WISH YOU WERE HERE
Pink Floyd Niagara plays the Niagara Centre for the Arts until Aug. 30.

PLUGGED INTO PINK FLOYD NIAGARA - The $500,000 tribute band is back in town!

They tore down the wall, they ran like hell and they left crowds comfortably numb. Wish you were there? Fans have another chance to catch Pink Floyd Niagara this summer, but this crazy diamond won't shine much longer - after tonight, there's just five more shows at the Niagara Centre for the Arts.

Keyboardist and co-founder Greg Johns says "crowd response" prompted the group to return, despite not making money last summer. This time the crowds have been bigger and the buzz even better. Word is getting out -this isn't your usual Pink Floyd tribute show. "There wasn't one complaint (last year)," he said. "Everybody really liked the show, and we really enjoyed doing it too. So we stepped out on a limb once again." If last year built the foundation, 2008 is the year Pink Floyd Niagara found its mark. First, the group won Entertainer of the Year at March's inaugural Niagara Music Awards (but lost Tribute Act of the Year ... go figure).

After weighing their options, the 11-piece band decided another summer in Niagara Falls was worth a shot, retooling their website and hiring a marketing director to get the word out. More than $500,000 worth of equipment was lugged back to the theatre, requiring three days just to set up. Shows resumed July 4.

Fans will notice some slight changes, including a new back-up singer and new VTC Pro Audio system elevated to the left and right of the stage ("It just gives you that death sound from hell," says Johns). But the format is the same, based on Pink Floyd's lavish 1994 "Pulse" tour. In addition to classics from "The Wall" and "Animals," the band returns from intermission to perform "Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety. With this show, size does matter. "We take it to the max. There's not another Pink Floyd band out there -at least in southern Ontario -that has 11 people in it," says Johns. "Every sound that you hear on the record, we have it covered."

"It's a 360-degree experience," says marketing director Jenifer Cass. "Even if you don't like Pink Floyd, you'll enjoy the show." After targeting tourists for much of the summer, Cass has found it is locals flocking to the show. Over and over. "We have two guys who show up every Friday." For his part, Johns doesn't mind being all Floyd, all the time. "Dark Side of the Moon," in particular, has such immaculate production, he's still discovering new things about it. "When we're playing these songs, there's not a feeling like it," he says. "They haven't lost a stitch of popularity."

Pink Floyd Niagara performs Aug. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30 at the Niagara Centre for the Arts (Kingston College, Epworth Circle). Tickets are $30. Phone 905-397-0704.