The Australian Pink Floyd @ Hallenstadion, Zurich

04.02.2022

It is great to be back at a live gig after such a long time (almost 2 years to the day, in fact), even if it was all seated and we all had to wear masks. Being a long-time Floyd fan, it was an extra bonus to be in Zurich’s Hallenstadion and hear the exceptional Australian Pink Floyd kick off their “All that’s to Come” 2022 world tour.

The Aussie Floyd certainly did not disappoint the moderate crowd. The sound was really good, even if the hall is generally considered a challenge acoustically. Maybe this was due to the shortened arena, but no matter. And, of course, the visuals lived up to expectations – nothing less than a full-on experience with many Aussie-adapted videos mirroring the original Floyd themes, and three inflatables to add further dimensions (teacher in Another Brick, kangaroo during One of These Days, and a boar flying over the audience for Run like Hell).

During the 2h45m set (including 30 min break) there were definitely a few highlights worth mentioning, even though the whole evening was a blast: Mike Kidson does a fantastic job on sax and brings a comedic element of fun to the stage. The intro (and outro) to Sorrow sees Ewan Cunningham deliver some awesome controlled guitar feedback. The bouncing kangaroo during One of these Days brings a smile to anyone’s face. Chris Barns and Ricky Howard provide excellent vocal facsimiles of the original recordings, and of course we have to commend the ladies for their Great Gig in the Sky!

Thank you to Aussie Pink Floyd for being brave and making this world tour, and also to Act News for making it happen here in Switzerland. The previous two years have been tough on the live music industry, and let’s all hope we have turned the corner and once again can see our favourite bands ‘In the Flesh’!

Photos are here…

Setlist (as far I could tell)