PREVIEW
PIGS: Canada’s Most Authentic Pink Floyd Tribute
Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Arden Theatre
5 St. Anne Street
Tickets: $36 plus service charges. Call 780-459-1542 or at ticketmaster.ca
If you're a classic rock fan or a recreational drug user, there's a good chance you've seen a Pink Floyd show – either the real thing or a tribute act. It's unlikely the surviving members will reunite anytime soon, so there's a great deal of room for tribute acts to flourish.
There's no doubt Pink Floyd influenced millions. Although the band fought label expectations, their own fame, and each other, their genius elevated songs to some of the most beautiful rock music ever recorded.
One tribute band proud to have established the intricacies of Pink Floyd's classic hits is PIGS: Canada’s Most Authentic Pink Floyd Tribute. Based out of Victoria, PIGS does more than plug in the amps. They really need to put on a show.
Their first gig dates back 10 years. Since then, the musicians meticulously perfected Pink Floyd's vocals, lyrics, music, mannerisms, facial expressions and theatrical visuals.
PIGS dedication to replicating Pink Floyd's sound even extends to their gear. Their instruments are either vintage or custom ordered down to the tiniest cables, picks and guitar strings.
Now on a 45-date tour that started in Nanaimo, the electric sound and light show is on the Alberta-Saskatchewan leg with a stop planned for St. Albert’s Arden Theatre on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
While researching Pink Floyd, the West Coast band amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of their British counterparts.
“We approach it as inhabiting a role in musical theatre. That’s different from the standard tribute band that doesn’t try to be exactly on. We have one member of the band representing each artist. That makes it a more realistic experience and less like a jukebox experience,” said leader Josh Szczepanowski, who plays David Gilmour.
Bassist Geoff Howe recreates Roger Waters style; Adam Basterfield plays keyboard in a way that would make Richard Wright proud, and drummer Mike Quirke keeps Nick Mason’s beat going.
Hardcore Pink Floyd fans will recognize Jon Banglo as English guitarist Snowy White who is also along for the ride. And the last member of the touring band is Photon, the splashy special effects creator.
Pink Floyd rode the crest of fame from 1967 to 1983, peak years when musicians used mind-enhancing drugs such as LSD to gain enlightenment.
PIGS creates a show in the spirit of '70s music, an era when PInk Floyd's shows manipulated lightning laser displays and brash screen visuals cut through the dark, nihilistic tone.
The technical details were mind-boggling and attracted crowds by the thousands to hear tracks from Dark Side of the Moon (1973) or The Wall (1979).
“From what I understand, the shows were dark because the band wasn't interested in people knowing what they looked like. In one particular show, they went off stage and walked to the sound booth through the crowd and no one recognized them,” said Szczepanowski.
He added that the musicians also wanted the spectacle to speak for itself.
“As they got bigger and bigger, the spectacle became a really important part of the act. What’s the point of going to a 90,000 seat concert if you can’t see the show?”
Interestingly enough, although Pink Floyd’s peak years are long gone and today's best-selling CDs are poetically and politically watered down, Szczepanowski states fans of all ages see the show and identify with the lyrics.
“For me it has quite a universal message. It’s the type of music that can speak to everyone and has quite a connection. There’s a lot of depth to it. It’s not shallow like bubble gum music. It’s the difference between Dan Brown and the Brothers Karamazov (by Fydor Dostoyevsky). It’s a deeper piece of art and can continue to challenge over the years.”
For PIGS, Pink Floyd did more than write songs. They projected personal ideas and altered the course of music, art and expression.
“We have a deep love for the music and we take it seriously and try to put it across as honestly as we can.”
