Dark Side of the Wall

“What makes Dark Side of the Wall so good isn’t just how well it echoes all of the crucial Pink Floyd moments, although it is an uncanny replication. The band’s secret weapon is its obvious love for the songs and how it injects its own personality into the performances — they’re reverent, but not robots. I stopped counting the goose bump moments an hour into their last show, but the total certainly edged close to double-figures. And whatever you do, don’t leave your seat during ‘Comfortably Numb.’ you’ll miss a shredding for the ages as Allen Needham slays the closing guitar solo.”
- Louisville Courier-Journal, Jeffrey Lee Pucket, C-J Music Critic

There are certain rites of passage when growing up, especially if you have an older brother. Mine is called John. He was always into the cool stuff, like “Fantastic Four” comics and Jimi Hendrix, which meant that two of the many things I wasn’t allowed to touch were his comics and records.

But there was eventually a mellowing on his part, or more accurately, a giving up. Because I was going to read those comics — I mean, this was peak Jack Kirby — and I was going to hear those records.

So John finally started to share, even to curate. He would play for me the bands he thought a kid should know if he was going to grow up cultured, and one of them was Pink Floyd. He sprung a little “Meddle” on me, but “One of These Days” was pretty intense, so he focused more on “Dark Side of the Moon.” That record was like a dark, weird storybook in which you could get lost.

By the time I could buy my own records, Pink Floyd was a staple. The first album I discovered on my own was “Wish You Were Here,” the band’s prog-tastic homage to founding lunatic Syd Barrett. And then I went nuts for “Animals,” falling in love with everything about it despite not understanding a thing about the record’s politics.

Louisville’s Allen Needham knows what it’s like to be seduced by the Floyd, but he has taken his obsession to an extreme. Needham and his friend Steve Katsikas co-founded The Dark Side of the Wall, a Pink Floyd tribute band that in less than four years has earned an international reputation among the Pink Floyd community.

For Saturday’s annual performance at the Brown Theatre, the band has sold tickets to Floyd fans in 22 states, and it is likely sold out by the time you read this. They may have broken 30 states, but the band’s master plan was fouled up by none other than Roger Waters, Pink Floyd’s dominant genius until he left the band in 1984.

Originally, Needham and Katsikas were doing two nights, with one dedicated to “The Wall,” but then Waters announced that he was bringing his production of “The Wall” to the KFC Yum! Center in July. And you absolutely do not want to compete with the man who wrote the songs.

“We obviously had to adjust, and some songs from ‘The Wall’ will still be there, but we’re calling this ‘Beyond the Wall,’ ” Needham said. “We’re covering a large span of music, even stuff from ‘The Final Cut,’ expanding beyond what people expect to see this summer, and even what a typical tribute band does.”

The band will start with 1971’s “Meddle” and end with 1983’s “The Final Cut,” the most overlooked album in Floyd’s catalog. It’s a nearly three-hour production, with laser and video shows, that will function as a live mix-tape of the best of post-Barrett Pink Floyd. Needham never gets tired of playing these songs, and since they now sell out every performance, it’s clear that no one gets tired of hearing them.

“Isn’t it something?” Needham said. “The music always takes you back to a place in time. I remember vividly cutting school and riding around, burning up time and listening to ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’ It’s just timeless.”
- Louisville Courier-Journal, Jeffrey Lee Pucket, C-J Music Critic

When I heard we had booked Dark Side of The Wall: A Pink Floyd Tribute for WFPK’s Live Lunch concert series I figured it would be fun to hear some great songs by Pink Floyd and not much more than that. What I didn’t expect was to be totally blown away by how good these musicians were and how they would nail each note and nuance making the show one of the most dynamic performances I’ve ever witnessed! This was the stripped down version of it too without the giant film screen and light show, no costumes or grand staging that would normally accompany the show in a theater and even then it was spectacular. Dark Side of the Moon was performed in its entirety including the incredibly amazing version of Great Gig in The Sky featuring Jennifer Lauletta who commanded a standing ovation. Brian Knopf was the lead vocalist with the perfect amount of moodiness to his flawless performance. Allen Needham on lead guitar should be a mega RockStar for his soaring and unbelievable solos that also garnered unending applause. I was completely inspired to see the stage production afterwards and so glad I did. I’ll never forget it.

Laura Shine
Assistant Program Director/On-Air Host
WFPK 91.9FM, Radio Louisville
619 S 4th St., Louisville, KY 40202
- Laura Shine, Program Director

When I heard we had booked Dark Side of The Wall: A Pink Floyd Tribute for WFPK’s Live Lunch concert series I figured it would be fun to hear some great songs by Pink Floyd and not much more than that. What I didn’t expect was to be totally blown away by how good these musicians were and how they would nail each note and nuance making the show one of the most dynamic performances I’ve ever witnessed! This was the stripped down version of it too without the giant film screen and light show, no costumes or grand staging that would normally accompany the show in a theater and even then it was spectacular. Dark Side of the Moon was performed in its entirety including the incredibly amazing version of Great Gig in The Sky featuring Jennifer Lauletta who commanded a standing ovation. Brian Knopf was the lead vocalist with the perfect amount of moodiness to his flawless performance. Allen Needham on lead guitar should be a mega RockStar for his soaring and unbelievable solos that also garnered unending applause. I was completely inspired to see the stage production afterwards and so glad I did. I’ll never forget it.

Laura Shine
Assistant Program Director/On-Air Host
WFPK 91.9FM, Radio Louisville
619 S 4th St., Louisville, KY 40202
- Laura Shine, Program Director