Think Floyd USA Brings the “Dark Side” to Viper Alley

(TFUSA) was about 6 years ago at an outdoor festival in Mt. Prospect. I had no idea what to expect as this was my first time seeing a Pink Floyd tribute band. It was a beautiful summer night and the band was on a small stage with overhead colored spot lights with the signature Pink Floyd round projection screen lit up with spotlights and maybe about 50 people sitting in the audience. As a Pink Floyd diehard fan, I figured I had nothing to lose by checking this band out. To my surprise, they played Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, along with other Floyd tunes from Animals, Division Bell, Wish you Were Here and The Wall, almost note for note. Over the years, numerous Pink Floyd tribute bands started making their way to Chicago and the suburbs so I thought I would check them out and see how well they compared to TFUSA. I can honestly say that there was no comparison. TFUSA played the songs as were originally written and meant to be heard which I took as a significant sign of respect to the original Pink Floyd band. I continued to follow TFUSA to other venues around the northwest suburbs and it seemed they got better and better by added more songs to their set list and jazzed up the light show when they added more lasers and lights, plus word got around about this band and they drew quite a crowd.

I saw that TFUSA was on the calendar to play Viper Alley and was anxious to see them for the first time at an indoor venue. I have been going to Viper Alley since they first opened and I can tell you that the acoustics at this venue are fantastic. Along with a great stage and a cozy, comfortable atmosphere, Viper Alley offers some great food at reasonable prices. I had called ahead to the box office and the staff was very friendly and accommodating. They told me the show was sold out and that I might want to consider getting there when the doors opened so I could get a table.

The band opened with One of These Days from the album Meddle which featured Jim “Shamus” Bryers on synthesizer. The band sounded amazing. There was no break between this song and the band went right intoShine Parts 1-5 from the album Wish you Were Here. The transition into this song was smooth and featured movie clips on the projector screen of Syd Barrett for whom this album was dedicated to by Pink Floyd. The lead vocals were performed by Jim Concklin, who recently replaced Mitch as the lead singer of the band, totally blew me away….he sounds just like David Gilmore…wow! Talk about a major change, Jim made all the difference in how the band sounds now as opposed to when I first saw them. This track also featured Kyle Stong on keyboards, which Kyle is a talent all by himself. This song also featured Jim Bryers on saxophone, which was totally drown out by the rest of the band as there was clearly a technical issue going on. I was tempted to walk over to the sound guys to let them know the deal, but eventually this issue was resolved. Also, the three female vocalists (Cheryl Jennison, Lindsay Porchetta and Krista Porchetta) joined the band and were singing harmonies, along with the rest of the band. The harmonies between the female singers and the rest of the band were tight and spot on and folks, this was only the beginning of the show.

At the conclusion of this song, the band went right into the album Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. The album begins with the song Brain Damage and then into Breathe which features again, synthesizers and also featured Keith DaProza on drums and once again, Kyle Stong on the keyboards. Folks, if I closed my eyes, I could swear I was listening to David Gilmore singing this song, which followed by the song Eclipse which also was performed to perfection and led into Great Gig in the Sky, my favorite song on Dark Side of the Moon. All three female vocalists took their turns singing this song showcasing their amazing voices. Following that was the signature sound of coins which began the song Money. Again, TFUSA played this song true to the album which featured, once again, the sax player. I could hear the sax a little bit better at this point but not in the parts which predominantly featured sax. I would like to mention the other guitarists at this point who are Tom Buckley on lead guitar who I remember being the most animated member of TFUSA and Tyler Knaval on bass, playing the catchy riff on this song and the final track on the album, Us and Them, which was even better than any of the previous songs. Just when I thought the first half of this concert is winding down, TFUSA played what was an amazing version of Us and Them. I could not stop bouncing my head and basically dancing in my seat. What turned into a solid jam towards the end of this song was absolutely outstanding. Just when I thought this would be a nice, mellow ending to the first half, it turned out to be the absolute best song of the night and probably at this point the longest song of the night.

After a brief intermission, the band returned with the song Pigs on the Wing from the album Animals which led into Dogs. TFUSA played this so true to the album and Tom Buckley broke out the double-necked guitar. Next, the band played Mother from the album The Wall. I was curious as to how they would pull off the vocals on this one. Knowing that Roger Waters sang this song, Jim Concklin sang in his lower register and I was quite surprised how versatile his voice was that he could also sound like a young Roger Waters. The women vocalists alternated with Jim which added to the song. Although I would have preferred the song be performed entirely by Jim Concklin, the women added a nice personal touch by TFUSA to change it up a bit. Staying with The Wall, the band then performed Goodbye Blue Sky, which is one of my favorites from The Wall. A very peaceful, zen-like song which TFUSA obviously felt should be performed the way I perceived this song. The stage was completely dark with only white spotlights making the audience feel like it was bedtime. Kudos to the lighting people on this one. As an aside, I saw the show The Wall recently performed by Roger Waters. I do not feel that even he captured this song the way TFUSA did. It was a truly moving performance sung like a true lullaby which then led into Empty Spaces and Young Lust. Performing vocals on this song was Jim Bryers who I believe was the obvious choice on these songs. Keeping the beat, this one had me dancing in my chair.

Following the last set of what was a mini-The Wall performance, the band went back to the Animals album withSheep. This song featured Kyle on the keyboards and also featured Tom on the electronic mouthpiece which most people would identify as the “Frampton” sound. Great sound effects accompanied this song along with great vocals. The next song was also from Animals and is the most popular song on this album, Pigs. Every Pink Floyd tribute band I have seen has played this song ad nauseum and is probably the most commercial song off of the album. Skeptical as to how this was going to be performed, I knew this had to be the last song of the night and how this was all going to play out. Again, the band surprised me by having Tom Buckley sing this song with his electronic mouthpiece and everyone on their feet while Tom walked through the crowd playing his guitar and jamming with the folks in the audience. At the same time, the girls on the stage were hitting the cowbells and comingling with other band members and everyone on stage were dancing around and having a great time while still keeping the beat. I think this song was like 10 minutes long with a full blown party on stage and the audience encouraged to join in the fun, even singing along. What a fantastic concert this was and it left me wanting even more after 3 hours.

The crowd got to their feet and cheered for more. The band announced one more song and then played Run Like Hell from The Wall. This is the song that gets people on their feet screaming back “run, run, run, run, run…..” The band told everyone to get on their feet and join in. Everyone in the place was dancing and responding in unison.

After the encore, everyone was still on their feet clapping, and the band announced they will perform one last song. I knew it had to be Comfortably Numb from The Wall which is one of the signature songs. Yes, I was right. Again, TFUSA stayed true to the original song while everyone in the crowd was singing along. What a fantastic way to end the night and left everyone leaving Viper Alley with a smile on their face.

Thank you, Think Floyd USA for staying true to the Pink Floyd legacy and keeping it alive for future generations to come.