The Floyd Experience at Seminole Coconut Creek Casino

The Floyd Experience at Seminole Coconut Creek Casino

The Floyd Experience shined on The Pavilion at Seminole Ca- sino Coconut Creek on Saturday, August 17. The 9-piece ensem- ble from South Florida delivered 90 minutes of electric, acous- tic, classical and lap steel guitars, along with two keyboardists, drums, a bass, a sax and spectacular backup singers. The sen- sational set-list gave proper attention to The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall, but also included be- loved gems from psychedelic Syd Barrett-era More to Animals and The Division Bell. The music’s effects on the mature crowd were heightened by an intense laser light show and giant moni- tor showing classic photos, spacey videos, and memorable clips from The Wall. Getting better with each live performance, The Floyd Experience successfully reinvented Pink Floyd’s timeless studio sounds.

“The fans are going to see as close a recreation to the original Pink Floyd material as humanly
possible,” drummer Roy Fantel explained to me. “We try to do the original recorded material note for note. We have all done our homework to do Pink Floyd justice.”

There wasn’t an empty seat in the sold out house where folks were lined up against the walls to see The Floyd Experience. Dressed in all black, the musi- cians took the stage as we heard the familiar alarm clocks introducing “Time.” Vivid beams of red, purple, green, blue, pink and yellow danced from various directions around the stage. We then heard a variety of popular hits, including Pink Floyd’s two Num- ber One singles, “Money” and “Another Brick in the Wall,” along with “Breathe,” “Brain Damage” and “Learning to Fly.” It sounded like an entire orchestra was present during “Hey You,” and psy- chedelic artwork was shown onscreen. Before Dennis Freireich played the bass-heavy “Pigs,” keyboardist, guitarist and singer Jeff Leone asked “How many of you out there are animals?”

Guitarist and vocalist Tom “TC” Christopher was fantastic during “Have a Cigar,” while Joe Tierney executed a soulful sax in “Us and Them.” Backed by Kayla Kuecha, Lucie Pierro’s vocals in “Great Gig in the Sky” were phenomenal and earned a standing ovation. Keyboardist Stan Bernstein received a similar reception after “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” The Floyd Experience then got old-school with 1969’s trippy “Green Is the Colour.” The entire room hummed along with TC and Tommy Strowd’s guitars in a heartfelt “Wish You Were Here,” as touching photos and videos of Syd appeared onscreen. Images of the math and sciences guru Stephen Hawking were displayed throughout The Division Bell’s “Keep Talking” “Are we having fun yet,” Leone asked and requested that audience mem- bers sing along to “Comfortably Numb.” Again, concertgoers erupted in ovations before The Floyd Experience wound down the evening with “High Hopes.” “I am truly blessed to be able to share the stage with this fabu- lous production of musicians and some of the hardest working people in the business,” Pierro said after the show. “Young and old, we connect with this music that stands the test of time.”

After taking their bows, the band members handed the spotlight over to their Production Manager, Casey Huneycutt. He politely thanked the crowd for supporting live music. He then acknowl- edged every member of The Floyd Experience and their man- agement, as well as the members of the original Pink Floyd and the blues artists that had such a big influence on Syd, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. “I couldn’t help feeling the impact of this giant among bands,” Huneycutt said onstage. “With light shows, extended songs, philosophical lyrics and iconic album covers, our band’s goal has been to pay tribute to that legacy.”

“It all comes down to the live show,” Leone explained to me. “When you’ve got your monitors on, the house music is up loud and the audience is hot out there, that’s when all the practice pays off.”

Members of the band were all supportive and complimented one together. Every artist got to take the lead at some point, and the sound was incredibly full. Hardcore Floyd fans were thrilled. Meanwhile, unfamiliar spectators made exciting discoveries. “It was powerful, but still a perfect tempo to relax and chill,” said Randy Nutt, Owner of Aqua Moon Adventures in Fort Lauder- dale. “I appreciate Pink Floyd more now than ever. And it’s all thanks to The Floyd Experience.” Discover more about The Floyd Experience and at www.floydatribute.com.

Barbara Strowd of Endless River Productions is the Developer, Producer and Promoter of The Floyd Experience, as well as mul- tiple musical productions. “The Floyd Experience and my other projects include some of the best musicians in South Florida,” said Ms. Strowd. “In addition to the musicians, it takes a profes- sional team to make these shows possible,” she explained. Her team includes Ray Rivard of Audio Events, Danny Colica of Hyp- notic Productions, Kim Reilly of SeaSide Music Management, Production Manager Casey Huneycutt and Tommy Strowd of ERP. The future looks bright for Endless River Productions, The Floyd Experience and Ms. Strowd’s additiona projects. Look for more concerts and productions coming soon.