Blue Floyd At The Keswick

Blue Floyd At The Keswick
Blue Floyd will play a full set of traditional blues interpretations of Pink Floyd songs at the Keswick Theatre, January 21st.

by Isaac Morrison

“…And if the band you’re in starts playing other tunes, I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon…” (“Brain Damage,” Dark Side of the Moon.)

Roger Waters and David Gilmour sang those words more than twenty-five years ago — just one of the many great musical milestones erected by the classic psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd over the past three decades. However, on January 21 at the Keswick Theatre, it may be the same tunes, but it will be a very different band. Paying homage to the far-reaching influence and inspiration of Pink Floyd, longtime music fan and publicist Michael Gaiman has come up with a new spin on an old idea. With the help of bassist Alan Woody of Government Mule, he has assembled a top-notch tribute band called Blue Floyd, who will play a full set of traditional blues interpretations of old and new Pink Floyd songs.

Defying the longtime practice of carefully orchestrated complex arraignments that Pink Floyd is famous for, Blue Floyd will instead move in the opposite direction, pursuing the loose improvisational spirit of American Blues. “You could hear the same song three nights in a row, and see us all playing different instruments each time,” said Alan Woody, “lap steel, harmonica, mandolin, we’re gonna try to mix it up a good bit.” Woody also assured me that since, “everyone knows Pink Floyd songs,” their fans can expect to see plenty of surprise musical guests sitting in on different nights of the tour. Even without mystery guests, though, the roster of musicians carries with it a formidable resume of accomplishments that include former memberships in several well known national blues and rock bands including the Allman Brothers, the Black Crowes, and Bloodline.

So, what songs can the Pink Floyd fan expect to hear? Apparently, just about anything from the formidable Pink Floyd catalogue is likely to show up. In the process of assembling the band, each musician was told to bring a number of personal favorite Floyd tunes. The end result has provided a span of music that extends from the early nineties all the way back to 1968, and includes everything from well-known radio favorites like, “Money,” and “Another Brick in the Wall,” to obscurities like, “Grantchester Meadows,” and “There’s No Way out of Here.”

When original lead singer Syd Barret came up with the name Pink Floyd, he did so by combining the names of the two musicians on a favorite blues record he owned: Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. As an additional treat for the die-hard fans, the opening act will be Little Pink Anderson, whose father provided a great degree of early inspiration to a band that inspired countless others in turn.

For more information on the Blue Floyd project, touring schedules, or to just request that a favorite song be played at the show you plan to attend, check out their web page at www.bluefloyd.com. Hope to see you at the Keswick!

The Keswick Theatre is located at Easton Road and Keswick Avenue in Glenside, PA.

For ticket information, call 215-572-7650 or you can visit the Theatre online at: www.keswicktheatre.com.