Aussie Pink Floyd's Illuminating Spectrum Colored My World

"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing?"

-- Pablo Picasso

 Australian Pink Floyd's recent concert at USANA Amphitheater in Salt Lake City was, in a word, kaleidescopic.  Beautiful colors, without smoking a thing.  The massive screen behind the band was visual mesmerization on steroids, hosting images and colors set to songs like "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," "Welcome to the Machine," and "Us and Them."

Chromaticity ... luminance ... hue ... colorfulness ... saturation ... chroma ... intensity ... set the visual tone for a handful of political messages such as "Money," and "Get Your Hands Off My Desert" about some names those of us who lived the 80s will remember.

Brezhnev took Afghanistan.
Begin took Beirut.
Galtieri took the Union Jack.
And Maggie, over lunch one day,
Took a cruiser with all hands.
Apparently, to make him give it back

Like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Australian Pink Floyd played two sets.  Each was equally psychedelic and delicious eye candy.  Songs that were almost meditative were intertwined with songs that brought concert goers to their feet with fists thrust in the air.  This was a musical event where almost everyone let it be known they learned the lyrics long ago.

The song that the original Pink Floyd and Australian Pink Floyd are best known for is "Another Brick In the Wall" finally came towards the end of the second set.  As the band sang and played, the feet of robotic little school children marched across the screen.  Then one by one, their heads appeared, in a military-esque line:

 

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teacher, leave them kids alone 
Hey, Teacher! Leave them kids alone
All in all you're just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall


One wonders what must be going through a band's collective head while performing to a tiny but eager crowd when they've also ran at Royal Albert Hall and European music festivals such as the Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, Lokerse Festeen (Belgium), and Castle Clam Classic Rock Festival (Klam), and Bospop (Netherlands).  Yes, I'm talking about Australian Pink Floyd, the "tribute" band to the original Pink Floyd.  I tend to think the ambiance of USANA, with its majestic mountain views, may have been a blip in their massive, if not colourful and pulsating, world screen. 

Of course it was in this whirling cloud of Pink Floyd sound and colour that my beloved, if not old, camera decided it was time to need new batteries.  And I was prepared with two extras.  As I tossed the used batteries in the trash and popped in new ones, the band was playing "Pigs" and a giant wild boar came onstage.  I turned on my camera and a message came on the screen: Camera needs date / time re-set.  Huh?  This never happens.  The magic green light came on, for a few seconds anyway, but when I tried to take pictures, the entire camera shut down.

Not getting a shot of the wild boar with the flashing red eyes was a tragic miss on my part.  Descriptive if not profane words are made for such a time, if I'd had time to waste.  I sought out an iPhone owner who I scarcely knew (we are great friends now, right Brittany?) and quickly gave her the 1-2 on my preferred shots of the band and stage for the remainder of the concert.  Every song, every angle, as close as possible, as wide as possible, and shots of anything really cool as it's happening.



The encore Run Like Hell" was no surprise. Of course, I'll admit to consulting setlist.fm before most concerts to review songs and print out my "cheat sheet."   Megabright lasers of every color and intensity pelleted the stage and VIP section.  It was deafeningly bright, if such a phenomenon is possible.  It takes a lifetime to see the million colors the human eye has the capacity to see.  Thanks to the Pink Floyd concert, I've seen more than my share. {chromatically sweet dreams to everyone}

 

 

 

 

 

Impromptu Photography by Brittany ... Brittany is a student at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, majoring in her customized field of study, International Sustainable Business.  She founded and still runs the EnviroClub at Salt Lake Community College.  EnviroClub raises awareness of environmental issues and lobby for green change within the college and local community.  

Disclosure: I was a volunteer at this concert. I received NO compensation for this review.