I had the pleasure of watching Pink Floyd tribute band, DARKSIDE – The Pink Floyd Show at Theatre Severn recently.

The band have embodied the music of Britain’s greatest progressive rock band since 2005 and have been touring the country ever since.

This was a return visit for both DARKSIDE, and for me seeing them at Theatre Severn.

The evening began with one of Pink Floyd’s most famous songs, Shine on You Crazy Diamond.

All musicians were clearly very accomplished and at home with the repertoire of songs and every person on stage seemed really in tune with each other.

There was very minimal talking to the audience which was actually quite refreshing. We were there to listen to the music, and they were there to play, not talk.

The performance seemed very much broken into two halves, with the first half seeing the band perform more of the bands early catalogue from the early magical days of founder Syd Barrett – pre-Gilmour.

And the second half after the interval taking a far more upbeat dance with some of the iconic later songs, renowned for their complex structures. These images were set to coincide with the music and the visuals provided a great spectacle back drop. Great Gig in the Sky was very popular in the second half and they also performed favourites including Wish You Were Here and Another Brick in the Wall.

The band aim to replicate the experience of Pink Floyd live on stage in the 70s, which many believe was Floyd at their very best. Cariss Auburn took on the role of Clare Torry, who performed The Great Gig in the Sky on the original 1973 Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon. It’s always difficult to single out musicians but she was an accomplished and mesmerizing performer.

Everyone in my group was really enlivened by the second half and loved the atmosphere created by the laser and lights show, as well as the evocative images and animated sequences projected on a circular screen.

AND the audience were invited to stand and dance at this event, which helped everyone get into the Pink Floyd groove.

The musicians were incredible and certainly did the music of Pink Floyd justice.