By Alex Kluft
Two years ago the world’s premiere Pink Floyd tribute Brit Floyd played the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, CA celebrating 50 years of Dark Side of The Moon. Brit Floyd is back and celebrating 50 years of Wish You Were Here. Brit Floyd and Alan Parsons played the Greek Theater July 11th. This is one of five shows that Parsons is on.
Prog-Rock legend Alan Parsons opened the show with a 45-minute set with Brit Floyd as his backing band and his vocalist Pj Olsson and could be seen later watching their set by the soundboard. Parsons not only has his own music but is also an engineer, songwriter and producer. At just 20 Parsons was an assistant engineer on the Beatles Abbey Road followed by Let It Be. After working with the Beatles, Parsons went on to engineer Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, The Hollies, Ambrosia’s debut album, and Al Stewart. Then Parsons formed the Alan Parsons Project with Eric Woolfson with a variety of top musicians. After the Alan Parsons Project came to an end it was renamed to Alan Parsons Live Project. Between the Alan Parsons Project and as a solo artist, Parsons has released over 15 albums. Parsons has been nominated for 13 Grammys with his first win was in 2022 for Best Immersive Audio Album with Eye in the Sky (35th Anniversary) . Parsons even got referenced in Austin Powers:The Spy Who Shagged me when Mike Myers character Dr. Evil named his plan the “Alan Parsons Project.” A regular Parsons show can last around two hours. Only eight songs fit into this 45-minute set. As always Parsons sang and played guitar and keyboard.
Parsons’ set began with May Be a Price to Pay / Standing on Higher Ground. This set was all Alan Parsons Project songs. Scott Page, Pink Floyd sax player (1987-89) and frequent Brit Floyd guest joined in for the next song “Don’t Answer Me,”. Brit Floyd’s Damian Darlington took over lead vocals for “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You.” The show continued with “Prime Time with “Sirius,” and “Eye in the Sky.” “Sirius” was used as the player introduction song during the 90’s of the 6-time NBA Championship team the Chicago Bulls. In addition to the Bulls, the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Utah Jazz have used “Sirius” for their player introductions. “Games People Play” was the final song.
Brit Floyd took the stage around nine playing a two hour set, however due to the venue curfew, they had to cut three songs including the last two songs from Dark Side of the Moon “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” which would’ve been in the encore and “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” from Animals which would’ve been last song of the first set. Brit Floyd has the look, sound, and feel of a real Pink Floyd show with the large round screen and video graphics and of course a laser show. Set one was 14 songs and began with “Signs of Life” from Momentary Lapse of Time followed by “Learning to Fly” from the same album. Songs from each era of Pink Floyd’s career were performed including post-Roger Waters era like “High Hopes” from Division Bell (1994) to their classic lineup era with “Goodbye Blue Sky” and “Empty Spaces” from The Wall (1979) and later in the set “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2.” The eight song of set one was the first to come from Dark Side of the Moon and that was none other than “Time” followed by “Breathe (Reprise)” and “The Great Gig in the Sky” from that historic album. “Two Suns in the Sunset” would be the only song from The Final Cut (1983). “Mother” from The Wall and the instrumental “One Of These Days” from Meddle (1971) closed out the first set.
The songs on this tour span from Meddle to Division Bell and although no Pink Floyd music pre-1971 was performed, original singer/guitarist Syd Barrett was honored through photos shown during “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.”
The second set was the Wish You Here part of the show with the album being played beginning to end after. Following the last song of Wish You Were Here, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX),” another classic from The Wall was performed “Comfortably Numb.” With the curfew, the band had to skip right to “Run Like Hell.”
Brit Floyd has a few alternating musicians and this show was guitarists/vocalists Damian Darlington and, Edo Scordo, bassist/vocalist Ian Cattell, keyboardist Matt Riddle, drums/percussionist Ryan Saranich and Randy Cooke, and backing vocalists Genevieve Little and Eva Avila.
CALIFORNIA ROCK NEWS 
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