Wish you were here: Pink Floyd tribute band coming to the Egyptian

Last year, Think Floyd USA came to DeKalb to perform at the Egyptian Theatre, but it wasn't their first time in the area.

The Pink Floyd tribute band had one of its earliest shows at Otto’s back in the late ‘80s, said keyboardist Kyle Stong.

“It was a dive bar around the corner from the Egyptian,” Stong said.

Since then, the band has performed all across the Midwest and will come back to play the Egyptian, 135 N. Second St., at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3. Tickets cost $20 to $30 and are available at www.egyptiantheatre.org.

“They put on a fantastic show,” said Alex Nerad, executive director of the Egyptian Theatre. He had a chance to watch the show when they came through last year. “It’s the perfect Floyd experience,” he said.

Stong, who's been with the band since he moved to Chicago from Los Angeles in 1989 and also serves as the band's manager, said it was more accurate to describe the show as a celebration of Pink Floyd's music, rather than a cover band.

“You hear the signature licks you want to hear,” he said. “We’ve all been around. We’re not kids. We like to take artistic liberties.”

Stong said the music of Pink Floyd isn’t typical rock ‘n’ roll music.

“It’s not four-chord wonder rock,” he said. “They have things to say in their music.”

Think Floyd USA – the USA is important, Stong said, because there is a British band that also goes by Think Floyd – practices relentlessly to be able to play the music.

“It’s always a challenge,” Stong said.

Pink Floyd was one of the originators of the concept album, he said, where the record tells a story from beginning to end. Think Floyd USA has performed album shows in the past, including the show at the Egyptian Theatre last year where they did a three-album show, playing “Wish You Were Here,” “Animals” and “Dark Side of the Moon.”

The show in DeKalb will not be an album show, but instead will include music from across the Pink Floyd discography.

The band is on tour to celebrate 50 years of Pink Floyd’s music. The first album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” was released in 1967, and show selections will come from albums all the way until 1994’s “Division Bell” album.

“We’re not a clone band,” Stong said. “We entertain as musicians first.”

He used the word “musicianship” to describe the strengths of the show. Think Floyd USA will have two lead guitarists, and Stong described moments in shows when fans wondered how they could play like that.

Pink Floyd shows, both the original band and the tribute bands that perform, are known for accompanying light shows and production. Think Floyd USA also brings a light show with them to their shows,

“They bring with them a lighting company that puts on a mesmerizing show,” Nerad said.

Stong said the light show is what sets Think Floyd USA apart from other tribute bands.

“We let the lighting do the talking,” he said.

Don’t expect the political connotations of the Pink Floyd show, however. Roger Waters, one of the original members of Pink Floyd, has been touring the United States and using his light show to attack President Donald Trump, and the band has always been political in its songs and albums.

But Stong said that’s not what Think Floyd USA is going to do at their shows: they’re focused on the music.

“We stay non-political,” he said.

For those on the fence on whether or not to come to the show, Stong had one more reason to come.

“We put on a heck of a show,” he said.