Let me start out by saying, That's a very good question, young Rupert! Now, wash your hands, eat your crumb cake and listen up! Considering (A) the age of the band members, (B) their notorious "laziness", along with the fact that they have probably as much money as they ever wanted to gain from playing rock-n-roll, and (C) that they haven't a new album to tour (for some reason, and in Dave's own words, they think they need a new album in order to go on tour, when truth be known, they could probably pack the house every night for as long as they wanted just playing what they've already got), the chances are pretty slim, Jim, that any of us will ever see the Pink Floyd in concert ever again. If they did tour, it would probably be something very limited (again due to their ages) and only the people who'd have enough money to pay the outrageous sums for the tickets (whether they be "true believers" or not) would be at the show.
However ... all hope is not lost! In fact things are better than you might think. I now know this, because I've seen THE MACHINE!
I don't know what part of the planet you live on but if you ever get a chance to see THE MACHINE in concert, don't miss it! If you like Pink Floyd music (and I'd bet that you do) it's the next best thing to seeing them live. In fact, in some respects, especially for long-time Floydians, it's BETTER than seeing the real Pink Floyd live. Don't believe me? Ah! I can already hear the shouts -- "Away with the infidel!" But allow me to plead my defense oh Worm, your honor!
THE MACHINE play anything and everything from any every PF album! Not in one concert, of course, but on any given night, you will get a taste, not of just the hits, like you hear on the radio all the bloody time, but the DEEP (and I mean deep) album cuts. Go to a real Floyd concert and you will get primarily the stuff from the new album (if there were a new album) that you may or may not be familiar with yet, and the standards like Money and One of These Days and Welcome to the Machine, with a smidgen of oldie here or there. As great as that is, we all know that when we (I mean those of us who have actually witnessed a real Floyd show) were at those wonderful Floyd shows, we wanted to hear some stuff ... you know ... STUFF! We wanted to hear those crazy tracks that never get air time but that we know are just as good as the radio friendly songs -- songs like Fat Old Sun or Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun or even Free Four!
Well, last night (June 23rd, 2002), your der Stegokitty went to the show at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI, and witnessed the playing of songs such as See Emily Play and a really cool, jacked-up version of Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, which contained a bridge of some free jamming, very reminiscent of early-early Floyd experimental stuff, before they began really hitting it big! They played almost the whole of The Dark Side of the Moon and the whole of Wish You Were Here (though not in chronological order). They even played The Fletcher Memorial Home and Two Suns in the Sunset from The Final Cut... and lemme tell ya sumpin' -- these fellas sound super good! I'm sort-of an old fart and thought they could have turned the volume down a few notches, but other than that, they just plain KICKED! They've done a fine job of getting not only the right sound effects for their instruments, but also mimicking the styles of the band members in many instances, although there are certain signature things that were only slightly missed in some areas. I can basically guarantee that, if you were blind-folded, during some songs, you couldn't pick out if it were the real Pink Floyd or The Machine.
The only thing that was really missing (as in a real Floyd concert) was the really expensive special effects with the big-time lasers-in-your-face, the circular screen mit dem Gerald Scarfe cartoons und schtuff, and the girly backup singers for a couple of tunes. But to tell you the truth, even that was taken care of in some cases, as the crowd would kick in when needed -- for effects such as saying "Surprise - Surprise - Surprise!" in a Gomer Pyle voice during Nobody Home. The audience even sang (and I with them) the Clair Torry parts in The Great Gig In The Sky from DSOTM. I threw in my best Echoesque albatross call during Is There Anybody Out There and got some nods and laughs, and spent a good portion of the time rocking back and forth (my legs are killing me, as there are no seats at Lupo's) and playing air guitar alongside a chap named Charlie and his friend Airen (not sure how to spell his name, but it sounded sort of like Aaron, only not). Here's a shout out to Brian (a dedicated Machine Head) who was kind enough to introduce himself and spend a few minutes chatting about the band. Special thanks to Todd, the drummer in The Machine, for the CD!
I can't remember the order, but here, to the best of my memory, is the play-list of The Machine show that I just experienced at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI . I had to scroll through my CD's to remember all the songs, so with the exception of the opening number, they are in chronological order of album release and not of play sequence in the show. If anyone notices one I missed, let me know:
Sorrow
See Emily Play
Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Fearless
One of These Days
Breathe
Time
Breath (Reprise)
Brain Damage
Eclipse
Shine On You Crazy Diamond 1-5
Welcome to the Machine
Have a Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond 6-9
Sheep
Hey You
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nobody Home
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Two Suns in the Sunset
I've never heard The Machine do Beatles songs but they do have an exclusive Beatles show that, if it's anything like the Pink Floyd show, it's got to be a memorable experience. They also do a Grateful Dead show that's supposed to be good.
So, bottom line is: If you want to see some live Floyd, forget about burning candles in the window, wishin' and a-hopin', plannin' and a-schemin'. Just pack up your Air Guitar and/or Air Drums and git yer fanny over to the konzertgebau and see THE MACHINE, baybeh!
Go check 'em out at www.themachinelive.com
