in life from an early age. Childhood memories remind him about his father’s death("Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)"). He is nurted by mother's overprotectiveneness (“Mother”), persecuted by teachers ("Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)") and deserted by his wife later on ("Don't Leave Me Now"). All these life situations build a psychological wall, which isolate Pink from the society.
It's hard to describe what I felt after a few minutes of this rock opera. It was my first time seeing a live production of “The Wall” and I was completely blown away. From the first note to the last the performance was absolutely fantastic. No mistakes, no snags, just solid piece of virtuosity and deep feelings. Concert was splitted into two sets, adequately to the original "The Wall", released on two cd's. I remember that during “Comfortably Numb” guitar solos people were overtaken by euphoria. After a few songs into the show, I completely forgot that I was watching a "cover band". They absolutely sound perfect and magic. The vocals were also really well done- like on the original album. The guy singing David Gilmour's parts sounded almost exactly like him! I was expecting a great visual show and after the first half I wasn’t left disappointed. Lasers were perfectly combined with yet more animation together with large inflatable pig and kangaroo, brought in and used to full effect. Amazing audio and visual spectacle for 3 and a half hours.
Before the concert, I took a dim view of The Australian Pink Floyd show, but after that I was very nicely astonished and they completely changed my way of thinking about cover bands. Honestly, I would recommend APFS to everyone! If you get a chance to see them, do not hesitate and buy a ticket. I can swear you will be a part of one of the best live rock shows you will ever see.
For everyone who is interested I put below the list of upcoming rock gigs in Dublin:
Upcoming shows:
- KULT (01/05/2009, The Academy)
- BOB DYLAN (05/05/2009, O2 Arena)
- ERIC CLAPTON (11/05/2009, O2 Arena)
- STRATOVARIUS, FIREWIND, EDEN CURSE (20/05/09, Button Factory)
- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (11/07/2009, RDS Arena)
- U2 (24, 25, 27/07/2009, Croke Park)
- METALLICA (01/08/2009, Marlay Park)
