Wish You Were Here Live at the Renaissance Theater Mansfield, OH
Posted by Tim Johnson on 05.09.2006
Wish I Wasn't There
On May 6, 2006, the so-called "best" Pink Floyd tribute band in the world, "Wish You Were Here," was playing in downtown Mansfield, Ohio. Since tix were less than 20 bucks, and I had nothing to do, I decided to go
As you can probably tell from the teaser, it wasn't what I hoped for.
Let me preface this by saying the band sounded great. The musicianship was excellent, and the vocals were passable, even though they didn't sound like Gilmour or Waters.
But a tribute band fights an uphill battle to begin with. There's virtually no room for error, or personal interpretation of a song. With Pink Floyd, this is especially true.
As you know, (and by "you," I mean those amongst us that like good music and have never intentionally listened to the likes of Britney Spears) one of the best things about Floyd was the constant flow of their songs. The Wall for example…
Every single song transitioned so perfectly that it actually brought you into the album. You could listen to that album and completely fade out.
The tribute band started with "Pigs on the Wing" and followed it with "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Both are good songs, but it was an anti-climactic way to start the show.
Then they played "In the Flesh," and things began looking up. I thought I was about to get into the zone. But they followed it with "Mother." Mother?!? Where the hell did that come from?
After that, they went into "Astronomy Domine" and I was way the hell OUT of the zone.
Then they proceeded to bring everything to a grinding fucking halt.
One of the lead guys grabs the mic and does something to this effect:
"WHAT'S UP MANNNNNNNNSFIELD?!! LET ME HEAR YA!!! We're gonna have ourselves a Rock N' Roll party tonight! WOOOOOOO! AW YEA!
How many of ya'll have seen us before??? WOOOOO! Go to the concession booth and buy our shit! AW YEA! Let me introduce you to our guitar player Freddie Ludwig! AW YEA!"
Then they played, "Coming Back to Life."
At this point, I damn near left. This is the polar opposite of anything Pink Floyd would ever have done.
I decided to stick it out until right before the intermission since I paid for a ticket. But the set list was in complete random order. There was no flow, no vibe, no nothing. Though they did play each song well.
Shortly after another "Paul Stanley-esque" intro that had me burying my head in my hands, they played "Nobody Home." The lead guy acted out the scene in The Wall, complete with a chair, a TV, and a telephone. But since they ruined the illusion with their crappy stage presence, it was awkwardly laughable.
I can safely say this was my first and last appearance at any tribute show. If they would have done The Wall, or Dark Side of the Moon straight through, and they would have shut the fuck up between songs, it would probably have been really cool.
Unfortunately they didn't, and I'm here typing this as I listen to a real Pink Floyd bootleg show from 94.
The 411: If you go see "Wish You Were Here" simply to hear Pink Floyd music, you'll enjoy it. However, if you're looking for an emulation of the true Pink Floyd experience, you'll probably be disappointed.
