Pupils dilate, breathing quickens, rainbow colors and patterns flash before your eyes and mellow music pervades the senses. This isn't an acid trip. It's the Pink Floyd Laser Light Spectacular.
The Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre was packed with a ex-hippies, yuppies, families, middle-aged guys with grey ponytails, and students Saturday night.
The first half of the show included the acclaimed "Dark Side of the Rainbow," in which the album "The Dark Side of the Moon" coincides with the film "The Wizard of Oz" if timed correctly. Portions of the film were played on three separate screens as lasers danced around the stage.
The opening track, "Speak to Me," was thickly layered with samples from other songs on the album.
"Laser Dave" McConkey has been working for Paramount's Laser Spectacular since 1991, and still uses much of the original laser work. As a result, some of the images constructed by lasers are rather crude.
"The people looked almost comical," said Lisa Paterson, 22 of Buffalo.
Luckily, the show contained a variety of patterns, textures and pictorial images to keep the scene mesmerizing.
Before adjusting to the sound, the music seems a little distorted as well.
"The music kind of screamed out of the speakers. I'm all about playing music loud, but they could have turned it down a little," said Jay Marson, a senior liberal arts major.
A tribute was briefly paid to the band in a few short documentary-style interludes.
The show also featured a few songs from Pink Floyd's recent album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," including "Learning to Fly." Some Floyd connoisseurs feel that the band's music lost its distinctive flair after bassist, singer, keyboardist and composer Roger Waters left. There is a noticeable change toward more straightforward radio rock in Pink Floyd's post-Waters music.
Even the tunes during intermission were quality, including progressive and psychedelic artists like Porcupine Tree. After the intermission, "Welcome to the Machine" blared as a smooth segue into the second act.
Part Two featured much of "The Wall" and songs from "Wish You Were Here," including the title track. Segments of the motion picture "The Wall" were played along with favorites like "Another Brick in the Wall." A scene of Gerald Scarfe's haunting animation was featured during the song "Empty Spaces."
Some families left momentarily with their children for this scene, which depicts two flowers interacting in ways suggestive of intercourse. Another bold image produced by the laser team projected of a priest holding a bible in one hand and a bag of money in the other.
Though the crowd consisted mainly of local residents and families, UB students were scarce. This was probably on account of the $23 tickets. With lights and lasers projected on the ceiling, walls and screens throughout, the 170-minute running time is a bit of a stretch to keep audience members entertained.
This laser light show is the closest most of us from this generation will get to see Pink Floyd perform live, aside from video documentation. Displays were repetitive at times, but overall, there was enough variation to keep the audience's attention.
The show could be taken in many new directions. For instance, "2001: A Space Odyssey" is said to synchronize with "Echoes." The band claims these parallels are unintentional and coincidental, but are compelling nonetheless.
