I don’t think this guy is an immortal, but I like his style.
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Porcupine Tree
Prelude finis. Time to get heavy.
El Monstero Pulls Out All The Stops
The outdoor show put on by Pink Floyd cover band El Monstero last Saturday at Jefferson Barracks Amphitheater was nothing short of spectacular. Despite the heat, despite the dangerous and near disastrous problem of the lack of enough vendors for food and drink (the Schlafly vendor ran out of beer before the main act even began!), despite the semi-mysterious location of the venue (unless you were familiar with the park), the show went on and El Monstero held nothing back for the 7,000 strong concert goers. The performances were all spot on amazing. El Monstero took care to get every nuance, costume, and extra performer to provide a concert nearly indistinguishable from the real Pink Floyd or even from the studio tracks.
As the sun set and the moon rose El Monstero started with several cuts off of Wish You Were Here and then moved on to multiple cuts from The Wall when the first surprise of the night happened. During Another Brick in the Wall a live helicopter approached and flew over the crowd exactly on que, circling the crowd twice as it beamed its spotlight down on us all, cheering in amazement.
After the few Wall tracks, El Monstero played nearly through the entire Dark Side of the Moon album. The highlight of this part of the set was the incredible vocals provided by Tandra Williams on The Great Gig in the Sky. Her powerful and flawless voice delivered the most beautiful performance I’ve ever heard at any concert hands down. Dave Farver on saxophone should also get an honorable mention for his performance. After Dark Side El Monstero moved back to second album of The Wall and an encore performance that included fireworks and, of course, a crowd sing along favorite Wish You Were Here.
The crowd was a nice mix of people from nearly every age and demographic. The heat and the horribly long lines at the vendors didn’t dampen the spirit and afterwards the local traffic police were more than well prepared, making an easy and quick exit. The band did mention that this might not be the last time for this kind of out door show and I for one can’t wait. How about next weekend?
The best I could find on Youtube, doesn’t do the actual sound justice but you get the feeling and power of her performance:
Back to the summer PT tribute…
What better than a demo from ’97? This is a track SW posted on Soundcloud, and as far as I can tell has not been released in any other media form. You may recall the track “Disappear” from the Recordings album as a simple, yet quickly powerful track. This version displays a more slowly-building structure with a purely mesmerizing guitar line starting about half-way through the track aside a fantastic bass grove (wait for it, wait for it…). This whimsical chiming theme becomes a blazing expression of raw desperation at the end. Just ridiculous. I wonder if this could be even more amazing with Gavin’s percussion. While I have many thoughts for further elaboration, this piece in truth longs for no aid via introduction.
Also a non-YouTube post. While I spend a lot of time there myself (too much actually), let’s attempt a broadening of the e-horizons a bit, shall we?
Nuke me as a uber-nube if this doesn’t work.
And yes, Nuked Uber-Nubes will likely be my next fantasy sports team name.
Decaffeinating Your Muse
Day 1 of my decaffeinating and de-chipification has begun and there’s really no easy way to describe the feeling except through the above Python skit. I was looking for something to shock my system and reconnect me to my muse, to break me out of a muse-less rut. And today the fish has officially slapped the face. Now I must sing!
Actionsuit Alert! 