Pink Floyd first crept into my consciousness on an evening in 1973. Although I was only 15, when that stylus settled into the grooves of a new album called "Dark Side of the Moon", I could tell that this record was special. As a budding guitarist, I needed to hear more from this mysterious band. I immediately started buying all of their previously released albums - allowance permitting. Soon, I had copies of everything they'd ever done on vinyl, 8-track tape or both. Then on June 28th 1975, I made the 5-hour journey to my very first concert experience: Pink Floyd, live in Hamilton. I was beyond hooked.
| By July of 1977, I'd just turned 19 and was halfway through a two-year photography course in college. I was on my third copy of "Wish You Were Here" and their latest release, "Animals", was quickly becoming my favorite album of all time. When I spotted an ad in the Peterborough newspaper for a bus charter to see Pink Floyd live in Montreal, I couldn't pass up the chance to see them again. I decided to take my trusty Pentax SP1000 and make it a serious journalistic endeavor. When the bus pulled up in front of Olympic Stadium, I was a little overwhelmed by the size of the venue. Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium show was huge (65,000 people) but this... well, this was in a whole new league. |  |
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Since I had no telephoto lens in those days, I'd have to get right up to the stage if I wanted any decent pictures. As we entered the stadium, I headed off the main gangway and through a gate leading onto the field. A security guard immediately stopped me and yelled something in French. Summoning my cool, I replied, "Press" and flipped open the bag to reveal my camera. He slapped a big "Pink Floyd, Montreal" sticker on my camera case and waved me through. Within seconds, I was at the foot of the stage, mere feet from where David Gilmour would soon be standing. I thought I'd be among a gaggle of photographers but I didn't see any at all. What I did see though, was a fellow wandering through the crowd with a large reel-to-reel tape recorder. It was a bulky home deck that had been modified with a crude battery pack and a shoulder strap. Two mics poked out from his hat. No one seemed to take the slightest notice of it and he made little attempt to hide it - aside from casually draping his coat over it, which seemed more for convenience than anything else. I thought he must be some kind of a nut. Now, I think he was incredibly far-sighted. |
It was an exciting atmosphere. Everyone seemed awed by the sheer scale of the event. The stage was massive. The rear screen seemed bigger than I remembered. Walls of speakers appeared to reach the sky. Just before the show was about to start, I noticed people pointing up at the rim of the stadium's roof. Standing precariously on the edge, high over the field was a (rather brave) person. That must have been a thrilling perspective! I took a couple of shots of that and soon, it was "time". As the members Pink Floyd mounted the stage, the crowd surged forward and I found myself trapped in a churning mass of plaid shirts and denim vests. Here's what I saw
1. "Sheep": As the electronic "wind" swirled around the open-air stadium, Mr. Gilmour strapped on a pre-72, all-black Strat with white knobs and 2 white pick-ups. A black pick-up was installed at the bridge position. I was surprised that there was an extra player (Snowy White, so my program said) who picked up Roger's black Precision bass and began the intro to "Sheep".
At this point I shot pictures of David, Roger, Nick, and when possible, Rick - who was usually cloaked in darkness. When the song finished, the roar from the assembled 85-90,000 attendees was deafening.
| 2. "Pigs On The Wing (Part 1)": Roger wore headphones and played an Ovation acoustic guitar. The crowd was a bit large for such a drastic change in dynamics, but he softly muddled through.
3. "Dogs": Thrilling! Great twin solos and during that echoing, "stone...stone...stone", in the upper corners of the stage, an obese, pin-striped man and the front end of a Cadillac slowly puffed out. |
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When the music crashed back in, the car hood opened up and inflated snakes burst out and hung down grotesquely. The crowd went nuts.
4. "Pigs On The Wing (Part 2)": Again with headphones and his acoustic, Roger attempted to have a quiet moment with 90,000 of his closest friends. He tried several times to start, but the din was unrelenting.
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When someone at the back let off a barrage of firecrackers, he lost it. He stopped the song and suggested that they go outside to let off their fireworks because people wanted to hear his tune. "I want to hear it", he concluded. The audience cheered in loud approval and the song resumed without further interruption. Snowy White played a brief solo on a black Les Paul. |
5. "Pigs - 3 Different Ones": Roger picked up a black and white Strat and Snowy again switched to bass.
Of the four songs they'd played so far, Roger played bass on only one of them. The fireworks seemed to subside and the crowd, agog, watched a large porker float overhead. David played some of the greatest solo lines I've ever heard anyone play. Snowy proved himself to be a solid bassist.
As the song wound down and they were doing a quiet vamp, Roger became demonic. He pointed into the audience and singled out a kid somewhere off to my right - just down in front of him. Punctuated with shrieks (ala "Careful With That Axe Eugene"), Roger called the kid up to the stage, like you would a dog. "C'mon boy come back all is forgiven just a bit further there's a good boy"
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Through the heads, I could see an exuberant teenager climb over the barricade and, with the help of a roadie, was lifted up to the edge of the stage. (I'm sure he thought he was going to meet his idol.) Right at the point where the song comes back in for the final crescendo, Mr. Waters let fly with a wad of spit that was as remarkable for its volume as it was for its accuracy.
"Sch-plaugh" - right in the kid's face! Dazed, the kid was tossed like garbage back over the barricade and into legend. The song ended, the band retired for a 20-minute break and I was left to process what I had just seen. (Note: At the moment this incident occurred, most were watching the flying pig overhead and many people in the crowd, even as close as I was, missed the whole exchange.) |
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6. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 1-5)": The opening chord of this tune caused a major crush toward the stage and I felt myself being squeezed out from my cherished spot in front of the stage. I would soon have a large monitor cabinet between David and my camera lens so I took as many shots as I could until the speaker blocked him completely. David played a tobacco-burst Telecaster and I began to appreciate Snowy's guitar playing more during this song. He added some beautiful rhythm fills beneath David's soloing. At the end of this song, I pushed my way out of the throng and wandered back to the sound-board where I spent the remainder of the concert.
7. "Welcome To The Machine": Nothing too remarkable.
8. "Have a Cigar": Not a highlight. Snowy provided the solos, which tended to consist of quick bursts of extremely repetitive phrases.
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9. "Wish You Were Here": This song was pretty cool live. Next to the drum kit, there was a transistor radio mounted on a stand with microphone goose-necked into its speaker. Nick scanned slowly up and down the radio dial stopping at Montreal stations playing music that no self-respecting Pink Floyd fan would tolerate. When he stopped on Andrew Gold's then-ubiquitous hit "Lonely Boy", everyone booed loudly - that is, until he found a station playing a Dinah Shore tune from yesteryear. (Suddenly "Lonely Boy' wasn't so bad.)
Snowy played rhythm on an Ovation 12-string acoustic and David soloed on the Strat. David Gilmour also attempted some vocal showmanship on a certain phrase but the result was unfortunate. 10. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 6-9)": This tune was both great and terrible. When David was soloing on the steel, he lost his place and was out of synch with the rest of the band. Soon after he'd recovered, Nick got lost so it was a bit of a train wreck. Roger even made mention of this when he sang, "Nobody knows where we are..." and then was overcome with laughter making him barely able to complete the lyric. |
It got better here though as David switched back to the Strat and belted out a wicked, extended solo. Snowy followed with some more rapid noodling. As the last official song of the night came to an end, ninety thousand people immediately began to demand "more... more". The house lights came up and stayed on.
11. "Money": (First encore) After about 10 minutes, they returned to the sounds of coins and a cash register - which sent the audience into spasms. By this time, even the outwardly tranquil David Gilmour seemed a tad irritable. The rear screen projector didn't come on until well into the second verse. When it did come on, it caused spontaneous cheers from us, and an indignant, "It's about time!" from Mr. G.
| 12. "Us & Them": (Second encore) While the crowd could correctly be described as "a beast", I believe it was more noisy than dangerous. Cries of "OstiePink Floy'" came from the French fans and they were rowdy, but it was just a big party. Maybe that noise was misinterpreted because when he finally returned, Roger said that "a few assholes in the front" shouldn't spoil it for everyone else. He said they'd do a quiet one so they could "end this thing peacefully". (Never at any time did I see anything threatening, nor did I ever feel threatened so what he meant, I can't say.) When "Us & Them" ended, Roger gave a cryptic sign-off and the roadies began the task of tearing down the stage. Chants of "moremore" resumed. |  |
13. "Blues": (Final encore) David was a no-show. It was Snowy playing the guitar. The stage was a very casual scene - more like an afternoon sound check than part of the actual show. The roadies conversed and tore down equipment right alongside the band as they played a blues progression. As the crew unplugged cables and moved gear, Rick wandered off followed by Snowy. Only Roger and Nick were still playing by the end of the song. (Nick's kit was down to only the snare and hi-hat.) Roger's flat "Good bye" signaled the end to this unforgettable concert.
It wasn't the first time I'd seen Pink Floyd and it certainly wasn't to be the last. Now, nearly three decades later, I know that it was the only time I'd get to see the line-up that I have come to believe was the best of their live incarnations. To this day, it's the most significant concert I've ever attended. And from what I've heard him say about it, seems it was a pretty significant concert for Roger too.