By John Law - Niagara Falls Review

Band marking 50 years of “Dark Side of the Moon,” at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

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Pink Floyd Niagara marks 50 years of the seminal Floyd album “Dark Side of the Moon” with two shows at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Nov. 11.

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It was a VHS tape that seduced Allan Colavecchia to the dark side.

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As he recalls, he was nine years old at a Blockbuster store with his dad. Instead of movies, they picked up two concert videos — one Rush and one Pink Floyd.

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Rush would go on to become his favourite band, but something about the Floyd concert — filmed during the 1988 Momentary Lapse of Reason tour — stuck with him.

Flash forward more than three decades and he’s the drummer for Pink Floyd Niagara, giving people a chance to hear monumental albums like “Dark Side of the Moon” and ‘The Wall” live.

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And while there’s plenty of the band’s longtime fans in the crowd, he loves seeing a younger generation latching onto the music. Just like he did.

“They know that symbol … they know that prism symbol with the rainbow,” he says. “Just before the show, seeing people show up wearing that stuff. You’re like, ‘You weren’t even born (yet), you’re 30 years removed from that symbol.’ There’s that high for you right there.”

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Now in its 16th year, Pink Floyd Niagara continues to be one of the region’s most in-demand live shows. And this year, it’s all about the 50th anniversary of “Dark Side of the Moon” — Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece that currently ranks as the fourth biggest-selling album of all time.

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The band will perform it in its entirety for two shows at St. Catharines’ FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. It’s their first trip back to the venue after a sold-out show last year.

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It’s actually a double dose of Floyd in Niagara over the next few weeks — tribute band Brit Floyd will be doing “50 Years of Dark Side” at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines Oct. 21.

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Colavecchia isn’t surprised. Unlike many classic rock bands, Pink Floyd is no longer touring, leaving fans with only re-enactments to see live.

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“There are three Pink Floyd albums in the top 50 sold of all time,” he says. “Good music will stand the test of time. Intergenerational music. Those 50- and 60-year-old rockers who listen to that and got to see them, they’re sharing that with their kids now.”

The two shows at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre will feature the Laura Secord Secondary School choir for two songs.

One is obvious — “Another Brick in the Wall” — but Colavecchia says the other song “I’d be hard-pressed if anyone figures it out.

“We saw something and (thought) ‘We’ve got to get them to do that, too.’ They’re all on board.”