Lead guitarist Steve McElroy - the David Gilmour of the band - does make some small gestures towards his cipher, the mic stand arrangement is identical, with the tuner strapped just so off a separate stalk. He even manages those strange facial gestures during the guitar solos that I remember so well from my time working with Gilmour in the early eighties. But essentially this is all about the music, and they don’t make a bad fist of it - indeed The Times is quoted on the band’s flyer as saying: "Probably the greatest tribute band in the world," which, in the wider scheme of things, places them on a par with Carlsberg Lager, entirely appropriate for an Aussie band.
The show opens in the Floyd tradition, with Shine on you Crazy Diamond, but thereafter plots its own course, and in so doing visits some of the more neglected corners of the Floyd pantheon. I must confess a nostalgic tear when I heard Dogs for what must be the first time in 20 years, and yes, sad git that I am, I have now dragged Animals out of my album collection. But as far as the audience is concerned, that’s entirely the point of the show, to evoke lost youth, and revisit the thrills of adolescence. That and the undisputed pleasure of hearing Comfortably Numb at volumes far outside the reaches of home hi-fi - it’s a lad thing you see, something to do with egos and willies, though I’ve never quite worked out what.
Audio
Six rows back from the front edge of stage is not the ideal position for Kevin Charney to mix, but it keeps him fit during sound check as he shuttles back and forth up the tiered seats. A combination sports hall and concert hall (with a nice little stage it must be said), Grimsby Auditorium lacks a fixed mix position; the demountable tier system is too lively to balance desks and racks, and the few rows of static seats at the rear are so high as to be almost on a level with the top of the proscenium. It’s not a perfect world and Grimsby is lucky to have such a nice venue, stuck as it is, out on a limb.
Charney has mixed the band for six tours, this his first using Villa Audio, who’ve supplied an eclectic mix of EAW, 852 mid/high and 853EFI low/mids (three each per side) with 4 SB1000s on the floor. "They produce a more spread sound than the standard 850," said Charney, not that this was such an issue in this relatively narrow venue.
Mixing from a Soundcraft K3 (though looking enviously at monitor man Mark Buckley’s Heritage 1000) Charney had, to my surprise, precious little to do in the way of effects. "Everything is played - I just have an effects CD for things like the helicopter noise. I do use a little PCM70 on McElroy’s voice, but truth is, Steve has painstakingly worked to emulate exactly the studio sound of Gilmour’s voice." In a measure of how intimate and friendly this tour is, Charney went on to say: "There’s a battle between the band and crew over what’s best - a studio sound or a live sound. Personally, I prefer the studio sound - especially on the older material."
Charney certainly captured the sometimes-violent dynamics of the original Floyd material, once or twice exposing a lack of concentration on the part of the musicians, especially the drummer. All in all, a worthy effort for the armchair Floyd fans, and even though some of the sub energy was lost to the huge void beneath the temporary seating, there was enough low end from the 853s (presumably) to compensate. At the very top of the tier high-end fell away acutely, but with an 80% house there was no excuse for anyone to be sat there.
Buckley had his Heritage thanks to McElroy using Trantec in-ears: "The previous desk was just too noisy minus 10dB, and he’d start to hear things. Now it’s plus 5, so he’s more than hap
