"There are problems with being in an old, established band. It's disappointing to feel that you've become part of the establishment rather than staying at the sharp end. You felt that you were really radical, and suddenly everyone's going 'Ugh - they're really boring, really old."
- Pink Floyd's Nick Mason, on growing older in the music business.

"Waters, though gray and not as young as he used to be, can still belt out his old vocal classics..." (fan at recent concert)

So, how boring are Pink Floyd? What do you think?
http://www.guitarsite.com/discussion/

This fan still thinks Roger Waters has a lot left to offer:
I saw, or rather experienced, the Roger Waters concert on June 27 in Portland Oregon. This concert was truly a night to remember. The visual set was not so extravagant as ones from the Pink Floyd past, but still much better than almost any other performer today. More importantly, the music was superb. Waters has amassed a fine performing group, highlights of which are Snowy White on lead guitar, and left-handed guitarist Doyle Bramhall III. Both traded scorching solos in a "dueling-banjo"-esque performance. Waters, though gray and not as young as he used to be, can still belt out his old vocal classics such as Mother, Welcome to the Machine, and Brain Damage.

Highlights of the concert: In the synthesizer/sound effects portion of Dogs (performed in its unabridged entirety), all but two of the band members stopped playing sat down at a table, poured a few drinks, and started playing cards. Priceless! Shine On You Crazy Diamond was performed very well, with the visual display hearkening back to days of Syd Barrett and club UFO with a huge-scale liquid light show being projected behind the performers. Very entertaining, and my favorite part of the show. A nice psychedelic surprise was Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. The visual display included a different liquid light show, and some vintage pictures of the very early Floyd. The song included a nice saxophone solo and a blazing guitar solo. Waters' performance of his solo material was good, and he did a wonderful job of getting the crowd involved. Comfortably Numb featured some great guitar work, and Each Small Candle was an excellent treat, our audiences being some of the first to hear it.

All in all, a very entertaining evening and well worth the $60 per ticket. Let it also be noted that the Portland concert was being filmed for video release--an added bonus! If you haven't bought tickets yet, do it!

Elliot Knapp
from http://www.tapscott.com/~robp/floyd_news.html

Whereas this fan harks back to "the good old days..."

"Pink Floyd's best stuff is from the Syd Barrett days and has little in common with the overstuffed "Wall"-type material."
http://about.delphi.com/ab-classicrock/messages/?msg=1218.32

More on Pink Floyd at:
http://www.guitarsite.com/floyd.htm
http://www.guitarsite.com/floydlinks.htm
http://classicrock.about.com/library/artists/blpink.htm
http://www.pinkfloyd.com/

SO, WHO ARE/WERE THEY?
Nick Mason, Syd Barrett, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Richard Wright...

Pink Floyd rose from the ashes of an otherwise forgotten London band, Sigma 6, in 1965. Syd Barrett, Rick Wright, Roger Waters, and Nick Mason toyed with various names, including The Meggadeaths, before settling on Pink Floyd, inspired by American blues artists Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

Pink Floyd were the premier space-rock band. Since the mid-'60s, their music has relentlessly tinkered with electronics and all manner of special effects to push pop formats to their outer limits. At the same time they have wrestled with lyrical themes and concepts of such massive scale that their music has taken on almost classical, operatic quality, in both sound and words....

Around the beginning of 1968, guitarist Dave Gilmour, a friend of the band who was also from Cambridge, was brought in and Syd Barrett left shortly after. It was reported in 1996 that Syd was lying ill in a Cambridge hospital, unable or unwilling to regulate his diabetic condition...

They released The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973. The Dark Side of The Moon sold over 25 million copies world wide, and remained on the billboard charts for 14 years, proving to be one of the greatest albums ever. The Floyd were having troubles creating something of equal quality to Dark Side...

Since that time, they've been little more than a dinosaur act, capable of filling stadiums and topping the charts, but offering little more than a spectacular recreation of their most successful formulas. Their latter-day staleness cannot disguise the fact that, for the first decade or so of their existence, they were one of the most innovative groups around, in concert and (especially) in the studio...

From All-Music Guide Bio
http://www.amg.com/

...don't forget to also check out:
http://www.guitarsite.com/floyd.htm

Next Up... Floyd: Fluke or Genious? The Wizard of... Floyd?