Which One’s Pink? Channels Floyd’s Greatness

Which One’s Pink? put on a remarkable performance at SOhO on Saturday, May 28. The band is a top-tier Pink Floyd tribute band that satisfies even the most ardent Floyd fans. Composed of nine multi-talented musicians, the band nailed each and every Pink Floyd sound, from synths to wailing female vocal solos.

The band started off their set with “In the Flesh,” a song sung from an evil and dystopic perspective that engenders images of past and present pigheaded chauvinists: “Pink isn’t well, he stayed back at the hotel/ And they sent us along as a surrogate band/ We’re gonna find out where you folks really stand/ Are there any queers in the theater tonight? / Get them up against the wall… / That one looks Jewish!… /And another with spots! / If I had my way, I’d have all of you shot!”

The song pumped up the crowd with some righteous anger against the establishment, and the euphoric recall of 60’s counter culture became a present euphoria as a faint herbal smoke perfumed the air.

After several more astonishing songs from The Wall, the band took a short break, and came back with the moment everyone had been waiting for, The Dark Side of the Moon. The band played the whole album, from “Breathe,” all the way to “Brain Damage.” The highlight of the show was undeniably when Natalie Azerad did her vocal solo on “Great Gig in the Sky,” the crowd went absolutely nuts, she was riffing with perfect control and sounded impeccably accurate to the Pink Floyd recording.

Dan Johnson, band manager, had this to say about Azerad’s performance: “That’s a crowd tear-jerker, it really gets them going. I said it from the stage, but there is something in the water here in Santa Barbara, because of the top ten Which One’s Pink shows that we’ve ever performed, six of them have been in this venue.”

Of course I knew why they loved playing SOhO, it was due to the incredible ear of Alan Brown, SOhO’s live audio engineer. Thanks to him, I felt blasts of the past coursing through my veins with full-bodied sound waves; several times during the show, I closed my eyes and easily imagined that I was seeing the original band in their heyday.

What a wonderful experience, and great way to enjoy some the most beautiful, lyrically philosophical, and sonically progressive music to ever grace the earth. Not a soul walked away unmoved from Which One’s Pink’s performance. If you missed out, catch them June 4th at The Rose in Pasadena.