Signs of Life-A Pink Floyd Tribute
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Signs of Life-A Pink Floyd Tribute

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""Signs of Life Found in Oakley April 10, 2009""

"Signs of Life Found in Oakley April 10, 2009" by Mike Due

The marquee of the 20th Century Theater in the heart of Oakley (suburb of Cincinnati, OH) shimmered in reflection against the puddles that snaked across the sidewalk below. Even in the watery reflection, you could make out the message that Signs of Life, a Pink Floyd tribute band, would be performing at 8 p.m. And perform they did, quite remarkably, to keep a throng of aging Pink Floyd fans happy for a few hours.

Let's not kid any one; the realm of Tribute Bands has a great capacity for comic relief. I've endured a number of such shows that left me in stitches, including a Rush tribute featuring a Geddy Lee wanna-be who lost his pony-tailed wig while working out on "Working Man." I knew there was potential for this kind of thing going into the Signs of Life (SoL) show and was prepared for what could have been something of a farce. But I also had prior knowledge of some of the players in this band and I knew there would be respect given to the music of Rock-n-Roll hall-of-famer, Pink Floyd.

Jonathan Stankorb, the leader of SoL, has quite a well established reputation for honoring monolithic musicians and doing so with taste. Previously Jon had pulled off a Steely Dan Tribute band, Beatles Tribute as well as a Joe Satriani Tribute, appealing to musically astute fans throughout the mid-west where Jon’s tours traversed. Rick Fields on keys and guitar, who exuded a "Musical Director" air about him during the SoL show, is the kind of guy who could probably pick up any instrument and play it well within a half-an-hour. And lastly I was also familiar with two of the three background singers. Despite my familiarity with these people, there was still considerable room for error in their handling of one of classic rock’s favorite outfits.

As for the show itself, the band played two sets with a 30 minute break in the middle. The volume level was perfect; loud enough to enjoy without sending cock-roaches scurrying for the exits. I'll give SoL a B- for the first set, and a solid A for the second set. I think the B- was attributed to nervousness more than anything else, as this was the first public performance for SoL. There were some missed cues, syncing problems between musicians, and some equipment struggles as well (neglected settings changes on foot pedals, missed readjustments of volume knobs, that kind of thing). Despite the jitters, this generally did not negatively impact the quality of the music or the overall performance; non-musicians probably did not notice any of this.

Sometimes with these tribute shows there is a danger of fan disdain if their favorite group's catalog is not well represented. This was not a problem here, the band was wise in their selections. Prior to the start of the SoL show, I asked someone sitting next to me just how much of the 1960's pop fare might be covered (such as "See Emily Play" or “Apples & Oranges”), which I asked in jest. I'm glad they avoided that era; I think that would have come off as very campy. But while early pop hits were ousted, early Floyd psychedelic was not forgotten. The band sprinkled the audience with archeological artifacts such as "Fearless," "Fat Old Sun," and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun." The later piece truly captured the psychedelic period quite well, reminding me of The Door's "The End" in its build towards a chaotic middle-section followed by a soothing finale.

It should be no surprise that "Dark Side of the Moon" received heavy treatment, being Floyd's greatest commercial success. Despite this, I was disappointed that SoL didn't attempt "The Great Gig in the Sky" given the powerhouse female vocal talent they had on stage. Easier said than done, perhaps, but this would have certainly been the pinnacle of the show if they had let the ladies stretch out a bit on that one. Perhaps patrons in other cities later in the tour will get such a treat.

Second up in terms of representation was the "Wish You Were Here" album. "Wish You Were Here," "Shine On You Crazy Diamonds," and "Have A Cigar" were all included, with spectacular keyboard and saxophone treatments. The rest of the Floyd catalog was only slightly represented; two songs from "The Wall", one from the Division Bell, etc. There was nothing to be found from "Animals" or "The Final Cut," but the sheer quantity of what was covered in 3 hours simply left no room for anything more.

Visually speaking, the group did a nice job of capturing the signature Hipgnosis imagery of days gone by, somehow acquiring original Floyd video for display on a large movie screen behind them. This wasn't done for all of the songs, but maybe half were accompanied by the visuals. Realistically, for a production of this size, nothing more could have been expected, although it would have been a real treat to see an inflatable pig or two. And while it was all tremendously nostalgic, the film quality of some of the visuals, as well as the fashion sense of some of the people in those videos, left me with a startling realization that I'm getting older (like I didn't already know that.) In fact, age was a common denominator for most of the crowd; there was more gray hair in that theater than you could find on a chinchilla ranch.

The musicianship was top notch, all the way around the stage. With three guitarists on many of the tunes, it was possible to emulate the overdubed brilliance of David Gilmour quite effectively. The Keyboard player managed to trot out a few classic analog synth pads to conjure up the magical richness of the late Richard Wright. The bass duties included a convincing "Hey You" run (that had been accomplished by Gilmour, not Waters, on the original recording), despite this bass player not having a fretless bass. The drummer had quite a loud, solid presence, which felt good having him up in the mix. And, as mentioned before, the sax player was incredible; while holding to many of the familiar melodic lines on original recordings, he mostly supplied improvisational solos that added freshness to these classic tunes without violating them.

Of all of the musicians to take solos, it was Jon himself who took center stage, both literally and figuratively. Not only did he capture Gilmour's style, nearly note for note on many songs, he also had the tone. And for Floyd fans, anything but that true Gilmour tone would have been unacceptable. And like the drummer, Jon was well up in the mix, leaving nothing to the imagination...if his guitar playing were a human voice, you'd have been able to hear him breathing.

Lastly, die-hard tie-died Floyd followers will appreciate the sprinkling of audio effects that was also used throughout the show: the cartoon music teaser prior to "Wish You Were Here," the rowing effect from the opening strains of “Signs of Life", the classic alarm clocks on "Time"… they were all used to great effect.

All told, when you take stock of the sheer volume of authentic Floyd devices employed during this show, both audible and visual, you would be hard pressed walk away without thinking SoL was a fitting tribute to the original band, if not with a big smile upon your face for having gotten to enjoy some great music from some very talented musicians. If I had any words to share with Jon, it would have to be "the band is just fantastic, that is really what I think, and by the way, that’s good Pink!" - Interstellar Overdrive


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Signs of Life recreate the vast sonic soundscapes, and evocative imagery associated with the timeless Pink Floyd concert experience. Soaring guitars, lush layered vocals, textured multi keyboard lines, rich saxophones and propulsive bass and drum interplay are woven into recreating the Pink Floyd classic sound and vision.