Pink Floyd has a deep connection with Montreal, a mutual love.
CHOM’s Top 50 albums of all time features The Dark Side of The Moon as #1.
I remember my uncle putting on the cassette of the album in his car, and my young ears being blown away by music I had not yet been exposed to. I could have stayed in that car for days, as we went from Pink Floyd to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Heart, and Queen.
Down the rabbit hole of FM Rock I went, which introduced me to various other genres throughout the years.
Yet, I owe my curiosity of musical exploration to Pink Floyd.
Pink Montreal Floyd
Pink Floyd first visited Montreal on November 9th, 1971 at CEPSUM with a capacity of 5,100 seats for a sold-out show during their Meddle Tour.
The Dark Side of The Moon Tour saw the band perform at the Montreal Forum on the 12th of March 1973.
The most epic Pink Floyd performance was during their In The Flesh Tour, where they still hold the record for highest concert attendance for a single night at the Olympic Stadium (78,322) on July 6th, 1977.
The Montreal Wall
“What was it like being in front of 80,000 people?”, reflects Nick Masson, drummer of Pink Floyd during the press conference for the Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains.
“It’s the greatest sensation, because in general, there are 80,000 people who are on your side. It’s a pretty friendly situation to be in. The curious thing is that the numbers, it’s not that they don’t matter, but a performance is a performance. Whether it’s 200 people in a club or 80,000 people in a stadium, it’s not that different. In fact, in some ways, one would tend to go for the audience of 200 because the problem with any sort of stage is engaging 80,000 people. You are lucky if you maybe engage 70,000 people. There is still a bunch playing frisbee and doing drugs somewhere in the back of the place.”
The one who felt that disconnect the most was Roger Waters, which led to an incident where he spit in the face of a screaming fan who was trying to climb onto the stage, while fireworks were being set off.
“That was the great disconnect Roger found, which became history: Having an audience but the audience not quite understanding what the band are trying to say or do.”
It was after the Montreal show, that Roger Water began to think of a barrier, the “wall” between the band and the audience.
“I think everyone who was present on that day, should get a lawyer, and indicate that they are entitled to some small payment from it.”, says Nick, as we all laughed.
The Pink Floyd Song That Represents 2022
When we look at Pink Floyd’s vast discography, consisting of 218 songs, I asked Nick which song best describes 2022.
“I suppose A Saucerful of Secrets. That track is iconic. It’s very hard to choose as you will see from the exhibition, it’s something like 50 years…so everything we’ve done marks some point in that journey.”
To help decipher that choice, we must look at some pressings of Ummagumma where the song is broken down into 4 sections.
Something Else starts with ominous opening noises. Syncopated Pandemonium continues with a drum tape-loop at around 3:57. Storm Signal begins the organ-based section at 7:16. It closes with Celestial Voices with spacey sounds with voices at 10:14.
Roger Waters describes this song as being about a war. The first two parts are the actual battle, while Storm Signals is the aftermath and Celestial Voices is about the mourning of the dead.
Pink Floyd is perplexed by the comments of Roger Waters, which led to cancellations of concerts in Poland.
War is divisive and sparks strong emotions, on top of the bloodshed as political ambitions cross over the lines where human life is expendable.
“Our currency is flesh and bone” says the lyrics of The Dogs of War.
“The dogs remain” 35 years after that song was penned.
Pink Punk Floyd
Nick Mason grinned, as I mentioned to him privately that maybe Pink Floyd was one of the sparks that created Punk.
Johnny Rotten was wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt with the words “I hate Pink Floyd”.
Spitting was also a staple of punk shows, but in reverse, where the audience spat on the bands.
Regardless, Pink Floyd made a mark in music history, and their career is worthy of an exhibition.
Even more remarkable is that their music is timeless, as new generations of fans are discovering.
Their Mortal Remains Exhibition
As you walk through the stages of evolution of the band, the headset will expose you to the sounds and words of the members of Pink Floyd.
You will see props, instruments and handwritten lyrics spanning their discography. You can visualize hand drawn concepts and see how they came to reality to create concerts that changed the definition of what a live performance could be.
Maybe like me, you will get a picture at the giant Division Bell Heads.
Maybe you will watch the live performances and imagine yourself in the audience.
Maybe you will pick up a souvenir from the gift shop to add a little Pink to your life.
Their Mortal Remains Info
The exhibition is now open until December 31, 2022 at Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal, 2020 William Street, Montreal, QC H3J 1R8
Get tickets and more info here
Writer & Photos: Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and MasterMind Facilitator with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. His Podcast RockStar Today helps musicians quit their day jobs with out-of-the-box advice from Ted Talk Speakers, Best Selling Authors and other interesting Entrepreneurs and Creatives. He created the Rock Star Today Music Business Jam Session for musicians. Randal is a collector of signed vinyl, cassettes and CDs.
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