April 16, 2014 – On Wednesday evening most Canadians were planted in front of their television set for the start of the first game of the Montreal Canadians quest for the Stanley Cup. For those who don’t care for hockey or just prefer live music, Brit Floyd was gearing up to rock the Halifax Metro Centre. Brit Floyd is currently on their 2014 Discovery tour which spans Pink Floyd’s entire musical library.
The show started with Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts l-V). This song was written as a tribute to former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett, making its first appearance on the 1975 release “Wish You Were Here”. This was my first Brit Floyd show but as the first half of the show continued, I knew it would not be the last time. I am now eagerly awaiting another chance to see this show. Next up was Learning to Fly and then High Hopes from The Division Bell.
By this point I was totally immersed in the visual eye candy that the Brit Floyd production team had put together. After High Hopes I decided that the front row was not the best seat to enjoy the lighting, so I found a cosy spot next to the sound board to enjoy the remainder of the first half of the show.
About 3/4 of the way through the first set Brit Floyd played one of the most recognizable Pink Floyd songs, Another Brick in the Wall Part 2. The crowd at The Metro Centre erupted with applause but this was just a small taste of what was in store for those in attendance.
Fat Old Sun and Sorrow followed the hit song Another Brick in The Wall. The first set ended with the classic Pigs. Sadly I was in a poor position to capture and clear images of the famous flying Pig. After Pigs the band took a 20 minute break which gave everyone a chance to go grab a drink or a quick smoke and get settled in before second half of the show started.
The second half of the show consisted of an additional 13 songs and an encore. There were several well known songs featured in this set including 2 of my personal favourites. Brit Floyd was spot on with their versions of Money and Time from The Dark Side of The Moon album.
Another unforgettable highlight of the second set was the stellar vocal performance by Ola Bienkowska. This extremely talented vocalist sent chills up and down my spine as she performed a wonderful rendition of The Great Gig in The Sky.
Mixing in the hits Young Lust, Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb to the second set left me completely mesmerized and eager for more. Brit Floyd chose Run Like Hell as their encore.
I wasn’t sure how they would top what I had witnessed up until now but they pulled out all the stops with the combination of the beautiful high definition screen and a barrage of lighting scenes that would be tough to top.
Setlist:
Verdict – 5 / 5 This concert easily ranked among the best visual display I have seen in quite some time. The beautiful sequences projected to the high definition screens and vibrant lighting created an atmosphere that would make Pink Floyd members proud. The band was right on the mark as their performance flawlessly replicated the true sound of a live Pink Floyd show. Along with their excellent musicianship, the vocals were amazing thanks in part to the 3 beautiful ladies providing the background vocals. If you are a hardcore fan of Pink Floyd or even a casual listener of this genre, do your self a favour and go see Brit Floyd live. Trust me you will not be disappointed. I added 2 videos from the Halifax show. I hope you enjoy them as well as the image gallery below.
