Mark as Pink (that’s a little joke that only Pink Floyd fans would get), emceeing and lead singing for the tribute concert, while Chad handles keys on right and Dave Stone plays electric guitar on the left.
I’ve been to a few Pink Floyd tribute concerts including ones at the Pearl before, but this one topped them all. It wasn’t the laser light show or the sound effects, though there were some, but it was rather the quality of the performers and the heart and soul they put into the performance that made this the best Pink Floyd tribute I’ve seen and heard to date.
The Pearl is a cherished institution in Shanghai and one of the top live music clubs in town. The Pearl is located on Zhapu Road in the Hongkou district of Shanghai, north of Suzhou River. The venue is inside the space of a former Japanese Buddhist temple built in the 1930s, and you can see traces of the original purpose of the building in the chrysanthemums that decorate the inside above the stage and the outside of the building. So you could say that it was built as a sacred space for rituals that brought people together with the supernatural forces that guide life, or at least give them a space to contemplate a higher order and purpose in our universe. And in some regards, the Pearl still lives up to that original purpose. A Pink Floyd tribute concert is no less a ritual and a communion with greater spirits that roam the universe.
Mark holding court on stage supported by Dave Stone and Chad with Eugene on bass. Above him you can see the Japanese symbol (a chrysanthemum I believe).
The Pearl’s house band is composed of a group of talented Russian musicians known as the Red Stars, whom I first met when they lived and worked in Kunshan many years ago. There’s Alexy, the flamboyant lead guitarist, with his long mane of curly hair. There’s bassist Eugene, a towering figure on the stage. Behind them on drums is the mighty Gil, and there’s singer Ksenia, with her powerful voice and excellent vocal skills. In addition, the tribute concert featured Dave Stone on electric guitar, Mark on vocals, serving as the Emcee, and on a twelve-string acoustic, and Chad on keys. There were two sets in all, with a break in between, and the songs were performed with seamless transitions. As Mark told us they would, the band indeed took us on a sonic journey through time and space. Here’s the set list as they played it on Thursday, the first of several nights:
Set one:
Breathe
Lucifer Sam
Sheep
Another Brick in the Wall
Goodbye Blue Sky
Money
Comfortably Numb
Great Gig in the Sky
Set two:
In the Flesh
Young Lust
Learning to Fly
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Pigs on the Wing
Instrumental: Interstellar Overdrive
Time
Dogs
Encore:
Wish You Were Here
?
Shine on You Crazy Diamond
Most of these songs are standards in any Pink Floyd tribute concert. There were a few surprises, including the punk-like song at the end that I can’t identify. Of course, they had to end it with Wish You Were Here and Shine on You Crazy Diamond.
Alexy performing one of his many fine solos with the zest and vigor, not to mention the long hair that has made him an icon of The Pearl.
Highlights included Alexy’s amazing solos that were part accurate renditions of the original David Gilmour solos and partly his own interpretations. Then there was Ksenia’s backing vocals and her amazing aria during Great Gig in the Sky. Chad did some great work on keys, replicating and reinterpreting the electronic sound of Pink Floyd. Dave Stone did some amazing work on electric guitar, including a duet with Alexy. Mark covered Pigs on the Wing and Wish You Were Here with a beautiful 12-string guitar. Gil and Eugene kept the beat going and were the engine behind the band. Everyone was having a grand time and pouring heart and soul into the performance, which I think you can only do if you do these tributes occasionally. And since the Red Stars do so many different tributes with different guest performers, they are able to keep them fresh and alive.
Dave Stone on guitar, Gil on drums, Ksenia on vocals and Chad on keys (sorry for the quality of this image, it’s a capture of a video I made)
The crowd was mostly Chinese folks in their twenties to forties, from the looks of it, and people were mostly seated at tables for the duration, though some young men got up and danced a bit in the middle part of the club but mostly took videos with their phones. It’s an intimate club, though large enough to hold a sizeable crowd, and with a stage that is just the right size and height for these performances. That night, red-bearded owner Grant confirmed that the club’s business isn’t what it used to be, which tracks with other reports I’ve heard during this current economic slowdown (the tariff battles aren’t helping either). Still, there were enough people in the audience to give the band a good reason to put on a great show.
For those in Shanghai who love live music, the Pearl is a godsend, and one of our best clubs in town. Can’t recommend these tributes enough. I’ve been to many of them now, and they’ve always been a stellar experience.