The Australian Pink Floyd Show to celebrate 50 years of 'Wish You Were Here' at Artpark

Preview by Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Pink Floyd is no more.

Long gone are the days in which David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Syd Barrett, Nick Mason and Richard Wright performed theatrical masterpieces for sold-out crowds around the world.

But for fans of Pink Floyd’s iconic catalog, there are touring bands devoted to replicating the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band’s sights, sounds and showmanship.

The first – and perhaps the greatest of these acts – is The Australian Pink Floyd Band. For more than 35 years, the tribute has built a reputation for performing the original Pink Floyd songs with “note for note perfection.”

“The Aussie Floyd are known for their dedication to replicating that concert experience,” lead singer Chris Barnes said in a phone interview. “The circle screen, big light shows, lasers, the inflatables. It is a multisensory experience to come and see – as Floyd were; that's the point. The point is to replicate a Floyd concert, playing the music as accurately as possible.”

Chris Barnes and The Australian Pink Floyd Show return to Lewiston on Aug. 27. (Photo credit: Mark Gibson // courtesy of John Lappen/Lappen Enterprises)

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When Barnes and his bandmates return to the Artpark Amphitheater for a 7 p.m. concert on Wednesday, Aug. 27, their show will have a special theme.

“It is the 50th anniversary of ‘Wish You Were Here’; so, you're going to get that album in its entirety – front to back at the opening of the show, as we did with ‘Dark Side (of the Moon)’ two years ago,” Barnes said.

“That's a very different album to ‘Dark Side.’ ‘Dark Side's’ got maybe, like, what, 10 songs, and it's quite concise, and there's no real long epics or such. ‘Wish You Were Here,’ obviously, bookended by kind of 12, 13 minutes of the two sections of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond,’ which, in themselves, are kind of like an album. They go through many different moods and sections, and that, in itself, as a piece, takes you on a journey.

“Then you've got the three tracks in between, which are all very different from each other. ‘Welcome to the Machine’ is very, very different to anything else in the Floyd catalog. It's very synthesizer-based, but with acoustic guitars; and the vocals are kind of aggressive. Myself and Ricky (Howard) double up on the vocals on that, and he's singing the low part and I'm shouting at the top of my range, kind of very angry. And then it cuts to ‘Have a Cigar,’ which is kind of this cynical manager vibe, and I'm singing that one, and it's kind of the sarcastic manager scolding the artist, as it were.

“And then you get Ricky singing, ‘Wish You Were Here.’ It's one of Pink Floyd’s most famous songs, and it's so different to everything else you've heard at that point. Then you get ‘Shine On (Pts. 6-9),’ which goes through so many different things. It's got funky sections; really screaming slide guitar.

“Everybody on that album – of the band, all 10 of us – we've all got our work cut out. There's so many things going on, whether you're singing or playing an instrument or playing the drums. It's very, very involved. There's a lot of concentration needed to play that album.

“And then, obviously, for the rest of the evening – it's the 60th anniversary (of Pink Floyd) – we've got all aspects of the Floyd catalog. We've got music from Syd Barrett's period right through the ’70s and the ’80s and the ’90s.

“We make a point, always – it's kind of like our mission statement – is to always cover all sections of the Floyd catalog. But when we have an album year, obviously, we focus on the album, if it's an anniversary.

“It's very special doing an album, I feel, because the audience know what's coming next. On an ordinary year, they don't know what you're going to play next, because it could be anything out of the Floyd catalog. So, when the audience and the band go on that 45-, 46-minute journey together, I find that it's a different vibe.

“Obviously, it's different depending on the album, but certainly this year has been so special because ‘Wish You Were Here’ is so different to ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ I believe it's David Gilmour's and maybe Richard Wright's favorite Floyd album. They both said that at some point, I think I've read – and I can see why, because there's lots of interesting guitar parts. The keyboards are absolutely crucial to that album.

“It's a very, very nice journey to go on with the audience. And by the very end of the album, as we phase off, everyone's kind of like, ‘Oh, wow,’ you know – and that's just the band (laughs).”

Tickets for The Australian Pink Floyd Show at Artpark are on sale at www.artpark.net or in person at the box office, 450 S. Fourth St., Lewiston.

Visit the band online at https://www.aussiefloyd.com/.