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: